Impact of non-local damage formulation on chloride transport modeling in concrete

Reinforced concrete structures, such as roads and bridges, are exposed to chloride ingress, leading to steel reinforcement corrosion and reduced service life. Accurate numerical simulations of chloride ingress must account for damage caused by loading, as higher damage increases diffusion. This paper analyzes the impact of selected damage evolution laws and non-local formulations on the diffusion coefficient. The results show significant variations in load capacity (up to 20%) and damage extent (up to 72%) depending on the chosen model and averaging technique, which affects chloride diffusion modeling. Two diffusion models—Kurumatani et al. (2017) [49] and a new model by Trávníček et al. (2024) [52]—were compared for chloride penetration, with the latter validated using experimental data from a cracked reinforced concrete beam. Both diffusion models and four non-local damage variants were assessed in a Brazilian splitting test, showing differences in chloride concentration of up to 475%. This highlights the critical impact of selecting an appropriate damage model and a particular non-local formulation based on spatial averaging.