Quantification of compression induced damage and its effect on the chloride transport in structural concrete

Abstract

Damage is inevitable in the reinforced concrete (RC) structures under various mechanical loads, which has a significant effect on the chloride diffusion. To predict the service life of RC structures in marine environment, it is essential to clarify the impact of damage extent on the chloride transport in concrete. For this objective, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on the concrete specimens to create various extents of damage. The ultrasound velocity and the residual strain was measured to characterize the evolution of damage. Afterward, a non-steady state migration method was employed to evaluate the diffusivity of sound and damaged concretes. On the basis of damage mechanics, the damage variables were quantified by the increase of residual strain and the degradation of ultrasound velocity. A linear relationship can be used to correlate the residual strain based damage with the ultrasound velocity based damage. The chloride diffusivity relates well with the damage extent in concrete. An exponential function can be employed to correlate the relative increase of chloride diffusivity with the damage extent.