Quantifying Permeability, Electrical Conductivity, and Diffusion Coefficient of Rough Parallel Plates Simulating Cracks in Concrete
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 9
Abstract
Cracks in concrete accelerate mass transport and shorten the service life of structures. In this study, cracks were physically simulated using a Plexiglas parallel-plate setup with adjustable distance between the plates (to achieve various crack widths) and with two distinct crack wall roughness values. Transport properties of such simulated cracks were measured and linked to crack geometry. Saturated permeability and ion diffusion coefficient of cracks were measured using constant head permeability test, electrical migration test, and electrical impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the permeability coefficient of a crack is highly dependent on the crack width square, and to a lesser extent, on the crack tortuosity and wall surface roughness. The result of migration and impedance tests showed that crack diffusivity is only slightly affected by crack width and only for cracks tighter than 90 μm. Generally, crack diffusivity was found to be similar to the pore solution diffusivity, multiplied by a crack connectivity coefficient (); the latter can be measured from an electrical conductivity test.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
AASHTO. (1980). “Standard method of test for resistance of concrete to chloride ion penetration.” AASHTO T259, Washington, DC.
Akhavan, A., and Rajabipour, F. (2013). “Evaluating ion diffusivity of cracked cement paste using electrical impedance spectroscopy.” Mater. Struct., 46(5), 697–708.
Akhavan, A., Shafaatian, S. M. H., and Rajabipour, F. (2012). “Quantifying the effects of crack width, tortuosity, and roughness on water permeability of cracked mortars.” Cem. Concr. Res., 42(2), 313–320.
Aldea, C. M., Shah, S. P., and Karr, A. (1999). “Effect of cracking on water and chloride permeability of concrete.” ASCE J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 181–187.
Andrade, C. (1993). “Calculation of chloride diffusion coefficients in concrete from ionic migration measurements.” Cem. Concr. Res., 23(3), 724–742.
ASTM. (2003). “Standard test methods for measurement of hydraulic conductivity of saturated porous materials using a flexible wall permeameter.” ASTM D5084–03, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2010). “Standard test method for electrical indication of concrete’s ability to resist chloride ion penetration.” ASTM C1202-10, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2011). “Standard test method for determining the apparent chloride diffusion coefficient of cementitious mixtures by bulk diffusion.” ASTM C1556-11, West Conshohocken, PA.
Atkinson, A., and Nickerson, A. K. (1984). “The diffusion of ions through water-saturated cement.” J. Mater. Sci., 19(9), 3068–3078.
Buenfeld, N. R., and Newman, J. B. (1987). “Examination of three methods for studying ion diffusion in cement pastes, mortars and concrete.” Mater. Struct., 20(1), 3–10.
Castellote, M., Andrade, C., and Alonso, C. (2001). “Measurement of the steady and non-steady-state chloride diffusion coefficients in a migration test by means of monitoring the conductivity in the anolyte chamber. Comparison with natural diffusion tests.” Cem. Concr. Res., 31(10), 1411–1420.
Christensen, B. J., et al. (1994). “Impedance spectroscopy of hydrating cement-based materials: Measurement, interpretation, and application.” J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 77(11), 2789–2804.
De Marsily, G. (1986). Quantitative hydrogeology, Academic Press, San Diego.
Djerbi, A., Bonnet, S., Khelidj, A., and Baroghel-Bouny, V. (2008). “Influence of traversing crack on chloride diffusion into concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res., 38(6), 877–883.
Dresner, L. (1972). “Some remarks on the integration of the extended Nernst-Planck equations in the hyperfiltration of multicomponent solutions.” Desalination, 10(1), 27–46.
Dullien, F. A. L. (1992). Porous media: Fluid transport and pore structure, 2nd Ed., Academic Press, New York.
El-Dieb, A. S., and Hooton, R. D. (1995). “Water-permeability measurement of high performance concrete using a high-pressure triaxial cell.” Cem. Concr. Res., 25(6), 1199–1208.
Gérard, B., Breysse, D., Ammouche, A., Houdusse, O., and Didry, O. (1996). “Cracking and permeability of concrete under tension.” Mater. Struct., 29(3), 141–151.
Halamickova, P., Detwiler, R. J., Bentz, D. P., and Garboczi, E. J. (1995). “Water permeability and chloride ion diffusion in portland cement mortars: Relationship to sand content and critical pore diameter.” Cem. Concr. Res., 25(4), 790–802.
