Mesoscopic simulation method of concrete carbonation process: Fid-Bau Portal

Mesoscopic simulation method of concrete carbonation process

Ruan, Xin / Pan, Zichao

Concrete structures in the atmosphere may suffer from the problem of steel corrosion induced by the carbonation process. Most of previous research on concrete carbonation problems has been performed on the macro-scale. These studies did not consider the influence of the aggregates, which should be involved on meso-scale. In order to extend the present studies on the problems of concrete carbonation from macro-scale to meso-scale, an improved method to simulate the random aggregate structure (RAS) in concrete has been proposed. This method can be divided into two steps: the process of RAS in a three-dimensional model, and the process of numerical analysis in a cross-section. In this method, the effect of the randomness on the results of RAS is analysed. Based on the mass conservation law and kinetic model of chemical reactions, a simplified numerical model of concrete carbonation is developed. The effect of the key parameters in this model such as effective diffusion coefficient of CO₂ and carbonation reaction constant is discussed. The comparison of the simulations of concrete carbonation process on macro-scale and meso-scale is discussed as well. Finally, an application of the method to determine the proper composition of concrete in the practical engineering is presented.