ABSTRACT
Corrosion of steel reinforcements in concrete constructions is a worldwide problem. To assess the degradation of rebars in reinforced concrete, an accurate description of electric current, potential and concentrations of various species present in the concrete matrix is necessary. Although the concrete matrix is a heterogeneous porous material with intricate microstructure, mass transport has been treated in a homogeneous material so far, modifying bulk transport coefficients by additional factors (porosity, constrictivity, tortuosity), which led to so-called effective coefficients (e.g., diffusivity). This study presents an approach where the real 3D microstructure of concrete is obtained from high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (XCT), processed to generate a mesh for finite element method (FEM) computations, and finally combined with a multi-species system of transport and electric potential equations. This methodology allows for a more realistic description of ion movements and reactions in the bulk concrete and on the rebar surface and, consequently, a better evaluation of anodic and cathodic currents, ultimately responsible for the loss of reinforcement mass and its location. The results of this study are compared with a state-of-the-art model and numerical calculations for 2D and 3D geometries.
ABSTRACT
A non-equilibrium diffusion-reaction model is proposed to describe chloride transport and binding in cementitious materials. A numerical solution for this non-linear transport with reaction problem is obtained using the finite element method. The effective chloride diffusion coefficients and parameters of the chloride binding are determined using the inverse method based on a diffusion-reaction model and experimentally measured chloride concentrations. The investigations are performed for two significantly different cements: ordinary Portland and blast furnace cements. The results are compared with the classical diffusion model and appropriate apparent diffusion coefficients. The role of chloride binding, with respect to the different binding isotherms applied, in the overall transport of chlorides is discussed, along with the applicability of the two models. The proposed work allows the determination of important parameters that influence the longevity of concrete structures. The developed methodology can be extended to include more ions, electrostatic interactions, and activity coefficients for even more accurate estimation of the longevity.
ABSTRACT
The influence of CaO/SiO2 molar ratio of calcium aluminosilicate glasses on resulting structure and reactivity was investigated. Chemical compositions of glasses were chosen to mimic the composition of the fly ash and slag amorphous phase. Understanding the reactivity of these materials is of high importance allowing further development of the composite cements to limit the environmental footprint of cement industry. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy were employed to examine the structure of glasses. Reactivity of the glasses was analyzed on paste samples after 1, 2, 7, 28 and 90days of curing by means of thermogravimetry (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR. Spectroscopic results emphasize dependence of the structure on the chemical composition of the glasses. The higher CaO/SiO2 the more depolymerized the glass network is, though there is no direct correlation with the reactivity. Significant differences in reactivity is observed primarily between the glasses of peraluminous (CaO/Al2O3<1) and percalcic region (CaO/Al2O3>1). Amongst the pastes made of glasses of percalcic region a higher degree of reaction at later ages is observed for the paste containing glass of lower CaO/SiO2 molar ratio. This is due to both degree of depolimerization and the nature of these glasses (pozzolanic and hydraulic materials). No difference of degree of reaction has been observed within the glasses of CaO/SiO2 lower than 1.
ABSTRACT
Calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H) have a large number of structural sites available for cations and anions to bind. The C-S-H phases are materials which have ability to toxic ions immobilization. Immobilization mechanisms for C-S-H include sorption, phase mixing, substitution and precipitation of insoluble compounds. This study presents the C-S-H (prepared with C/S ratios 1.0) phase as absorbent for immobilization of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr ions. The C-S-H spectra before and after incorporation of heavy metals ions into the C-S-H structure were obtained. The effect of added heavy metals ions on the hydration phenomena was studied by means of X-ray diffractions analysis. FTIR spectra was measured. The microstructure and phase composition of C-S-H indicate that they can play an essential role in the immobilization of heavy metals. The properties of C-S-H in the presence of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr cations were studied. The leaching ML test was used to evaluate the level of immobilization of heavy metals in C-S-H. The leached solutions are diluted and analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and the activated solid particles are separated, washed, desiccated and analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. It was found that the degree of Cd, Zn, Pb and Cr cations immobilization was very high (exceeding 99.96%).
