Time and Crack Effect on Chloride Diffusion for Concrete with Fly Ash

Nuclear power plants are constructed very close to the marine environments for cooling water and the structures are more susceptible to chloride induced corrosion. Cracking in RC structures in mass concrete is unavoidable when they are exposed to chloride contaminated chemical environments. This study is focused on the evaluation of crack and time effect on chloride diffusion rate. Two types of concrete strength grade were taken for nuclear power plant construction and the crack was induced with varying from 0.05 to 1.35 mm of width. The tests for chloride diffusion coefficients from steady-state condition were performed. The influence of crack width on the chloride transmission behavior was discussed and analyzed over an exposure period to one year. The diffusion coefficients due to growing crack width increase in crack width but they decrease with increasing curing period, which yields 57.8–61.6% reduction at the age of 180 days and 21.5–26.6% of reduction at 365 days. Through the parameters of age and crack width which are obtained from regression analysis, the evaluation technique which can consider the effect of crack and time on diffusion is proposed for nuclear power plant concrete.