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Author name: Claisse, P.A.

Title: A new way of looking at the Rapid Chloride Permeability Test.
Article & version: Presented version of powerpoint slides.
Original citation & hyperlink:
Claisse, P.A. (2006, March). A new way of looking at the Rapid Chloride Permeability
Test. Paper presented at the America Concrete Institute (ACI) Convention open
paper session, Charlotte NC, USA.
http://www.concrete.org/EVENTS/ev_past_conventions.htm

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Available in the CURVE Research Collection: December 2012

http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open
A new way of looking at the Rapid
Chloride Permeability Test.
(Using Physics rather than Chemistry)

Peter Claisse, Coventry University,

Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK
ASTM C1202 – Names for the Test
• Standard Test Method for Electrical
Indication of Concrete’s Ability to Resist
Chloride Ion Penetration (in the ASTM).
• The Rapid Chloride Permeability Test
(after Whiting – who invented the test)
• The Coulomb Test (it measures
Coulombs)
The test: Measure the current for 6 hours and
calculate the total charge in Coulombs
(i.e. the average current multiplied by the time)
- +
Ameter 60 V

Sodium Sodium
Chloride Hydroxide
How to measure permeability
....not this test

High Low
Pressure Concrete Pressure
 Electromigration
- +
V

Negative ions, e.g. chloride

Solution Solution with

with supply supply of
of negative positive ions
ions
Positive ions
Salt dissolving into a solution

Flux
 Diffusion
When the salt dissolves into the water it will
assume an equal concentration at all points
throughout the liquid and will enter the
concrete

Concrete

Salt
 The Equations
Diffusion:
J = ε D dC mol/m2/s
dx
The flux depends on the concentration gradient dC/dx

Electromigration:
εDzECF 2
J= mol/m /s
RT
The flux depends on the electrostatic field E (Volts/m)
 Solving the hard way –
assuming E is constant

α α 2 β2
( − − )
2 2 β2 16 1 α β
I = FADc o a[ e + erfc( − )]
β π 2 β 4
where

zFE
a=
RT
α = ax
β = 2a Dt
 The Progress of a Chloride Ion
Cl-
A Chloride ion enters the sample... what happens next?

Cl- OH-
Either the ion is adsorbed – forms chloroaluminate.

Cl- OH-
or it stops because the concentration gradient falls making it
less mobile than the OH-

Cl- Cl-
or it carries on
 Figure 3. Comparison of model with
reference data for chloride profiles.

1.4 Whiting (1)

(proportion of value near

1.2
Whiting (1)
1
Concentration

0.8
surface)

Tritthart (10)
0.6 (water soluble)
0.4 Luping and
0.2 Nilsson (3)
0 model (3 hours)
-0.2 0 20 40 60
model (7 hours)
Distance mm
Section through sample during test

Chloride zone Sodium zone

Low resistance (high D) High resistance (low D)

?
Electrostatic field E is
Voltage ? gradient
Modelling a thin slice of the sample for a short time step

Apply Kirchoff’s law : current in = current out

Diffusion in and out – fixed

by concentration gradient
Electromigration into element Electromigration out of element –
- set by field E which was we can set this for charge
calculated for the last element neutrality by adjusting the field E

Final adjustments are needed to get the correct total voltage across the sample.
 Input and output from computer model

Concentration mol/m3 (in liquid)

Intrinsic
Valence Diffusion
Capacity
z D m2/s negative in sample positive Factor Time Time step
hydroxyl -1 1.65E-11 0 9.00E+01 300 0.2 17.02 105.10
chloride -1 2.00E-10 500 0.00E+00 0 2
sodium 1 2.00E-11 500 4.50E+01 300 0.2 Temperature
potassium 1 9.00E-11 0 4.50E+01 0 0.2 306.9
anion 1 0 0 0.00E+00 0 0.1

