Effective medium method for chloride diffusion coefficient of mature fly ash cement paste

Abstract

The chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete plays an essential role in the durability assessment and design of concrete structures built in chloride-laden environments. The purpose of this paper is to present an effective medium method (EMM) for evaluating the chloride diffusion coefficient of mature fly ash cement paste. In this method, a numerical method is used to estimate the degrees of hydration of cement and fly ash. Fly ash cement paste is then modeled as a two-phase composite material, composed of a solid phase and a pore space. By introducing the percolation theory, the EMM is modified to derive the chloride diffusion coefficient of fly ash cement paste in an analytical manner. To verify the EMM, a chloride diffusion test of fly ash cement paste at a curing age of up to 540 days is conducted. It is shown that, within a reasonable fly ash content, a larger fly ash content and/or curing age results in a smaller chloride diffusion coefficient. The chloride diffusion coefficient decreases with a decreasing water/binder ratio. Finally, the validity of the EMM is verified with experimental results.