Climatic Issue in an Advanced Numerical Modeling of Concrete Carbonation

Damage in reinforced concrete structures is frequently caused by reinforcement corrosion due to carbonation. Although a wide range of literature contributed to the concrete carbonation consisting of experimental investigations and numerical simulations, research work on a complete numerical model for concrete carbonation prediction with integrated climatic variables (e.g., temperature, relative humidity) is still a challenge. The present paper aims to propose an advanced numerical model to simulate the penetration of carbon dioxide and moisture, diffusion of calcium ions, heat transfer, and porosity modification in concrete material using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Three coupled mass conservation equations of calcium, water, and carbon dioxide are solved together with additional equations regarding the heat transfer, variation of porosity, and content of portlandite and other hydrates and calcites. In this study, the actual temporal variabilities of temperature and relative humidity in Toulouse, France, are used as a case study. The predicted results of portlandite profiles and carbonation depth are compared with the experimental data and discussed to identify the effect of climatic variables on the concrete carbonation.