Investigation of the reverse-seepage technique to enhance the chloride ion invasion resistance of rectangular section concrete: Experiments and numerical analysis.

[Display omitted] • Reverse water pressure eliminates the peak phenomenon in the convection zone. • Reverse-seepage technique weakens the chloride ion accumulation at the corner. • Arrangement scheme of the technique with rectangular cross-section is investigated. This paper looks at the application of the reverse-seepage technique in reinforced concrete (RC) structures with rectangular cross-sectional forms under chloride ion attack. Experiments and numerical analyses of the chloride invasion within rectangular section concrete which applied the reverse-seepage technique are performed. A two-dimensional convection–diffusion model of chloride is developed, which can be used to further investigate the effect of the shape of permeable tube arrangement and ratio of water permeable area. The results indicate that the reverse-seepage technique can greatly inhibit the chlorine accumulation effect in the corner of the rectangular cross-section under the effect of wetting–drying cycles. In addition, it is recommended that the water permeable area ratio should be set at about 0.6, and the permeable tubes should be arranged in a rectangular shape to improve the chloride ion intrusion resistance efficiency. These results have important implications for the further application of the new anti-chloride erosion technique in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]