Temperature Analysis of Cylinder in Ambient Temperature

Assignment 2
Advanced Design of Concrete Structures (CE514L)
Dr. Bijily Balakrishnan

Submitted date: 29/08/2025

Submitted by
SUNANDA NUNNA
CE25M307

1
PROBLEM STATEMENT
CASE – 1

130 mm
1000 mm 150 mm

A Concrete cylinder of M25 grade with a span of 1000mm & 130mm diameter enclosed
with a steel reinforcement of 10mm thickness (outer diameter = 150mm) is subjected to
temperature loading. Analyse the response of the column under
Boundary Conditions:
Fixed at one end & Free at the other end.
Loading Conditions:
a. Temperature is uniform throughout the entire body.
b. Temperature gradient with maximum temperature at the steel casing, decreasing inward
toward the concrete core.
Assume the required Data. Use Any Software for the simulation of the response

2
CASE – 2

130 mm
1000 mm 150 mm

A Concrete hollow cylinder of M25 grade with a span of 1000mm & 130mm inner
diameter with 10mm thickness (outer diameter = 150mm) is subjected to temperature
loading. Analyse the response of the column under
Boundary Conditions:
Fixed at one end & Free at the other end.
Loading Conditions:
a. Temperature is uniform throughout the entire body.
b. Temperature gradient with maximum temperature at the inner surface of the concrete,
decreasing toward the outer surface
Assume the required Data. Use Any Software for the simulation of the response

3
INTRODUCTION
The present assignment focuses on the thermal and structural analysis of a solid
concrete cylinder enclosed with steel using ANSYS Workbench. The objective is to understand
the transient heat transfer behaviour of the cylinder when subjected to convection and to study
its structural response under the given conditions. A two-dimensional axisymmetric model has
been developed to simplify the geometry while retaining accuracy. The material properties of
concrete, such as density, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, thermal conductivity, and specific
heat capacity, are defined, and the cylinder is initially assumed at a uniform elevated
temperature before being exposed to ambient cooling. Convection is applied on the outer
surface to simulate realistic heat loss. Subsequently, the structural module is coupled to
examine the stresses and deformations arising due to thermal gradients. This combined
approach provides valuable insights into the performance of concrete cylinders in practical
engineering applications where both thermal and mechanical effects play a significant role.

METHODOLOGY

ANALYSIS OVERVIEW
This thermal analysis utilizes finite element analysis (FEA) to simulate the temperature
distribution and thermal response of concrete cylindrical structures subjected to ambient
temperature conditions. Two distinct geometries were analyzed - a solid concrete cylinder and
a hollow concrete cylinder - using ANSYS Workbench to provide comprehensive transient
thermal analysis capabilities followed by structural stress evaluation.

MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND ASSUMPTIONS

CONCRETE M ATERIAL P ROPERTIES (M25 GRADE )
Based on the analysis parameters, both the concrete columns are modeled with the
following material properties:

 Mechanical Properties:

 Grade of concrete: M25

 Young's modulus, E = 25,000 MPa
 Poisson's ratio (ν) = 0.20
 Density (ρ) = 2.4 × 10⁻⁶ kg/mm³
 Thermal Properties:

 Thermal conductivity (k) = 1.4 × 10⁻³ W/mm·°C

 Specific heat capacity (c) = 9 × 10⁵ mJ/kg·°C
 Coefficient of thermal expansion (α) = 10 × 10⁻⁶ per °C

4
  Zero-thermal-strain reference temperature = 295.15 K (22°C)
STEEL COMPONENT PROPERTIES (FE 345)
 Mechanical Properties:

 Young's modulus, E = 200,000 MPa

 Poisson's ratio (ν) = 0.30
 Density (ρ) = 7.85 × 10⁻⁶ kg/mm³
 Thermal Properties:

 Thermal conductivity (k) = 60.5 × 10⁻³ W/mm·°C

 Specific heat capacity (c) = 4.34 × 10⁵ mJ/kg·°C
 Coefficient of thermal expansion (α) = 12 × 10⁻⁶ per °C

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
SOLID CYLINDER ANALYSIS:
 Initial temperature: 100°C (uniform throughout the structure)
 Ambient temperature: 25°C (constant)
 Convection coefficient: 2 × 10⁻⁵ W/mm²·°C
 Analysis duration: 1829 seconds (30.48 minutes)
HOLLOW CYLINDER ANALYSIS:
 Initial temperature: 22°C (uniform throughout structure)
 Applied surface temperature: 100°C
 Ambient temperature: 22°C (constant)
 Convection coefficient: 2 × 10⁻⁵ W/mm²·°C
 Analysis duration: 629 seconds (10.48 minutes)

GEOMETRIC MODEL AND MATERIAL CONFIGURATION

SOLID CYLINDER CONFIGURATION
The solid cylinder analysis involves a composite cylindrical structure:

