Temperature effect on multi-ionic species diffusion in saturated concrete

This study presents the mathematical model for predicting chloride penetration into saturated concrete under non-isothermal condition. The model considers not only diffusion mechanism but also migration process of chloride ions and other chemical species in concrete pore solution such as sodium, potassium, and hydroxyl ions. The coupled multi-ionic transport in concrete is described by the Nernst-Planck equation associated with electro-neutrality condition. The coupling parameter taken into account the effect of temperature on ion diffusion obtained from available test data is proposed and explicitly incorporated in the governing equations. The coupled transport equations are solved using the finite element method. The numerical results are validated with available experimental data and the comparison shows a good agreement.