Research on the relationship between concrete linear expansion coefficient and gate pier’s endurance to cold shock

When the large-volume concrete structure of hydraulic engineering encounters a sudden drop in ambient temperature, the instantaneous temperature stress can easily cause the surface of the large-volume concrete to crack. Taking concrete pier as an example, ANSYS software is used in this paper to simulate the influence process of rainstorm or flood release, and sudden temperature drop on the surface tensile stress of the structure. At the same time, the variation range of tensile stress on pier surface produced by different linear expansion coefficients, temperature drops, and pier thickness is calculated. It is found that in the case of a sudden drop in ambient temperature, the thickness of the gate pier has little effect on the change of surface tensile stress, while the linear expansion coefficient has a great effect. Furthermore, the ability of concrete piers with different linear expansion coefficients to withstand heavy rain, flood discharge, and sudden temperature drop is obtained. The results can provide a certain reference for the selection of pier concrete raw materials under different climates and different reservoir water temperature conditions.