Development of a FE² Multiscale Model of Chloride Ions Transport in Recycled Aggregates Concrete

Decreasing CO2 emissions and preserving natural resources are necessary to the well-being of our civilisations. In the construction industry, recycling old concrete members could be part of the solution to reach theses objectives.
Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA), obtained by crushing of demolished concrete structures, can substitute the Natural Aggregates (NA) inside the so-called Recycled Aggregates Concrete (RAC). The durability of RAC is not guaranteed in the current state of research. RCA are indeed composed of natural aggregates partially embedded in an adherent mortar paste, increasing the porosity and water absorption of RAC. This research aims to better predict the influence of RCA on chloride ions ingress inside concrete. It
started with an experimental phase where multiple experiments have been performed to determine the transfer properties and the chloride ions diffusion coefficients of a mortar paste and concretes made from NA or 100% RCA. In this context, the microstructure of the RCA influences deeply the permeability, water content distribution and chloride ingress. Therefore, these properties must be included into a numerical model that integrates the microstructural information in a proper way. A numerical homogenization technique, based on the Finite Element square (FE2 ) method, is implemented into a coupled multiscale model of water flows and advection/diffusion of chlorides in saturated concrete, in order to model the complex flow behaviour encountered.