Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.12989/cac.2016.18.3.367

A simple practical method for determination of moisture transfer coefficient of mature concrete using a combined experimental-numerical approach  

Chari, Mehdi Nemati (School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran)
Shekarchi, Mohammad (School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran)
Ghods, Pouria (Giatec Scientific Inc.)
Moradian, Masoud (School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Oklahoma State University)
Publication Information
Computers and Concrete / v.18, no.3, 2016 , pp. 367-388 More about this Journal
Abstract
In this paper, a simple practical method is introduced in which a simple weight measurement of concrete and finite element numerical analysis are used to determine the moisture transfer coefficient of concrete with a satisfactory accuracy. Six concrete mixtures with different water-to-cementitious material (w/cm) ratios and two pozzolanic materials including silica fume and zeolite were examined to validate the proposed method. The comparison between the distribution of the moisture content obtained from the model and the one from the experimental data during both the wetting and drying process properly validated the performance of the method.With the proposed method, it was also shown that the concrete moisture transfer coefficient considerably depends on the pore water saturation degree. The use of pozzolanic materials and also lowering w/cm ratio increased the moisture transfer coefficient during the initial sorption, and then, it significantly decreased with an increase in the water saturation degree.
Keywords
moisture transfer coefficient; numerical modeling; silica fume; wetting and drying; zeolite;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 3  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Sarkar, K. and Bhattacharjee, B. (2014), "Moisture distribution in concrete subjected to rain induced wetting-dryin", Comput. Concrete, 14(6), 635-656.   DOI
2 Shekarchi, M., Bonakdar, A., Bakhshi, M., Mirdamadi, A. and Mobasher, B. (2010), "Transport properties in metakaolin blended concrete", Constr. Build. Mater., 24(11), 2217-2223.   DOI
3 Valipour, M., Pargar, F., Shekarchi, M., Khani, S. and Moradian, M. (2013), "In situ study of chloride ingress in concretes containing natural zeolite, metakaolin and silica fume exposed to various exposure conditions in a harsh marine environment", Constr. Build. Mater., 46, 63-70.   DOI
4 Wang, B.X. and Fang, Z.H. (1988), "Water absorption and measurement of the mass diffusivity in porous media", Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 31(2), 251-257.   DOI
5 Wanga, L. and Ueda, T. (2011), "Mesoscale modeling of water penetration into concrete by capillary absorption", Ocean Eng., 38(4), 519-528.   DOI
6 West, R.P. and Holmes, N. (2001), "Experimental investigation of moisture migration in concrete", Proceedings of the Colloquium on Concrete Research, Ireland, September.
7 Xi, Y., Bazant, Z.P. and Jennings, H.M. (1994), "Moisture diffusion in cementitious materials adsorption isotherms", Adv. Cement Based Mater., 1(6), 248-257.   DOI
8 Xi, Y., Bazant, Z.P., Molina, L. and Jennings, H.M. (1994b), "Moisture diffusion in cementitious materials-Moisture capacity and diffusion", Adv. Cement Based Mater., 1(6), 258-266.   DOI
9 Yang, Z., Weiss, W.J. and Olek, J. (2006), "Water transport in concrete damaged by tensile loading and freeze-thaw cycling", J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 18(3), 424-434.   DOI
10 Yoo, J.H., Lee, H.S. and Ismail, M.A. (2011), "An analytical study on the water penetration and diffusion into concrete under water pressure", Constr. Build. Mater., 25(1), 99-108.   DOI
11 Zhang, W., Tong, F., Gu, X. and Xi, Y. (2015), "Study on moisture transport in concrete in atmospheric environment", Comput. Concrete, 16(5), 775-793.   DOI
12 Ahmadi, B. and Shekarchi, M. (2010), "Use of natural zeolite as a supplementary cementitious material", Cem. Concr. Compos., 32(2), 134-141.   DOI
13 Akita, H., Fujiwara, T. and Ozaka, Y. (1997), "A practical procedure for the analysis of moisture transfer within concrete due to drying", Mag. Concr. Res., 49(179), 129-137.   DOI
14 Aquino, W., Hawkins, N.M. and David, A.L. (2004), "Moisture distribution in partially enclosed concrete", ACI Mater. J., 101(4), 259-265.
