Simulation of chloride diffusion tests in cement paste and mortar made with CEM II and CEM VI cements.

We developed a simplified coupled model to simulate the chloride ingress of cement paste and mortar fabricated with CEM II/C-M (S-LL) and CEM VI (S-V) cements. Diffusion of chloride, calcium, sodium, potassium, sulphate and hydroxyl ions is considered, resulting in a set of coupled mass balance equations. Source and sink terms are introduced to represent the dissolution/precipitation processes due to leaching, and interactions between free chloride and hydrated phases are considered through binding isotherm curves. Electrodiffusion phenomenon is introduced through a modified Poisson equation to enforce local electroneutrality. The model is applied to simulate bulk diffusion tests with exposure solutions containing NaCl, and NaCl + KOH to reduce leaching. The main features observed experimentally are correctly reproduced: a higher chloride content is predicted for the materials made with CEM II binder, and a much clearer peaking behavior near the exposed surface is predicted in the case of NaCl exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]