Experimental measurement and numerical predictions of thickness variation and transverse stresses in a concrete ring

Abstract Concrete shells are widespread in civil engineering constructions. Because of the moldability of concrete, special structures such as domes, bridge caissons, buried or raised reservoirs, and arch dams are built with concrete. In this study, we are particularly interested in the variation of the thickness and the resulting strains during a short-term mechanical loading of a concrete ring in its elastic phase. On the one hand, transverse stresses through the thickness are calculated numerically by implementing a particular family of finite elements (four degrees of freedom per summit node) with a two-dimensional shell model, which accounts for thickness variations and transverse distortions. On the other hand, an experimental device was mounted in order to validate numerical predictions.