Mesoscale Approach for Simulating Chloride Diffusion in Concrete Subjected to Frost Damage

Author(s): Licheng Wang
Paper category: Proceedings
Book title: 3rd International RILEM Conference on Microstructure Related Durability of Cementitious Composites
Editor(s): Changwen Miao, Wei Sun, Jiaping Liu, Huisu Chen, Guang Ye and Klaas van Breugel
Print-ISBN: 978-2-35158-188-9
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-189-6
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2016
Pages: 323-330
Total Pages : 8
Language : English

Abstract: For concrete structures exposed to frost attack, cracks or microcracks induced by freezethaw cycling can format interconnecting flow paths and allow more water or chloride ions to penetrate into the bulk concrete. It will subsequently facilitate further deterioration of concrete structures and accelerate the corrosion of embedded reinforced steel bars. Recently, it has been realized that cracks can significantly accelerate the ingress of chlorides into concrete since they can offer additional flow channels and allow more chlorides to penetrate.
Thereafter, it is important to investigate the effect of cracking on the transport property of chlorides in concrete in order to allow relatively accurate prediction of durability and service life of concrete structures.
In this paper, the lattice network model on mesoscopic composite structure of concrete,
implying that concrete is described as coarse aggregate, mortar and the interface between them, is developed with purpose to evaluate the diffusion properties of cracked concrete. Two cases are considered: the sample has one single visible crack; the specimen suffered from frost attack with uniformly distributed microcracks. The calculation results show that single crack or microcracks can accelerate the diffusion speed of chloride ions, which is in good agreement with test findings.

Online publication : 2016
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros) : 0.00