Stochastic finite element method for random temperature in concrete structures

This paper proposes numerical methods for random temperature field in mass concrete structures to research various kinds of random variability including both random environmental temperature and random material properties. First presented, based on local average method of random field, are the formulas of random variational principle as well as the corresponding formulas of stochastic FEM. Then discussed is the stochastic spectral response finite element method, given the complex frequency functions as random functions of material parameters, to resolve the effect of random environmental temperature. Finally, the Taylor expansion series is referred to simplify the non-stationary process and suggest the corresponding formulas for the effect of random hydration heat of concrete. The paper demonstrates that these proposed methods can help to study conveniently the random variability of temperature, which could appear as both random processes and random fields in mass concrete structures. Numerical examples calculated by the methods, theoretical and Monte-Carlo simulation are also provided. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.