Transient diffusion behavior of chloride ions in concrete with a macro crack

Nowadays, influences of concrete cracking on durability of concrete structure are widely reported. However, the influence of macro cracks on chloride diffusion of concrete is unknown under the condition of marine submergence. Therefore, the present paper adopted a notch method to study natural chloride diffusion in cracked concrete with a width of above 0.3 mm. The results show Apparent diffusion coefficient of acid soluble chloride rises from 2.66 x10(-12) m(2)/s to 5.92x10(-12) m(2)/s with increasing crack width from 0 mm to 0.45 mm. Besides, one exponential function was used to describe the piecewise relationship between diffusion coefficient (water or acid soluble chloride) and crack width.