Study of the environment factor from Fick’s and electrical resistivity models by simulation of chloride diffusivity prediction

Abstract

The penetration of chlorides in concrete is the main reason for the beginning of corrosion in reinforced concrete structures exposed to a marine environment, reducing their service life. This article proposes correlations between the surface chloride content ( Cs) of Fick’s model and the ambient factor ( kCl) of a resistivity model. Literature data for three types of cement were used to simulate chloride diffusivity: (1) CEM I 52.5 R; (2) CEM II/A-P 42.5 R (with 6%–20% of pozzolans); and (3) CEM type II (with 12% of pozzolans and 8% of silica fume). Concretes containing these cements were analyzed for different environmental conditions: atmosphere zone, seawater immersion, and tidal/splash zones. The surface chloride contents were determined by a combination of Fick’s and resistivity models. In this article, it was noticed that the estimated Cs value varies with the exposure class from 0.484% to 0.644% (total chloride concentration by weight of cement). An equation has been proposed to correlate Cs with the ambient factor kCl of the resistivity model.