Study on the Effect of Cracking Parameters on the Migration Characteristics of Chloride Ions in Cracked Concrete

In engineering, concrete often develops cracks due to various reasons, which accelerate the erosion rate of chloride ions in concrete and consequently expedite the degradation of the mechanical properties of concrete structures. This study simplifies the four-phase model into a two-phase model using homogenization methods. Based on this, numerical simulations are employed to investigate the influences of dimensionless structural parameters and material parameters of cracks on the equivalent diffusion coefficient of cracked concrete, and a theoretical model for the equivalent diffusion coefficient of cracked concrete is established according to Fick’s diffusion law. The research findings indicate that when cracks are positioned in the middle of the boundary through which chloride ions enter and exit the concrete, and the direction of the cracks is parallel to the diffusion direction of chloride ions; this scenario is the most detrimental to the durability of concrete. For n cracks (n ≥ 2), when they are parallel to the x-axis and symmetrical about the x-axis, and the spacing between cracks equals 1/n times the width of the concrete, this scenario is the most detrimental to the durability of concrete containing multiple cracks. Whether for a single crack or multiple cracks, when they are in the most unfavorable condition, the “parallel-then-series” theoretical model can accurately predict the equivalent diffusion coefficient of cracked concrete.

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