 Steel cylinder: 150 mm diameter × 1000 mm height

 Concrete cylinder: 130 mm diameter × 1000 mm height (nested within steel)
 Contact interface: Bonded contact between steel and concrete surfaces
 Contact tolerance: 2.5556 mm with automatic scope mode
 Total volume: 1.7671 × 10⁷ mm³

5
  Total mass: 66.382 kg
HOLLOW CYLINDER CONFIGURATION
The hollow cylinder analysis involves a single-material structure:

 Concrete hollow cylinder: 150 mm outer diameter, 130 mm inner diameter × 1000 mm
height
 Wall thickness: 10 mm
 Total volume: 4.3982 × 10⁶ mm³
 Total mass: 10.556 kg

FINITE ELEMENT MESH GENERATION

Mesh Characteristics
Both structures are discretized using three-dimensional solid elements optimized for
coupled thermal-structural analysis:

SOLID CYLINDER (COMPOSITE):

 Total nodes: 17,349
 Total elements: 2,737
 Steel component: 15,617 nodes, 2,415 elements
 Concrete component: 1,732 nodes, 322 elements
HOLLOW CYLINDER:
 Total nodes: 15,617
 Total elements: 2,415
 Single material: Concrete M25
 Mesh Controls

 Physics preference: Mechanical

 Element order: Program controlled
 Element type: 3D thermal solid elements suitable for transient analysis
 Mesh quality: Aggressive mechanical error limits with target quality of 5.0 × 10⁻²
 Sizing method: Adaptive sizing with default resolution
 Mesh defeaturing: Enabled
 Transition: Fast with coarse span angle center
 Quality checking: Enabled with error detection

6
ANALYSIS SETUP AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
THERMAL ANALYSIS CONFIGURATION (TRANSIENT THERMAL A5)
SOLID CYLINDER CONFIGURATION:
 Analysis type: Transient thermal
 Number of steps: 30
 Step end time: 1800 seconds
 Auto time stepping: Enabled (30s initial, 3s minimum, 30s maximum)
 Initial temperature: 100°C uniform
 Boundary condition: Convective cooling to 25°C ambient
HOLLOW CYLINDER CONFIGURATION:
 Analysis type: Transient thermal
 Number of steps: 30
 Step end time: 600 seconds
 Auto time stepping: Enabled (30s initial, 1s minimum, 30s maximum)
 Initial temperature: 22°C uniform
 Applied temperature: 100°C on one surface
 Boundary condition: Convective heat transfer to 22°C ambient

THERMAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

 Convective Heat Transfer:

 Applied to exposed cylindrical surfaces

 Convection coefficient: 2 × 10⁻⁵ W/mm²·°C
 Ambient temperature: Constant throughout analysis
 Heat transfer mechanism: Natural convection
 Contact Heat Transfer (SOLID CYLINDER ONLY):

 Thermal conductance: Program controlled between steel-concrete interface

 Contact formulation: Bonded with automatic detection

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS CONFIGURATION (STATIC STRUCTURAL B5)

 Support Conditions:

 Fixed support applied to bottom faces (2 faces)

 Top surfaces: Free to expand thermally

7
  Thermal strain effects: Enabled
 Load Application:

 Imported body temperature from transient thermal analysis

 Source environment: Transient Thermal (A5)
 Data interpolation: Mechanical results transfer
 Temperature mapping: End time conditions

SOLUTION METHODOLOGY
COMPUTATIONAL APPROACH
HEAT TRANSFER GOVERNING E QUATION

The transient heat conduction equation solved is:

∂T/∂t = α (∇²T) + Q̇/(ρc)

Where:

 T = temperature (°C)
 α = thermal diffusivity (mm²/s)
 ∇² = Laplacian operator
 Q̇ = internal heat generation (W/mm³)
 ρ = density (kg/mm³)
 c = specific heat capacity (mJ/kg·°C)

Convective Boundary Condition

-k(∂T/∂n) = h(T_surface - T_ambient)

Where:

 k = thermal conductivity (W/mm·°C)

 h = convection coefficient (W/mm²·°C)
 n = surface normal direction
SOLUTION STRATEGY
THERMAL ANALYSIS PHASE:
1. Initialization: Apply uniform 100°C temperature to all nodes
2. Transient solution: Solve heat transfer with convective cooling
3. Time integration: Implicit scheme with automatic time stepping

8
 4. Convergence criteria: Temperature and heat flux convergence
5. Results storage: All time points for subsequent structural analysis
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS PHASE:
1. Temperature import: Map the final temperature distribution from thermal analysis
2. Thermal stress calculation: Compute stresses due to temperature gradients
3. Deformation analysis: Determine structural response to thermal loading
4. Contact consideration: Account for differential expansion between materials

