Coupled model on the variation of diffusion coefficient and surface chloride concentration in reinforced concrete structures over time

Abstract

Durability analyses and service life estimates of structures in a marine environment can be developed through the modeling of chloride concentration profiles. However, as surface chloride concentration and diffusion coefficient vary over time, especially due to the cement hydration process, modeling chloride profiles from structures with recent degradation ages requires an adjustment for the temporal dependence of these two physical parameters. The variation of the surface chloride concentration (Cs) as a function of time tends to show an increasing asymptotic behavior, while the diffusion coefficient (D) has a decreasing asymptotic tendency. For this reason, the power function, usually used to describe the diffusion coefficient, has problems for advanced ages, while the exponential function has difficulties at recent ages. Therefore, the key issue in this problem is the rate of change of Cs and D over time. This article presents the development of a single time-dependence model to simultaneously describe the decrease in D and the increase in Cs over time. The coupled model is a piecewise-defined function, with continuity of the function and its first derivative in the transition time between recent ages and more advanced ages, defined as 10 years. To validate the new model, data from structures under natural degradation were used. The results demonstrated the applicability of the coupled model with individual adjustments of the exponent α, which implicitly represents material properties and environmental parameters. However, in the absence of sufficient information, a standard α exponent of 0.25 per year can be adopted, demonstrating a moderate to strong adherence of the coupled model to the Cs and D data over time. Three stages of temporal dependence were identified: I – up to 10 years: marked increase in Cs and decrease in D over time; II – between 10 and 25 years: decrease in the variation rate of Cs and D; and III – from 25 years: stabilization of Cs and D.