Generic Corrosion Damage Modeling Frameworks for Traditional and Alternative Cementitous Matrices

钢筋锈蚀是混凝土结构中最普遍的劣化机制之一，据估计，美国每年因民用基础设施腐蚀而造成的损失约为250亿美元。因此，以新型耐腐蚀钢、缓蚀剂和替代水泥的形式开发创新的、廉价的和普遍有效的缓蚀策略是重要的。尽管这些材料的发展受到了人们的关注，但由于与其长期耐久性和性能相关的不确定性，它们的广泛采用受到了限制。为了生产新的、负担得起的材料来抵抗混凝土中的钢筋腐蚀，反复试验的程序在很大程度上是无效的。在这项工作中，PI将建立一个计算机建模框架，该框架将评估这些不确定性并智能地预测新材料的腐蚀行为。这项研究将产生深远的社会和经济影响，使具有建模框架的研究人员和材料开发人员能够以经济高效的方式设计、优化和评估新材料，以缓解与钢筋混凝土结构中的钢筋腐蚀相关的问题。这项研究的目标是建立一个完全耦合的通用反应-传输-腐蚀-损伤模型框架，用于模拟钢筋混凝土结构构件因腐蚀而导致的劣化。这项研究的独特之处在于将热力学计算与混凝土中可能发生的具有运输、腐蚀和损坏现象的反应模型相结合。模拟有无腐蚀裂缝的混凝土中腐蚀产物的形成及其在多孔微结构中的分布。模拟反应的热力学计算的一般性质允许模拟使用传统粘结剂和替代粘结剂生产的结构部件中的腐蚀引起的损害。这些模型对现有结构系统也很重要，因为它们有助于及早识别钢材腐蚀造成的损害，以便采取先发制人的缓解行动，并优先进行必要的维修。这项研究需要多学科的方法来公开建模框架，以便来自一般工程界不同背景的研究人员可以在相关的研究领域使用、扩展或应用它。

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is one of the most prevalent deterioration mechanisms in concrete structures, and the annual cost of corrosion of civil infrastructure in the United States is estimated to be around $25 billion. Therefore, development of innovative, inexpensive, and ubiquitously effective corrosion mitigation strategies in the form of new corrosion-resistant steels, corrosion inhibitors, and alternative cements, is important. Although the development of these materials have been gaining attention, their widespread adoption has been limited due to uncertainties associated with their long-term durability and performance concerns. Trial-and-error procedures to produce new and affordable materials to resist steel corrosion in concrete have been, to a large degree, ineffective. In this work, the PIs will establish a computer-modeling framework that will evaluate these uncertainties and intelligently predict the corrosion behavior of new materials. This research will have far-reaching social and economic impacts by enabling researchers and material developers with a modeling framework to design, optimize, and assess new materials to mitigate issues associated with steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures in a cost effective way. The PI will continue outreach through the university's Summer Experience in Science and Engineering for Youth program.The objective of this research is to establish a fully coupled generic reaction-transport-corrosion-damage modeling framework for simulating corrosion-induced deterioration of reinforced concrete structural components. The unique feature of the study is the coupling of thermodynamic calculations to model reactions that can take place in concrete with transport, corrosion and damage phenomena. The formation of corrosion products and their distribution within the porous microstructure will be simulated in concrete with and without corrosion induced cracks. The generic nature of thermodynamic calculations to model reactions allows the simulation of corrosion-induced damage in structural components produced with traditional and alternative binders. These models are also important for existing structural systems since they help early identification of damage due to steel corrosion so that pre-emptive mitigation actions can be pursued and necessary repairs can be prioritized. This research requires a multi-disciplinary approach to make the modeling framework public so that researchers from these different backgrounds in the general engineering community can use, expand or apply it in related fields of investigation.