New insights into long-term chloride transport in unsaturated cementitious materials: Role of degree of water saturation

Concrete is rarely saturated. Reliable durability design of marine concrete structures requires a solid understanding of the long-term chloride transport in unsaturated concretes. This paper presents a critical analysis of the time-dependent chloride diffusion coefficient in unsaturated cementitious materials exposed to marine environment. Evolutions of pore structure and chloride diffusion coefficient in saturated cementitious materials, along with the role of the degree of water saturation in long-term chloride diffusion, are analyzed. It is emphasized that the long-term sharp decrease of the chloride diffusion coefficient in marine cementitious materials is not primarily caused by densification of the microstructure due to hydration, but by the decreasing degree of water saturation with depth in the surface part of the materials. The effects of water/binder ratio and supplementary cementitious materials on chloride diffusion coefficient are different between saturated and unsaturated cementitious materials.