Finite Element Modeling and Experimental Study of Foam Concrete and Polystyrene Concrete

Predicting the physical and mechanical properties of polystyrene concrete is an important tool for determining its performance under various conditions. This article presents an experimental study and numerical modeling of polystyrene concrete under various types of loads: thermal and mechanical. The numerical model was developed in ANSYS in several stages. First, a foam concrete model was constructed in Materials Designer, and strength and thermal calculations were performed. The obtained data were entered into the polystyrene concrete model as input, polystyrene granules were added, and strength and thermal calculations were repeated. Using the Menetrey–Willam structural model, the numerical modeling sufficiently captured key mechanical properties of concrete. The parameters of the Menetrey–Willam model were adjusted based on experimental results from compression tests of foam concrete and polystyrene concrete. The results of numerical modeling, represented by stress and strain fields, allowed us to identify the dependence of thermal conductivity and compressive strength of polystyrene concrete on varying polystyrene granule contents. A comparison of the numerical analysis and experimental results showed good agreement. Errors in the obtained results were 6% for thermal conductivity and 7% for compressive strength. The resulting models revealed the characteristics of fracture sites, the relationship between structural changes, and the thermal and physical properties of polystyrene concrete, which can be used in the design of engineering structures.