A model for reactive porous transport during re-wetting of hardened concrete

TL;DR

This paper presents a mathematical model for water transport and chemical reactions in re-wetting hardened concrete, emphasizing pore clogging by reaction products and validated through numerical simulations and literature data.

Contribution

It introduces a novel reactive porous transport model that accounts for pore clogging due to calcium silicate hydrate formation during re-wetting.

Findings

Model captures water transport and chemical reactions in concrete.

Simulation results align with experimental observations.

Pore clogging significantly affects re-wetting behavior.

Abstract

A mathematical model is developed that captures the transport of liquid water in hardened concrete, as well as the chemical reactions that occur between the imbibed water and the residual calcium silicate compounds residing in the porous concrete matrix. The main hypothesis in this model is that the reaction product -- calcium silicate hydrate gel -- clogs the pores within the concrete thereby hindering water transport. Numerical simulations are employed to determine the sensitivity of the model solution to changes in various physical parameters, and compare to experimental results available in the literature.