Prediction of initiation time of corrosion in RC using meshless methods

Abstract

Degradation of reinforced concrete (RC) structures due to chloride penetration followed by reinforcement corrosion has been a serious problem in civil engineering for many years. The numerical simulation methods at present are mainly finite element method (FEM) and finite difference method (FDM), which are based on mesh. Mesh generation in engineering takes a long time. In the present article, the numerical solution of chloride transport in concrete is analyzed using radial point interpolation method (RPIM) and element-free Galerkin (EFG). They are all meshless methods. RPIM utilizes radial polynomial basis, whereas EFG uses the moving least-square approximation. A Galerkin weak form on global is used to attain the discrete equation, and four different numerical examples are presented. MQ function and appropriate parameters have been proposed in RPIM. Numerical simulation results are compared with those obtained from the finite element method (FEM) and analytical solutions. Two case of chloride transport in full saturated and unsaturated concrete are analyzed to test the practical applicability and performance of the RPIM and EFG. A good agreement is obtained among RPIM, EFG, and the experimental data. It indicates that RPIM and EFG are reliable meshless methods for prediction of chloride concentration in concrete structures.