ANALYSIS CASES AND RESULTS EXTRACTION

SOLID CYLINDER ANALYSIS CASES

Case 1: Cooling Process

 Initial condition: 100°C uniform temperature

 Boundary condition: Constant 25°C ambient with convection
 Duration: 1829 seconds of cooling analysis
Case 2: Thermal Stress Analysis

 Temperature field: Final state from transient thermal analysis

 Structural response: Static analysis with imported temperature loading
 Support conditions: Fixed base with free thermal expansion

HOLLOW CYLINDER ANALYSIS CASES

Case 1: Heating Process

 Initial condition: 22°C uniform temperature

 Boundary condition: 100°C surface temperature with convective cooling
 Duration: 629 seconds of heating analysis
 Focus: Single-material thermal expansion behaviour
Case 2: Thermal Stress Analysis

 Temperature field: Final state from transient thermal analysis

 Structural response: Static analysis with imported temperature loading
 Support conditions: Fixed base with free thermal expansion

9
OUTPUT PARAMETERS
Both analyses provide comprehensive results, including:

THERMAL RESULTS:
 Temperature distribution contours throughout cooling process
 Heat flux magnitude and direction
 Time-temperature history at critical locations
 Thermal gradients between steel and concrete components
STRUCTURAL RESULTS:
 Total deformation patterns due to thermal expansion/contraction
 Equivalent (von-Mises) stress distribution
 Equivalent elastic strain fields
 Interface stresses between dissimilar materials (solid cylinder)

VALIDATION AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

SOLUTION VERIFICATION
 Convergence monitoring: Heat flux and temperature convergence tracking
 Time step control: Automatic adjustment for solution stability
 Contact verification: Interface heat transfer validation
 Material property consistency: Temperature-dependent property consideration

RESULTS VALIDATION
 Energy balance: Total energy conservation verification
 Physical reasonableness: Temperature gradients and cooling rates assessment
 Stress level evaluation: Comparison with material strength limits
 Mesh independence: Solution sensitivity to element size
 Geometric effect Validation: Solid vs. hollow behaviour comparison.
This comprehensive methodology ensures accurate prediction of the thermal behaviour
and structural response of the composite concrete-steel cylindrical column and hollow concrete
cylindrical column under ambient cooling conditions, providing essential comparative data for
thermal design optimization and safety assessment.

10
RESULT & DISCUSSION

CASE – 1: SOLID CONCRETE CYLINDER ENCLOSED WITH STEEL CASING.

GEOMETRY

Figure 1: Geometry of Composite Cylinder

MODEL
Assigning materials to the structure and generating mesh

Figure 2: Meshing of Composite Cylinder

11
TRANSIENT THERMAL
Temperature Evolution
The solid cylinder demonstrated a controlled cooling process from an initial 100°C to
ambient conditions. The final temperature distribution showed:

 Minimum temperature: 71.414°C (Steel component)

 Maximum temperature: 88.963°C (Concrete core)
 Average temperature: 72.199°C
 Temperature differential: 17.549°C between steel and concrete components
The steel component, due to its higher thermal conductivity (60.5 × 10⁻³ W/mm·°C vs. 1.4 ×
10⁻³ W/mm·°C for concrete), cooled more rapidly and served as a thermal bridge, facilitating
heat extraction from the concrete core.

Figure 3: Temperture Flow of Composite Cylinder

Figure 4: Temperature vs. Time

12
Heat Transfer Characteristics:

 Heat flux range: 2.0034 × 10⁻⁵ to 2.5693 × 10⁻³ W/mm²

 Average heat flux: 9.5031 × 10⁻⁴ W/mm²
 Peak heat flux: Occurred during initial cooling phase, decreasing exponentially over time

Figure 5: Total Heat Flux of Composite Cylinder

Figure 6: Total Heat Flux vs. Time

13
Thermal results were imported into the Static Structural module.

Figure 7: Imported Body Temperature

STATIC STRUCTURAL
The cylinder bottom was constrained to avoid rigid body motion, while other surfaces were
free.

Figure 8: Fixed Support at one end

14
SOLID CYLINDER T HERMAL STRESS RESPONSE
Deformation Characteristics:

 Maximum deformation: 0.60082 mm (concrete component)

 Average deformation: 0.30522 mm
 Deformation pattern: Axial expansion with maximum at free end

Figure 9: Total Deformation of Composite Cylinder

Stress Distribution:

 Maximum equivalent stress: 287.21 MPa (concrete component)

 Steel maximum stress: 276.61 MPa (along radial path)
 Average equivalent stress: 6.115 MPa
 Stress concentration: Interface between steel and concrete due to differential thermal
expansion (α_steel = 12×10⁻⁶/°C vs. α_concrete = 10×10⁻⁶/°C)

Figure 10: Equivalent Stress Distribution of Composite Cylinder

15
Strain Analysis:

 Maximum equivalent strain: 1.4364 × 10⁻³ mm/mm (steel component)

 Concrete maximum strain: 1.3831 × 10⁻³ mm/mm
 Interface compatibility: Maintained through bonded contact formulation

Figure 11: Equivalent Strain of Composite Cylinder

This graph displays the normalized variation of equivalent stress and equivalent elastic
strain along the length of a solid concrete cylinder with a steel casing subjected to thermal
and structural loading conditions. The x-axis represents the length in meters, while the y-
axis shows normalized values for both equivalent stress and equivalent elastic strain.

