A reaction-diffusion modeling of carbonation process in self-compacting concrete

In this paper, a reaction-diffusion model of carbonation process in self-compacting concrete (SCC) was realized with a consideration of multi-field couplings. Various effects from environmental conditions, e.g. ambient temperature, relative humidity, carbonation reaction, were incorporated into a numerical simulation proposed by ANSYS. In addition, the carbonation process of SCC was experimentally investigated and compared with a conventionally vibrated concrete (CVC). It is found that SCC has a higher carbonation resistance than CVC with a comparable compressive strength. The numerical solution analysis agrees well with the test results, indicating that the proposed model is appropriate to calculate and predict the carbonation process in SCC. The parameters sensitivity analysis also shows that the carbon dioxide diffusion coefficient and moisture field are essentially crucial to the carbonation process in SCC.