Coupled diffusion-damage modelling and the implications on failure due to strain localisation (Q1282721)

For underground cement-based structures, the leaching of pore solution ions by pure water is one of the reference scenario of degradation. The penetration of this chemical attack leads to a loss of mechanical properties of the material. Under mechanical loading, progressive damage can develop, too. In order to evaluate the coupling between these chemical and mechanical mechanisms of degradation (increase of porosity and cracking) a model is developed. The chemical attack kinetics follows a nonlinear diffusion equation based on the mass conservation of the calcium ions in concrete. The mechanical behaviour is modelled according to a scalar damage constitutive relation. After a presentation of the model, we analyze the influence of damage development on the chemical attack kinetics.