Physical modeling of the electrical double layer effects on multispecies ions transport in cement-based materials

Abstract

The transport of ions through cement-based materials is described at a microscopic scale with a pore modeled by two infinitely large flat plates. The theory of the electrical double layer (EDL) shows that (i) the overlapping between the diffuse layers occurring in the pore is more important as the pore diameter will be small (low than the Debye length) and the pore walls will be strongly charged, (ii) the fluxes of coions and counterions will be respectively increased and attenuated in such pores. The gel pores of cement based materials have similar characteristics. As the capillary pores of the cement based materials with low porosity are connected between them by the pores gel, the transport of ions at a macroscopic scale could be greatly influenced by the overlapping effect of the diffuse layers.