Tests and Criteria for Concrete Resistant to Chloride Ion Penetration

This paper presents a portion of a state highway agency pooled fund research project to develop performance criteria for concrete that will be resistant to penetration of chlorides, cycles of freezing and thawing, and sulfate attack. This paper presents the portion of the study pertaining to penetration of chlorides. To simulate standard and service conditions, specimens were subjected to either immersion or to a cyclic wetting and drying exposure in chloride solution. Measured apparent chloride diffusion coefficients, determined in accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C1556, were correlated with results of rapid index test methods that provide an indication of the transport characteristics of concrete. Rapid index test methods included were rapid chloride permeability, rapid migration, conductivity, absorption, and initial and secondary sorptivity. A set of rapid index test methods and specification criteria that can reliably classify mixtures based on their resistance to chloride ion penetration are proposed.