Determination of the concrete chloride diffusion coefficient based on an electrochemical test and an optimization model

The chloride diffusion coefficient is an indication of the capacity of any type of concrete to resist chloride penetration and is used to predict the service life of reinforced concrete structures. Its determination has been subject of intense study in the last 50 years and today there is no complete agreement in the methodologies used. In addition, its experimental determination is time and recourse consuming. As alternative, this article presents a new methodology to find the fundamental properties of concrete including the diffusion coefficients. From the measurement of the electrical properties of concrete during a migration test and using and integrated physical–neural network model the chloride related properties can be found. Results of experiments of normal diffusion were compared with the results of the new methodology and gave encouraging results.