Modeling influence of hysteretic moisture behavior on distribution of chlorides in concrete

Aggressive environmental conditions, such as exposure to the sea climate or use of de-icing salts, can have a considerable influence on the durability of reinforced concrete structures due to corrosion induced damage of reinforcement. Recently, the coupled 3D chemo-hygro-thermo-mechanical (CHTM) model for simulation of processes related to the chloride induced corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete was developed. In the model, it is assumed that for wetting and drying of concrete, the transport of water is controlled by a single sorption curve. However, it is well known that concrete exhibits a hysteretic moisture behaviour, which significantly influences the distribution of moisture and chlorides. To account for the hysteretic moisture behaviour of concrete and for simulating a more realistic time and space distribution of moisture, the CHTM model was further improved. The proposed hysteretic model is implemented into a 3D finite element code and it is validated using a numerical example, which shows reasonably good agreement with the available test results. Similar to what is observed in the experimental tests, it is shown that due to the wetting and drying of the concrete surface, the peak concentration of chloride moves progressively deeper into the concrete specimen. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.