15 Ayano, T. and Wittmann, F.H. (2002), "Drying, moisture distribution, and shrinkage of cement based materials", Mater. Struct., 35(3), 134-140.   DOI
16 Ba, M.F., Qian, C.X., and Gao, G.B. (2014), "Nonlinear calculation of moisture transport in underground concrete", Comput. Concrete, 13(3), 361-375.   DOI
17 Baroghel-Bouny, V., Thiéry, M. and Wang, X. (2011), "Modelling of isothermal coupled moisture-ion transport in cementitious materials", Cem. Concr. Res., 41(8), 828-841.   DOI
18 Bazant, Z.P. and Najjar, L.J. (1971), "Drying of concrete as a nonlinear diffusion problem", Cem. Concr. Res., 1(5), 461-473.   DOI
19 Brunauer, S., Emmett, P.H. and Teller, E. (1938), "Adsorption of gases in multimolecular layers", J. Am. Chem. Soc., 60(2), 309-319.   DOI
20 Bazant, Z.P. and Najjar, L.J. (1972), "Nonlinear water diffusion in nonsaturated concrete", Mater. Struct., 5(25), 3-20.
21 Buchwald, A. (2000), "Determination of the ion diffusion coefficient in moisture and salt loaded masonry materials by impedance spectroscopy", Proceedings of the Third international symposium, Vienna, Austria.
22 Carlier, J.P., Rougelot, T.H. and Burlion, N. (2012), "Performance evaluation of models describing sorption isotherm in cementitious materials between saturation and oven dryness", Constr. Build. Mater., 37, 58-66.   DOI
23 Carpenter, T.A., Davies, E.S., Hall, C., Hall, L.D., Hoff, W.D. and Wilson, M.A. (1993), "Capillary water migration in rock: process and material properties examined by NMR imaging", Mater. Struct., 26(5), 286-292.   DOI
24 Claisse, P.A., Eisayad, B.I. and Shaaban, I.G. (1997), "Absorption and sorptivity of cover concrete", J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 9(3), 105-110.   DOI
25 Conciatori, D., Bruhwiler, E. and Gysler, R. (2011), "Brine Absorption in Concrete at Low Temperature:Experimental Investigation and Modeling", J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 23(6), 846-851.   DOI
26 Conciatori, D., Sadouki, H. and Bruhwiler, E. (2008), "Capillary suction and diffusion model for chloride ingress into concrete", Cem. Concr. Res., 38(12), 1401-1408.   DOI
27 Crank, J. (1975), The mathematics of diffusion, (2nd Edition), Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK.
28 Glouannec, Z.P. and Salagnac, P. (2012), "Estimation of moisture transport coefficients in porous materials using experimental drying kinetics", Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 48(2), 205-215.   DOI
29 Dietl, C., Winter, E. and Viskanta, R. (1998), "An efficient simulation of the heat and mass transfer processes during drying of capillary porous, hygroscopic materials", Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 41(22), 3611-3625.   DOI
30 Dousti, A., Moradian, M., Taheri, S., Rashetnia, R., and Shekarchi, M. (2013), "Corrosion assessment of RC deck in a Jetty structure damaged by chloride attack", J. Perform Constr. Fac., 27(5), 519-528.   DOI
31 Hall, C. and Hoff, W.D. (2001), Water transport in brick, stone, and concrete, CRC Press, USA.
32 Hallaji, M., Seppanen, A., and Pour-Ghaz, M. (2015), "Electrical resistance tomography to monitor unsaturated moisture flow in cementitious materials", Cement Concrete Res., 69, 10-18.
33 Hanzic, L., Kosec, L. and Anzel, I. (2010), "Capillary absorption in concrete and the Lucas-Washburn equation", Cement Concrete Compos., 32(1), 84-91.   DOI
34 Hong, K. and Hooton, R.D. (1999), "Effects of cyclic chloride exposure on penetration of concrete cover", Cement Concrete Res., 29(9), 1379-1386.   DOI
35 Hoseini, M., Bindiganavile, V. and Banthia, N. (2009), "The effect of mechanical stress on permeability of concrete: A review", Cement Concrete Compos., 31(4), 213-220.   DOI
36 Hubert, F.X., Burlion, N. and Shao., J.F. (2003), "Drying of concrete: modeling of a hydric damage", Mater. Struct., 36(1), 12-21.   DOI
37 Idiart, A.E., Lopez, C.M. and Carol, I. (2011), "Modeling of drying shrinkage of concrete specimens at the meso-level", Mater. Struct., 44(2), 415-435.   DOI
38 Janssen, H., Blocken, B. and Carmeliet, J. (2007), "Conservative modelling of the moisture and heat transfer in building components under atmospheric excitation", Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 50(5-6), 1128-1140.   DOI
39 Iqbal, P.O. and Ishida, T. (2009), "Modeling of chloride transport coupled with enhanced moisture conductivity in concrete exposed to marine environment", Cement Concrete Res., 39(4), 329-339.   DOI
40 Ishida, T., Maekawa, K. and Kishi, T. (2007), "Enhanced modeling of moisture equilibrium and transport in cementitious materials under arbitrary temperature and relative humidity history", Cement Concrete Res., 37(4), 565-578.   DOI
41 Janz, M. (1997), "Methods of measuring the moisture diffusivity at high moisture levels", Research Report TVBM-3076, Division of Building Materials, Lund Institute of technology, University of Lund.