Figure 12: Stress vs. Strain

16
CASE – 2: HOLLOW CONCRETE COLUMN
GEOMETRY

Figure 13: Geometry of Hollow Cylinder

MODEL
Assigning materials to the structure and generating mesh

Figure 14: Mesh representation of Hollow Cylinder

17
TRANSIENT THERMAL
Temperature Evolution
The hollow cylinder exhibited a heating process from ambient 22°C with an applied surface
temperature of 100°C:

 Minimum temperature: 89.598°C (Inner surface at end of analysis)

 Maximum temperature: 100°C (Outer surface - applied condition)
 Average temperature: 94.586°C
 Temperature differential: 10.402°C across wall thickness

Figure 15: Temperature Distribution of Hollow Cylinder

Figure 16: Temperature vs. Time

18
Heat Transfer Characteristics:

 Heat flux range: 1.3416 × 10⁻³ to 1.5791 × 10⁻³ W/mm²

 Average heat flux: 1.4546 × 10⁻³ W/mm²
 Thermal response: Faster equilibration due to reduced thermal mass and single-material
system

Figure 17: Total Heat Flux of Hollow Cylinder

Figure 18: Total Heat Flux vs. Time

19
Thermal results were imported into the Static Structural module.

Figure 19: Imported Body Temperature

STATIC STRUCTURAL
The cylinder bottom was constrained to avoid rigid body motion, while other surfaces were
free.

Figure 20: Fixed Support at One End

20
SOLID CYLINDER T HERMAL STRESS RESPONSE
Deformation Characteristics:

 Maximum deformation: 0.73179 mm

 Average deformation: 0.37171 mm
 Deformation pattern: Radial and axial expansion with geometric effects

Figure 21: Total Deformation of Hollow Cylinder

Stress Distribution:

 Maximum equivalent stress: 41.927 MPa

 Minimum equivalent stress: 1.5487 × 10⁻² MPa
 Average equivalent stress: 2.0387 MPa
 Radial stress variation: 19.225 MPa to 40.672 MPa along wall thickness

Figure 22: Equivalent Stress of Hollow Cylinder

21
Strain Analysis:

 Maximum equivalent strain: 1.68 × 10⁻³ mm/mm

 Minimum equivalent strain: 6.2453 × 10⁻⁶ mm/mm
 Strain gradient: Smooth distribution from inner to outer surface

Figure 23: Equivalent Strain of Hollow Cylinder

This graph displays the normalized variation of equivalent stress and equivalent elastic
strain along the length of a hollow concrete cylinder subjected to thermal and structural
loading conditions. The x-axis represents the length in meters, while the y-axis
shows normalized values for both equivalent stress and equivalent elastic strain.

Figure 24: Stress vs. Strain

22
This comprehensive analysis demonstrates that hollow concrete cylinders provide superior
thermal performance with significantly reduced thermal stresses, making them ideal for
applications requiring rapid thermal response and high thermal cycling durability, while solid
composite systems offer advantages in applications requiring thermal stability and enhanced
heat conduction capacity.

SUMMARY

The equivalent elastic strain (green curve) increases smoothly along the cylinder’s
length, indicating a gradual accumulation of thermal/mechanical deformation until
approximately 65 mm, after which a sudden jump occurs, followed by continued growth.

The equivalent (von-Mises) stress (red curve) remains low and nearly constant for
most of the length, with a sharp rise after 65 mm, peaking at the far end (75 mm). This
localized stress spike suggests concentrated thermal/mechanical effects, potentially due to
boundary conditions or material response.

Both curves are normalized, allowing direct shape comparison, but stress and strain
are physically different quantities and should be interpreted accordingly.

CONCLUSION

The hollow concrete cylinder exhibits smooth elastic straining over most of its length
under combined thermal and mechanical loads, with maximum stress and strain concentrated
near the endpoint.

The abrupt increases at the cylinder end are characteristic of boundary-driven effects,
where restricted displacement or heat flow induces localized high stress and deformation.

Overall, thermal loading leads to significant localized bending and deformation,

particularly near fixed boundaries, while the rest of the cylinder remains under lower stress
and deformation

23