An electrochemical method for accelerated chloride migration test in cement-based materials

In this study the electrochemical technique is applied to accelerate chloride-ion migration in cement-based material in order to estimate its permeability in a reasonable time span. Four different cement-based materials with a w/b ratio of 0.4 and various mineral admixtures were used. Electrical current and chloride-ion concentration were simultaneously monitored in the migration test. Test results show that the chloride flux reaches steady state and the chloride transference number becomes stable after about 60 h accelerating process and a linear relationship exists between net charge passed and chloride-ion concentration in the anodic cell. The chloride migration coefficient also correlates well with the stable current.