Analysis of Chloride Diffusion in Cracked Concrete

Abstract

This paper presents a model for chloride diffusion in cracked concrete. This numerical model includes two parts: hydration model and chloride diffusion model. The hydration model starts with mix proportion of concrete and considers both Portland cement hydration and pozzolanic activity. By hydration model, the evolution of properties of cement paste is described as function of curing age. Furthermore, based on general effective media theory and composite spheres assemblage model, the effective diffusivity of chloride ions in concrete without crack is obtained. Finally based on crack distribution in cracked concrete and finite element methods, the diffusion of chloride ions in cracked concrete is predicted. The prediction results agree well with experiment results.