Statistical analysis of climatic temperature variations in a RC building slab

Temperature variations influence the structures’behaviour, causing loss of strength in materials and thermal strain contributions in addition to the one associated with the actual state of stress. The problem is particularly important for structures characterized by large horizontal dimensions, e.g. floor slabs in seismic base isolated buildings where, to avoid problems in dynamic behaviour, the expansion joints are not present. In this paper, starting from a database of about 30,000 temperature measurements from sensors included in the concrete casts to realize a great structure in Naples (southern Italy), the trend of variations that may occur within the concrete structure generated from alternation of day and night and seasons (i.e., natural temperature variations) has been analyzed.