Numerical Simulation on Chloride Ion Transport in Concrete under Freeze-Thaw Cycles by Considering Multi-Field Coupling

doi:10.16552/j.cnki.issn1001-1625.2026.0279

Abstract

Abstract:

Concrete in service is often subjected to various harsh environments， including freeze-thaw cycles， alternate wetting and drying and chloride ion corrosion. Consequently， the issues of chloride salt erosion in concrete gradually become prominent and attract a lot of attention in recent years， since it acts as a serious threaten to the service life of concrete materials. Once freeze-thaw cycles happen， a periodic variation in the temperature does not only induce the transition of water into ice， but also results in a damaged pore structure and occurred water convection phenomenon. On one hand， the changes in temperature can directly affect the diffusion rate of chloride ion. On the other hand， the pore ice would block the transport channels of chloride ion， while the water convection effect induced by pore pressure and cryosuction pressure could promote the movement of chloride ion as well. Moreover， the aggregates of arbitrary shape in concrete also have a significant influence on the transport of chloride ion. Unfortunately， existing studies often simply treat concrete as a homogeneous material， and its actual shape on chloride ion transport is just ignored. Hence， in order to reveal the mechanism of chloride ion transport in concrete under multi-field coupling effects during freeze-thaw cycles， the morphological characteristics of real aggregates and multi-field coupling effects during freeze-thaw cycles should be all taken into account.In this work， a three-phase concrete model at meso-scale was first built in which irregular aggregate packing structure was carefully considered. A multiphysics numerical simulation method was then employed to study the chloride transport process in concrete under different conditions. The model’s accuracy and applicability were compared to experimental results and a good agreement was observed in case the gradient distributions of temperature and pore ice content during freeze-thaw cycles， along with the water convection effect were taken into account. Afterwards， the influences of the number of freeze-thaw cycles， temperature range， freeze-thaw time ratio and salt solution concentration on the behavior of chloride ion transport were further investigated.The results show a damaged pore structure caused by freeze-thaw effect after 100 cycles enables the specimen’s chloride ion diffusion coefficient to be enlarged by 34.40 times. In case the water convection effect is neglected， the obtained chloride transport depth and average concentration in concrete are reduced by 5 mm and 1.16 times， respectively. Meanwhile， a wider temperature range and a higher freeze-thaw time ratio contribute to an increased temperature gradient inside concrete during thawing， thereby enhancing water flow velocity， but the latter can also diminish the blocking effect of pore ice on transport path， so the chloride ion transport process is still facilitated. Although an increase in salt solution concentration would weaken the water convection effect， the chloride concentration gradient is raised and the formation of pore ice is inhibited， resulting in an elevated chloride ion transport rate.

Key words: concrete, freeze-thaw cycle, multi-field coupling, numerical simulation, water transport, chloride ion transport, durability

CLC Number:

TU528

LI Kai, GAO Changtian, SHI Caijun. Numerical Simulation on Chloride Ion Transport in Concrete under Freeze-Thaw Cycles by Considering Multi-Field Coupling[J]. BULLETIN OF THE CHINESE CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2026, 45(9): 3043-3054.

Figures/Tables 16

Fig.1 Three-phase model for concrete at meso-scale

Fig.2 Transport process of chloride ions under freeze-thaw cycles

Table 1 Experimental parameters for chloride ion diffusion under freeze-thaw cycles

Experiment

Specimen dimension/mm³

W/C

Particle size

range/mm

Freeze-thaw temperature/℃

Freeze-thaw

time

NaCl solution concentration

（mass fraction）/%

Number of freeze-thaw cycles

Liao et al^［5］

100

×

100

×

Freeze 12 h + thaw 12 h

3.5

Sun et al ^［17］

100

×

100

×

Freeze 2 h + thaw 2 h

5.0

Table 1 Experimental parameters for chloride ion diffusion under freeze-thaw cycles

Experiment

Specimen dimension/mm³

W/C

Particle size

range/mm

Freeze-thaw temperature/℃

Freeze-thaw

time

NaCl solution concentration

（mass fraction）/%

Number of freeze-thaw cycles

Liao et al^［5］

100

×

100

×

100

0.5

5~20

-12~22

Freeze 12 h + thaw 12 h

3.5

Sun et al ^［17］

100

×

100

×

100

0.4

5~16

-12~5

Freeze 2 h + thaw 2 h

5.0

Fig.3 Comparison of calculated chloride ion concentration distribution with experimental results

Fig.4 Distribution of chloride ion concentration and average concentration in concrete after various freeze-thaw cycles

Fig.5 Variations in tcp， γmp and fφ at various freeze-thaw cycles

Fig.6 Distribution of temperature in concrete at the lowest ambient temperature during a single cycle

Fig.7 Distribution of pore ice content in concrete at the lowest ambient temperature during a single cycle

Fig.8 Distribution of water flow velocity at melting stage during a single cycle

Fig.9 Distribution of chloride ion concentration and average concentration in specimens subjected to freeze-thaw cycles at different temperature ranges

Fig.10 Variations in fT??and fi during a single cycle

Fig.11 Changes in surface temperature and core temperature of specimens at different freeze-thaw time ratios

Fig.12 Distribution of water flow velocity of specimens during thawing stage at different freeze-thaw time ratios

Fig.13 Distribution of chloride ion concentration and average concentration in specimens after freeze-thaw cycle at different freeze-thaw time ratios

Fig.14 Distribution of water flow velocity in concrete during thawing stage exposed to NaCl solution with different concentrations

Fig.15 Distribution of chloride ion concentration and average concentration in concrete after freeze-thaw cycle exposed to NaCl solution with various concentrations

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