Prediction of long-term chloride diffusion in silica fume concrete in a marine environment

Chloride-induced corrosion is the main factor in determining the durability and service life of the reinforced concrete structures exposed to marine environments. Recognition of chloride diffusion phenomenon in concrete and developing a prediction model that can estimate the service life of the concrete structures subject to long-term exposure is vital for aggressive marine environments. The present study focuses on developing such a prediction model of chloride diffusion coefficient for silica fume concrete under long-term exposure to a durability site located in the southern region of Iran. All investigations are based on 16 concrete mix designs containing silica fume with variable water-to-binder ratios exposed to sea water for maximum period of 60 months. This empirical model is developed by applying regression analysis based on Fick’s second law on the experimental results and is compared with previous studies in this area. This comparison indicates that the predicted chloride diffusion coefficient level is within a ±25% error margin in the specimens. The results indicate that reducing the water-to-binder ratio and adding the silica fume to a dosage of 10% reduces the chloride diffusion coefficient in concrete. This study also confirms that the chloride diffusion coefficient increases with temperature and decreases over time.