Vieillard P, Tajeddine L, Gailhanou H, Blanc P, Lassin A and Gaboreau S
Thermoanalytical techniques, including differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), are considered as a way to determine the temperature history of concrete after fire exposure. TGA is essentially a means of observing the weight evolution of a sample as a function of temperature (dynamic heating) or time (isothermal heating). In its simplest form, the instrument used consists of a sensitive balance and a furnace arranged such that the sample holder sits inside the furnace. The system includes a thermocouple to monitor the sample temperature and a heating controller to maintain a constant temperature or change the temperature in a pre-determined fashion. DTA compares the temperature of a sample with that of a suitable reference material while both materials are heated at the same rate. Any difference in temperature between the two materials is detected by thermocouples whose signal is proportional to âT. To maintain the sample and reference material under similar conditions, both materials are embedded in a block of material with a large thermal mass. In theory, the temperature change in the sample should be proportional to the enthalpy change.