The influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the Boundary Element Method

Abstract Reinforced concrete structures in coastal zones are subject to corrosion triggered by chloride ions. In contact with the concrete surface, such ions penetrate through the material’s porous microstructure, mainly by diffusion, and accumulate on the reinforcement’s surface, promoting a local...

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Main Authors: Vinícius de Barros Souza, Edson Denner Leonel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Brasileiro do Concreto (IBRACON) 2025-01-01
Series:Revista IBRACON de Estruturas e Materiais
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1983-41952025000100212&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Vinícius de Barros Souza
Edson Denner Leonel
author_facet Vinícius de Barros Souza
Edson Denner Leonel
author_sort Vinícius de Barros Souza
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Reinforced concrete structures in coastal zones are subject to corrosion triggered by chloride ions. In contact with the concrete surface, such ions penetrate through the material’s porous microstructure, mainly by diffusion, and accumulate on the reinforcement’s surface, promoting a local breakage of the passive layer. In the classic structural service life model, the time span between the structure’s exposure to chloride ions and the reinforcement depassivation is called corrosion initiation time, which may be drastically reduced in cracked concrete. Aiming to estimate the corrosion initiation time, this study uses the two-dimensional transient formulation of the Boundary Element Method (BEM) to model the chloride diffusion in reinforced concrete parts with pre-existing cracks. In this approach, different crack lengths are simulated using the subregion technique, whose crack thickness is not required. The reinforcements are represented by circular voids with nil flux in the boundary. In a rectangular beam cross-section, cracks up to 60 mm long were simulated from the concrete cover. Based on the cases studied, the influence of concrete cracking on corrosion initiation time is more significant for cracks over 20 mm long, although this result may vary depending on the position of the crack relative to the reinforcement.
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spelling doaj-art-cc5cd9074bd242bfa600963d9a5084332025-01-21T07:44:18ZengInstituto Brasileiro do Concreto (IBRACON)Revista IBRACON de Estruturas e Materiais1983-41952025-01-0118110.1590/s1983-41952025000800008The influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the Boundary Element MethodVinícius de Barros Souzahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7488-8055Edson Denner Leonelhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7842-0334 Abstract Reinforced concrete structures in coastal zones are subject to corrosion triggered by chloride ions. In contact with the concrete surface, such ions penetrate through the material’s porous microstructure, mainly by diffusion, and accumulate on the reinforcement’s surface, promoting a local breakage of the passive layer. In the classic structural service life model, the time span between the structure’s exposure to chloride ions and the reinforcement depassivation is called corrosion initiation time, which may be drastically reduced in cracked concrete. Aiming to estimate the corrosion initiation time, this study uses the two-dimensional transient formulation of the Boundary Element Method (BEM) to model the chloride diffusion in reinforced concrete parts with pre-existing cracks. In this approach, different crack lengths are simulated using the subregion technique, whose crack thickness is not required. The reinforcements are represented by circular voids with nil flux in the boundary. In a rectangular beam cross-section, cracks up to 60 mm long were simulated from the concrete cover. Based on the cases studied, the influence of concrete cracking on corrosion initiation time is more significant for cracks over 20 mm long, although this result may vary depending on the position of the crack relative to the reinforcement.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1983-41952025000100212&lng=en&tlng=encorrosion initiation timechloride diffusionreinforced concretecrackboundary element method
spellingShingle Vinícius de Barros Souza
Edson Denner Leonel
The influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the Boundary Element Method
Revista IBRACON de Estruturas e Materiais
corrosion initiation time
chloride diffusion
reinforced concrete
crack
boundary element method
title The influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the Boundary Element Method
title_full The influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the Boundary Element Method
title_fullStr The influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the Boundary Element Method
title_full_unstemmed The influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the Boundary Element Method
title_short The influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the Boundary Element Method
title_sort influence of cracks on the corrosion initiation time caused by chloride diffusion in concrete structures using the boundary element method
topic corrosion initiation time
chloride diffusion
reinforced concrete
crack
boundary element method
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1983-41952025000100212&lng=en&tlng=en
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