ABSTRACT
The durability of reinforced concrete structures has been acquiring an increasing degree of emphasis in research activities. The development of concrete mixes with regard to different attacks imposed on concrete structures by climatic influences plays a decisive role in this context. Under certain conditions, the performance of these concretes can be increased by using pozzolanic additions, such as fly ash or blast-furnace slag, as cementitious components. This publication intends to summarise the influence of these cementitious components on important processes contributing to chloride-induced corrosion. Diffusion and corrosion cells were used to examine the diffusion resistance and corrosion rate of mortars and concretes containing up to 60 wt.% of fly ash and up to 75 wt.% of blast-furnace slag in relation to the total content of cementitious binders. The results of pore structure investigations were also employed, in order to clarify the influence of these cementitious components on ion transport in the microstructure of the concrete.
