Describing ion diffusion mechanisms in cement-based materials using the homogenization technique

The application of the homogenization technique to the mathematical description of the diffusion mechanisms in saturated cement-based materials is discussed. According to this approach, the transport and mass conservation equations are first written at the microscopic scale to describe the movement of particles in the fluid phase of the material. These equations are then averaged over the entire volume of the material. An example of the application of the homogenization technique is given. The homogenization technique is used to describe the diffusion of ions in cement-based systems. The various equations are written to consider the charged nature of the ionic particles and the coupling between the various ionic fluxes. The numerous advantages of this technique for the modeling of mass transport mechanisms in cement-based materials are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.