Initial current A 0.025

Final Current A 0.013

Total Charge Coulomb 884

Curvature 0.76

Average current 0.014

Total Current mAmps 3.000E+01

2.500E+01

2.000E+01

1.500E+01
Model output for
1.000E+01 current and voltage
5.000E+00

0.000E+00
0 5 10 15 20
Time hours
Voltage adjustments at different times

45
40

Current vs time with no 35

30
voltage correction (average)
25
Voltage
0.000
4.000E+02 20 6.802
3.500E+02
Total Current mAmps

15 17.013
3.000E+02
2.500E+02 10
2.000E+02
5
1.500E+02
1.000E+02 0
5.000E+01
-5 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0
0.000E+00
0 5 10 15 20 Distance from negative side mm
Time hours
Concentrations in cells at distances from negative
side in mol/m3 vs time in hours
Hydroxyl Potassium negativ
negative e
400 2.5
2.5 200
350
300 7.5 7.5
150
250 17.5 17.5
200 100
150 47.5 47.5
100 50
positive
50 0
0
0 5 10 15 20
0 5 10 15 20 -50

Sodium Chloride negative

2.5
600 600
7.5
500 negative 500
17.5
400 2.5 400
47.5
300 7.5 300
17.5 positive
200 200
47.5 100
100
positive 0
0
0 5 10 15 20 -100 0 5 10 15 20
 Current in amps at different times in hours vs
position in mm from the negative side
Time = 0
Time = 7

3.00E-02
1.40E-02
2.50E-02 1.20E-02
2.00E-02 potassium 1.00E-02
potassium
sodium
1.50E-02 8.00E-03 sodium
chloride
6.00E-03 chloride
1.00E-02 hydroxyl
hydroxyl
4.00E-03
5.00E-03
2.00E-03
0.00E+00
2.5 7.5 12.5 17.5 22.5 27.5 32.5 37.5 42.5 47.5 0.00E+00
2.5 7.5 12.5 17.5 22.5 27.5 32.5 37.5 42.5 47.5

Tim e = 14

1.40E-02
1.20E-02
1.00E-02 potassium
8.00E-03 sodium
6.00E-03 chloride

4.00E-03 hydroxyl

2.00E-03
0.00E+00
2.5 7.5 12.5 17.5 22.5 27.5 32.5 37.5 42.5 47.5
 Current from elements in cells at distances from
negative side in amps vs time in hours
Hydroxyl Potassium
0.008
0.007 0.02
0.006 0.015
0.005 2.5
2.5
0.004 7.5 0.01 7.5
0.003 17.5
0.002 0.005 17.5
47.5
0.001 47.5
0 0
-0.001 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
-0.005

Sodium Chloride
0.01 0.01
0.008
2.5
0.008
2.5
0.006 7.5 0.006
7.5
0.004 17.5 0.004
17.5
47.5 0.002
0.002 47.5
0
0
0 5 10 15 20 -0.002 0 5 10 15 20
 Figure 7 Predicted effect of chloride diffusion
coefficient on current.

0.800
Current Amps

0.600 Initial
0.400 Final
0.200 Average
0.000
0 1E-09 2E-09 3E-09 4E-09 5E-09
Intrinsic Chloride diffusion coefficient m 2/s
 Figure 9. Predicted effect on mid-point voltage of
varying different parameters.

40.00
Voltage at mid-point

30.00
Cl Concentration
20.00 OH- Concentration
10.00 Cl Diffusion coeff

0.00 OH- Diffusion coeff

1 2 3 4 5 6
-10.00
Param eter values
 How to get more from the test
• Measure the mid-point voltage
• Measure the initial and final current as well
as the average
• Run for as long as possible
• Keep the reservoirs small so they get
depleted.
 Salt bridge measurements
4 mm drilled small bore pipe
hole
Reference
electrode
(connected
to data
logger)
cell
cell sample

Potassium
chloride
 Can you help?
I am looking for a research partner who
has the resources to carry out the tests
needed to develop this modelling method

Thank you

www.claisse.info