Macroscopic models for calcium carbonate corrosion due to sulfation. Variation of diffusion and volume expansion

Abstract

The subject of the present paper is the derivation and analysis of mathematical models for the formation of a mushy region during calcium carbonate corrosion. More specifically there is emphasis on the variation of the overall diffusion resulting from the changing shape of a single pore due to corrosion process and on the resulting volume expansion of the material as the outcome of the transformation of calcium carbonate to gypsum. These models are derived by averaging, with the use of the multiple scales method applied on microscopic moving-boundary problems. The latter problems describe the transformation of calcium carbonate into gypsum in the microscopic scale. The derived macroscopic models are solved numerically with the use of an implicit in time, finite element method. The results of the simulations for various microstructure geometries in the micro-scale and a discussion are also presented.