New insights into long-term chloride transport in unsaturated cementitious materials: Role of degree of water saturation

Concrete is rarely saturated. Reliable durability design of marine concrete structures requires a solid understanding of the long-term chloride transport in unsaturated concretes. This paper presents a critical analysis of the time-dependent chloride diffusion coefficient in unsaturated cementitious materials exposed to marine environment....

Dependence of unsaturated chloride diffusion on the pore structure in cementitious materials

Conceptual analysis is performed to examine the effects of pore features on the water continuity in unsaturated porous systems. The roles of pore features in relative chloride diffusion coefficient (D_rc) of mortar specimens at various degrees of water saturation (S_w) were studied based on mercury intrusion porosimetry...

A model for predicting the relative chloride diffusion coefficient in unsaturated cementitious materials

An analytical model for predicting the relative chloride diffusion coefficient in cementitious materials at different degrees of water saturation is presented in this paper. The model is developed based on the Nernst-Einstein equation and conductivity of cementitious electrolyte, as well as on moisture distribution in the pore structure. Good...

Non-saturated Chloride Diffusion in Sustainable Cementitious Materials

Chloride-induced reinforcement corrosion, caused by chloride diffusion in the unsaturated concrete cover, is a major durability problem of concrete structures. Current concepts for concrete mixture design and for service life prediction are generally based on the understanding of the chloride diffusion coefficient of saturated concrete. This...