Service life prediction of concrete: Considerations of specimen conditioning and testing methods on the measurement of porosity and diffusion coefficient of chloride
Abstract
Chloride induced corrosion is one of the major causes behind the degradation of concrete materials. Service life models have been designed to predict the rate of chloride ingress and the time of corrosion initiation. Current service life models rely directly on the inputs of experimentally measured properties, such as porosity and diffusion coefficient of chloride. Therefore, the possible influence of various factors, such as specimen conditioning and testing methods, on the property measurements used for service life prediction need to be better understood. This thesis is a comprehensive investigation of the influence of specimen conditioning and testing methods on the measurements of porosity and diffusion coefficient of chloride. This study compares the porosity measurements obtained following the immersion and boiling method (ASTM C642-13), and the measurements using vacuum saturation. This study discusses the difference between diffusion coefficients of chloride obtained using Fick's second law (ASTM C1556-11) and using a Nernst-Planck approach, with particular regards to the influences of boundary conditions such as immersion duration, chloride concentration and co-present anions and cations. This study evaluates the impacts of accelerated curing (curing at an elevated temperature), the leaching of alkali species during wet curing, and the degree of saturation of air voids on the transport properties of cementitious materials. The results of this study demonstrate that both specimen conditioning and testing methods can alter the measured transport properties and consequently are necessary considerations during the service life predictions of concrete materials.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Handwerker, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Civil engineering
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