Model of chloride ingress into concrete in cold regions

Chloride ingress and freeze-thaw cycles are the most important mechanisms for deterioration of concrete in cold areas. In this study, chloride ingress into concrete that has been exposed to freeze-thaw cycles was investigated. Data demonstrated that freeze-thaw cycles allow for a larger effective diffusion coefficient. Based on our findings, the concept of a developing coefficient was defined to obtain the evolution equation of the effective diffusion coefficient. Together with considering the effect of aging of concrete on the effective diffusion coefficient, the time-dependent diffusion coefficient was also obtained. Based on Fick's second law and time-dependent diffusion coefficient, chloride ingress model of concrete in cold regions was derived. Finally, the model was tested by comparing predicted results, lab results, and in situ inspection data.