Title:
Chloride Ingress into Concrete in Saturated and Cyclic Wetting and Drying Environments
Author(s):
B. D. Miller and M. A. Miltenberger
Publication:
Symposium Paper
Volume:
221
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
471-482
Keywords:
chloride ingress; cyclic wetting and drying; silane sealer; sorption
DOI:
10.14359/13271
Date:
5/1/2004
Abstract:
Chloride ingress into concrete is commonly modeled using Fick's second law of diffusion. The common form of Fick's second law was derived for the boundary condition of one surface being in contact with a reservoir of constant concentration, such as the submerged portion of a marine seawall. However, in structures exposed to cyclic wetting and drying, this constant concentration boundary condition is not satisfied. Essentially, in cyclic exposures the surface concentration is not constant, but increases as a function of time. Chloride ingress occurs through sorption and diffusion in such exposures, but solely through diffusion in saturated environments. This paper compares the difference between chloride ingress in concrete exposed to cyclic wetting and drying environments with that of submerged concrete. This multi-year evaluation consisted of six different concrete mixtures, five of which contained different supplementary cementing materials. In addition, each concrete mixture was tested with and without a surface applied silane sealer. The results of these evaluations illustrate the relative rates of chloride ingress in the different environments and the effectiveness of supplementary cementing materials when combined with a silane sealer to reduce chloride ingress in cyclic exposures.