Timber and concrete composite system: A numerical and experimental approach for high temperatures

The aim of this work was the evaluation of the temperature profile in two composite timber and concrete beam with cross-section T and metallic connection system subjected to high temperatures. The connection system, in this case, was performed by use of steel bars with 12.5 mm diameter, equally spaced, along the concrete-timber interface. The cross section T of the beam consisted of a timber piece with dimensions 5 cm x 15 cm connected of a concrete slab with 30 cm x 5 cm. To the composite beams, a total time of fire exposure equal to 40 minutes was considered. The numerical modeling of the system was carried out using the ANSYS software [1], version 10.0. The results of numerical simulations were compared with the experimental results of temperature obtained by the two composite beam, which were instrumented with thermo-couples and subjected to high temperature in a horizontal furnace constructed on EESC/USP for this purpose. The numerical and experimental results showed good agreement in this case. As a result, the temperature profiles are shown in cross section for various heating times and all numerical modeling strategy and the finite element used to determine the temperature profiles.