42 Janz, M. (2002), "Moisture diffusivities evaluated at high moisture levels from a series of water absorption tests", Mater. Struct., 35(3), 141-148.   DOI
43 Kim, J.K. and Lee, C.S. (1998), "Prediction of differential drying shrinkage in concrete", Cement Concrete Res., 28(7) 985-994.   DOI
44 Kodikara, J. and Chakrabarti, S. (2005), "Modeling of moisture loss in cementitiously stabilized pavement materials", Int. J. Geomech., 5(4), 295-303.   DOI
45 Lin, G., Liu, Y. and Xiang, Z. (2010), "Numerical modeling for predicting service life of reinforced concrete structures exposed to chloride environments", Cement Concrete Compos., 32(8), 571-579.   DOI
46 Lockington, D., Parlange, J. and Dux, P. (1999), "Sorptivity and the estimation of water penetration into unsaturated concrete", Mater. Struct., 32(5), 342-347.   DOI
47 Martys, N. and Ferraris, C.F. (1997), "Capillary transport in mortar and concrete", Cement Concrete Res., 27(5), 747-760.   DOI
48 Maekawa, K., Ishida, T. and Kishi, T. (2003), "Multi-scale modeling of concrete performance-integrated materials and structural mechanics", J. Adv. Concrete Tech. (JCI), 1(2), 91-126.   DOI
49 Martin-Perez, B. (1999), "Service life modelling of R.C. highway structures exposed to chlorides", Ph.D. Thesis, University of Toronto, Toronto.
50 Martin-Perez, B., Pantazopoulou, S.J. and Thomas, M.D.A. (2001), "Numerical solution of mass transport equations in concrete structures", Comput. Struct., 79(13), 1251-1264.   DOI
51 McCarter, W.J. (1993), "Influence of surface finish on sorptivity on concrete", J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 5(1), 130-136.   DOI
52 McCarter, W.J., Watson, D.W. and Chrisp, T.M. (2001), "Surface zone concrete: drying, absorption, and moisture distribution", J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 13(1), 49-57.   DOI
53 Moradian, M., Chini, M., and Shekarchi, M. (2014), "Durability performance of a structure made with highperformance concrete and prefabricated elements in a marine environment", J. Perform Constr. Fac., 29(6), 04014174.   DOI
54 Morgan, R.D. (1988), "Dry-mixed silica fume shotcrete in western canada", Concrete Int., 10(1), 24-32.
55 Navarri, P. and Andrieu, J. (1993), "High-intensity infrared drying study: part II. Case of thin coated films", Chem. Eng. Process, 32(5), 319-325.   DOI
56 Neithalath, N. (2006), "Analysis of moisture transport in mortars and concrete using sorption-diffusion approach", ACI Mater. J., 103(3), 209-217.
57 Peuhkuri, R., Rode, C. and Hansen, K.K. (2008), "Non-isothermal moisture transport through insulation materials", Build. Envir., 43(5), 811-822.   DOI
58 Nguyen, T.Q., Petkovic, J., Dangla, P. and Baroghel-Bouny, V. (2008), "Modelling of coupled ion and moisture transport in porous building materials", Constr. Build. Mater., 22(11), 2185-2195.   DOI
59 Nilsson, L.O. (2002), "Long-term moisture transport in high performance concrete", Mater. Struct., 35(10), 641-649.   DOI
60 Parrott, L.J. (1994), "Moisture conditioning and transport properties of concrete test specimens", Mater. Struct., 27(8), 460-468.   DOI
61 Prazak, J., Tywoniak, J., Peterka, F. and Slonc, T. (1990), "Description of transport of liquid in porous media-a study based on neutron radiography data", Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 33(6), 1105-1120.   DOI
62 Qin, M., Belarbi, R. and Ait-Mokhtar, A. (2009), "Coupled heat and moisture transfer in multi-layer building materials", Constr. Build. Mater., 23(2), 967-975.   DOI
63 Roy, S.K., Northwood, D.O. and Aldred, J.M. (1995), "Relative effectiveness of different admixtures to prevent water penetration in concrete", Proceedings of the Conchem Conference, Brussels, Belgium.
64 Sabir, B.B., Wild, S. and O'Farrell, M. (1998), "A water sorptivity test for mortar and concrete", Mater. Struct., 31(8), 568-574.   DOI
65 Saetta, A.V., Scotta, R.V. and Vitaliani, R.V. (1993), "Analysis of chloride diffusion into partially saturated concrete", ACI Mater. J., 90(5), 441-451.
66 Samson, E., Maleki, K., Marchand, J. and Zhang, T. (2008), "Determination of the water diffusivity of concrete using drying/absorption test results", J. ASTM Int., 5(7), 1-12.