The theory of ionic diffusion in water-saturated porous solids with surface electric charges has been constructed by using the general theory of diffusion, Gauss’s law, and the condition of electrical neutrality. The theory derives the diffusion rate of ions not from the gradient of the ionic concentration but from the gradient of the chemical potential of ions. The chemical potential is obtained by rigorously solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation that is derived by connecting the general theory of diffusion and the condition of electrical neutrality with Gauss’s law. Application of the theory to the ionic diffusion from an outer solution into a pore solution surrounded by two parallel charged plates indicates that the maximum concentration of ions penetrable into the pore solution is lower than that of the outer solution, though the penetration rate is not much affected by the surface charge. A simple approximation method of calculating the diffusion rate without solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation is presented.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant lost its core cooling function due to the massive tsunami generated by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake, which caused core meltdown, resulting in high temperature inside the containment vessel and exposing the RPV pedestal, a reinforced concrete structure, to an unusually high temperature environment. After the earthquake, water was poured into the containment vessel to cool the molten core, and the con-crete structure was gradually cooled in the process. Since it will take at least 40 years to remove the fuel from the core, the integrity of the RPV pedestal is a major concern for the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In order to assess the long-term integrity of the RPV pedestal, a horizontal loading test was conducted using a 1/6 scaled model of the RPV pedestal of Unit 1 considering the effect of the high temperature heating and subsequent wet conditions. And then, the static stress analysis of the RPV pedestal was performed considering the degradation phenomena revealed by the experiments. As a result, it was confirmed that the RPV pedestal of Unit 1 would be structurally sound for 40 years against the current design basis earthquake even if the material degradation due to severe accident and aging was considered.

The compressive strengths and hydration products was investigated of oil well cement mixed with fly ash at ultra-high temperatures. Cured at 150°C, the strength for test samples with 30% and 50% fly ash was relatively high in the early days but declined in subsequent days. However, the samples with 70% fly ash showed a continuous trend. The compressive strengths were relatively high at 28 days, and all the samples met the cementing requirements at this temperature. At 220°C, the mix with 30% fly ash had the least compressive strength, while that of 70% fly ash content was comparatively high. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the main crystalline hydration products at 150°C were tobermorite and hibschite. At 220°C, tobermorite decomposes into xonotlite because it has limited high temperature stability. The pozzolanic reaction of fly ash and portlandite Ca(OH)₂ produced a comparatively stable phase known as hibschite. The scanning electron microscopy analysis shows that the surface morphology of tobermorite is fibrous while hibschite is vitreous. Both compounds have high strength characteristics due to their structural interconnectedness. Xonotlite crystal is coarse and plate-shaped with poor bonding, which negatively impacts its strength stability. Due to the presence of hibschite, cement mix with high amounts of fly ash is suitable for application at 220°C.

In this study, a finite element (FE) analysis is conducted to investigate the effects of corrosion in tensile reinforcement on the shear performance of reinforced concrete (RC) members. In this regard, a multiscale chemo-hygral computational system is adopted, and its rationality is verified by comparing the FE analysis results with the shear test results of corroded RC beams. Based on the verified FE model, a parametric analysis is performed to examine the static shear and long-term behaviors of RC members according to the corrosion damage. The analysis results show that when the tensile reinforcement is simply straight anchored in the member, the ratio of reduction in shear strength due to corrosion decreases with the shear span-to-depth ratio. Meanwhile, when the tensile reinforcement is fully anchored, the shear strength of the corroded member increases owing to the formation of arch action despite the occurrence of splitting cracks caused by corrosion, and this tendency is more prominent as the shear span-to-depth ratio decreases. In terms of the long-term behavior of corroded RC members, it is shown that as corrosion progresses gradually over time, failure occurs with a rapid increase in deflection, including at low sustained load levels.