Ismail, M., Toumi, A., Francois, R., and Gagné, R. (2004). “Effect of crack opening on the local diffusion of chloride in inert materials.” Cem. Concr. Res., 34(4), 711–716.
Jang, S. Y., Kim, B. S., and Oh, B. H. (2011). “Effect of crack width on chloride diffusion coefficients of concrete by steady-state migration tests.” Cem. Concr. Res., 41(1), 9–19.
Kato, E., Kato, Y., and Uomoto, T. (2005). “Development of simulation model of chloride ion transportation in cracked concrete.” J. Adv. Concr. Technol., 3(1), 85–94.
Katz, A. J., and Thompson, A. H. (1986). “Quantitative prediction of permeability in porous rock.” Phys. Rev. B, 34(11), 8179–8181.
Konin, A., François, R., and Arliguie, G. (1998). “Penetration of chlorides in relation to the microcracking state into reinforced ordinary and high strength concrete.” Mater. Struct., 31(5), 310–316.
Locogne, P., Massat, M., Ollivier, J. P., and Richet, C. (1992). “Ion diffusion in microcracked concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res., 22(2–3), 431–438.
Louis, C. (1974). “Introductionàl’hydrauliquedesroches.” Bull BRGM Série 2, Editions B.R.G.M., Paris, Vol. 4, 283–356 (in French).
Ludirdja, D., Berger, R. L., and Young, J. (1989). “Simple method for measuring water permeability of concrete.” ACI Mater. J., 86(5), 433–439.
MacDonald, K. A., and Northwood, D. O. (1995). “Experimental measurements of chloride ion diffusion rates using a two-compartment diffusion cell: Effects of material and test variables.” Cem. Concr. Res., 25(7), 1407–1416.
Nokken, M. R., and Hooton, R. D. (2008). “Using pore parameters to estimate permeability or conductivity of concrete.” Mater. Struct., 41(1), 1–16.
NT BUILD. (1995). “Concrete, hardened: Accelerated chloride penetration.” NT BUILD 443, Nordtest, Espoo, Finland.
NT BUILD. (1997). “Chloride diffusion coefficient from migration cell experiments.” NT BUILD 355, Nordtest, Espoo, Finland.
Page, C., Short, N. R., and El Tarras, A. (1981). “Diffusion of chloride ions in hardened cement pastes.” Cem. Concr. Res., 11(3), 395–406.
Picandet, V., Khelidj, A., and Bellegou, H. (2009). “Crack effect on gas and water permeability of concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res., 39(6), 537–547.
Pour-Ghaz, M., Rajabipour, F., Couch, J., and Weiss, J. (2009). “Modeling fluid transport in cementitious systems with crack-like (notch) geometries.” Proc., Int. RILEM Workshop on Concrete Durability and Service Life Planning, Bagneux, France.
Powers, T. C., Copeland, L. E., Hayes, J. C., and Mann, H. M. (1954). “Permeability of portland cement paste.” J. Am. Concr. Inst., 51(11), 285–298.
Rajabipour, F. (2006). “In situ electrical sensing and material health monitoring of concrete structures.” Ph.D. dissertation, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN.
Rajabipour, F., and Weiss, J. (2008). “Parameters affecting the measurements of embedded electrical sensors for concrete health monitoring applications.”, American Concrete Institute (ACI) Spring Convention, Los Angeles.
Reinhardt, H. W. (1997). Penetration and permeability of concrete: Barriers to organic and contaminating liquids, RILEM Technical Committee, London.
Snow, D. T. (1969). “Anisotropie permeability of fractured media.” Water Resour. Res., 5(6), 1273–1289.
Snyder, K. A. (2001). “Validation and modification of the 4SIGHT computer program.” NIST-IR 6747, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.
Tong, L., and Gjørv, OE. (2001). “Chloride diffusivity based on migration testing.” Cem. Concr. Res., 31(7), 973–982.
Truc, O., Ollivier, J. P., and Carcassès, M. (2000). “A new way for determining the chloride diffusion coefficient in concrete from steady state migration test.” Cem. Concr. Res., 30(2), 217–226.
Tsukamoto, M., and Wörner, J.-D. (1991). “Permeability of cracked fibre-reinforced concrete: Darmstadt concrete.” Ann. J. Concr Concr. Struct., 6, 123–135.
USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). (1992). “Standard test method for water permeability of concrete.” CRD-C48-92, Washington, DC.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 31, 2016
Accepted: Feb 2, 2017
Published online: May 10, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Oct 10, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.