MODELING OF CHLORIDE INGRESS IN CONCRETE USING FICK'S LAWS: REVIEW AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

3 Council for Works & Housing Research, Karachi, Pakistan. ABSTRACT: This article discusses some models based on Fick's laws of diffusion used to predict the chloride ion penetration in concrete. Chloride-induced corrosion of steel in concrete is a well-known burning issue in civil engineering. It costs billions of dollars to construction industry each year. Different computer models have been presented by the researchers all over the world to predict the penetration of chlorides in concrete. All models have their own merits and demerits. This work highlights the difference of opinion and approach adapted by different research groups working on chloride penetration in concrete. Some models are quite simple to use but fail to address many complexities involved in this process. On the other hand, the most sophisticated models require a lot of input parameters, which are sometimes difficult to obtain in field. Key-words: Concrete, chloride ingress, models, Fick's laws, input parameters, merits, demerits. ) ( ex a i s i