ABSTRACT
It is the aim of this chapter to identify various components of concrete relevant to moisture transport and combine the moisture transport behaviour in these components into a unified moisture transport theory of concrete. This treatment will not only enable us to consider rationally the different components of concrete but also help us to identify the conditions in which a single uniform porous medium assumption can be applied with confidence to analyse the moisture transport behaviour in concrete. The previous chapter discussed the theoretical aspects of moisture transport modelling in concrete by treating it as a uniform porous medium. This chapter extends those concepts to multicomponents present in concrete. Depending on the microstructural characteristics and distributions of porosity in each of these components, the overall moisture transport
behaviour in the concrete might be influenced significantly. It is the aim of this study to incorporate these additional systems of moisture movement into the generic moisture transport formulation of concrete.
