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Evaluating the Chloride Absorption of Unsaturated Cover-Concrete Using Electrical Measurements

  • Structural Engineering
  • Published:
KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Aims and scope

Abstract

To avoid chloride induced corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete structures, it is firstly important that the chloride amount in cover concrete is quantified. This study investigates the influence of chlorides on the electrical conductivity of Portland cement concretes through a chloride absorption test conducted over a wide frequency range (10 H z–1 MHz). To this end, the concretes were exposed to 10% NaCl solution for up to 48 h. In addition to calculating the sorptivity of concrete, its electrical conductivity was de-embedded from the impedance measurements, fitted to the Jonscher equation to determine the bulk conductivity, and presented in the frequency domain to investigate the main conduction processes with chloride penetration. Further, chloride profiling was performed to quantify the chloride concentration and identify the transport behaviour within concrete. Ionic conduction was shown to be the main conduction process in concrete containing absorbed chlorides, and the amount of absorbed chlorides was shown to have a linear relationship with the conductivity. In addition, the acceptable frequency range for representing the bulk conductivity of Portland cement concretes was confirmed to be 450 Hz–1 kHz. Moreover, the moisture content was shown to be an important factor in the impedance measurement.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by a grant from “Development of state quantification technology for small and medium-sized concrete bridges (20210143-001)” funded by the Korea Institute of Civil engineering and building Technology (KICT), South Korea.

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  1. Dept. of Structural Engineering Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang, 10223, Korea

    Jaehwan Kim & Young-Jun You

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  1. Jaehwan Kim
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  2. Young-Jun You
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Correspondence to Jaehwan Kim.

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Kim, J., You, YJ. Evaluating the Chloride Absorption of Unsaturated Cover-Concrete Using Electrical Measurements. KSCE J Civ Eng 26, 1354–1364 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-021-5138-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-021-5138-8

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