A moving-boundary problem for concrete carbonation: Global existence and uniqueness of weak solutions

This paper deals with a one-dimensional coupled system of semi-linear parabolic equations with a kinetic condition on the moving boundary. The latter furnishes the driving force for the moving boundary. The main result is a global existence and uniqueness theorem of positive weak solutions. The system under consideration is modelled on the so-called carbonation of concrete – a prototypical chemical-corrosion process in a porous solid – concrete – which incorporates slow diffusive transport, interfacial exchange between wet and dry parts of the pores and, in particular, a fast reaction in thin layers, here idealized as a moving-boundary surface in the solid. We include simulation results showing that the model captures the qualitative behaviour of the carbonation process.