Resumen de A mixed finite element discretization scheme for a concrete carbonation model with concentration-dependent porosity

Florin A. Radu, Adrian Muntean , Iuliu Sorin Pop, Nicolae Suciu, O. Kolditz

• We investigate a prototypical reaction�diffusion-flow problem in saturated/unsaturated porous media. The special features of our problem are twofold: the reaction produces water and therefore the flow and transport are coupled in both directions and moreover, the reaction may alter the microstructure. This means we have a variable porosity in our model.

  For the spatial discretization we propose a mass conservative scheme based on the mixed finite element method (MFEM). The scheme is semi-implicit in time. Error estimates are obtained for some particular cases. We apply our finite element methodology for the case of concrete carbonation�one of the most important physico-chemical processes affecting the durability of concrete.