Diffusion Behavior of Chloride Ions in Concrete Pipe Piles

Concrete pipe piles, whose internal surface is usually closed and external one is exposed to chloride environment, are widely used in marine environment. Based on Fick second law and the boundary condition of pipe pile, the analytical solution to chloride diffusion equation was deduced with the method of separation of variables. The solution comprises two parts: a stationary solution consisting of Bessel functions, and a transient solution. This is different from the traditional analytical solution that is based on semi-infinite boundary condition. Applying this result to a typical PHC pipe pile, the diffusion of chloride concentration was analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of the ratio of outer radius and inner radius, diffusion coefficient and protective concrete cover thickness on diffusion of chloride concentration were also discussed. When the ratio of outer radius and inner radius equals 1.5, the decay rate of secondary segment of transient solution is 4 times larger than that of the primary part. This example provides a computational basis for the corrosion of steel bar and some reference for durability design of pipe piles as well.