Salinity distribution of seashore concrete structures in Korea

For concrete structures immersed in seawater, the concentration of chloride used to estimate the chloride diffusion coefficient can be defined as the seawater chloride concentration. However, for seashore concrete structures that are not coming into direct contact with seawater, establishing the interface concentration of chloride becomes delicate. In addition, concrete structures are greatly affected by salt attack primarily due to airborne sea salt like it can be seen through the corrosion of rebar. This study intends to investigate salt attack by airborne sea salt in terms of the distance from the seashore through measurements conducted at 73 spots and 27 areas during 1 year in the Eastern, Western and Southern coasts of South Korea. Results revealed large regional variations of salinity in coastal regions with significant seasonal effects caused by seasonal winds. Moreover, the salinity is seen to diminish as the distance from the seashore increases at a rate corresponding to the function y=ax-b.