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Effect of real climatic conditions on freeze-thaw induced damage of concrete

  • The analysis of German weather data from 1996 to 2019 reveals a development in climate towards freeze-thaw exposure conditions which are detrimental to concrete durability. This trend may intensify freeze-thaw attack in future and lead to more internal and/or external damage in concrete structures. This contribution considers the inclusion of real climate conditions in laboratory simulations. Weather data were recorded and compared with depth-resolved measurements of humidity and temperature in concrete samples stored at the median site of an expressway. The strength of attack depends mainly on the amount of damaging freeze-thaw cycles (minimum temperature <-5°C in combination with moisture). In addition, the salt content of the contact water, minimum temperature and thickness of the ice layer on the concrete surface are decisive. Experiments show that internal and to a minor degree also external damage increase due to lower heating rates. The exposure of the sample itself (i.e. compass direction and removal of snow) affects the resulting damage evolution significantly. In order to save resources and enable the production of more sustainable concrete structures, current accelerated tests need to be adapted to real climatic conditions. 1. Introduction Adaptation to climate change and the associated extreme weather events represents a crucial challenge for our society. The durability of concrete, the most frequently used building material, is highly dependent on the local environment of concrete structures. In the case of a freeze-thaw de-icing salt attack, this is given by essentially the number of frost-thaw cycles (FTC) relevant to damage, the minimum temperature, the thickness of the ice layer, the moisture conditions and the concentration of salt. By investigating the interdependencies, the depth of scaling of the concrete surface per winter period can be predicted as a function of parameters accounting for the different effects of the concrete composition (air content, w/b ratio and binder type), curing time, carbonation and the duration and formation of damaging freeze-thaw cycles, [1, 2]. In order to quantify the individual effects and map them in an engineering model, a large number of laboratory tests are necessary. For this purpose, a known freeze-thaw cycle usually has to be modified. While it is already known that the cooling rate [3] and holding time at minimum temperature [4] affect scaling development, we investigated the effect of different heating rates on scaling on freeze-thaw de-icing salt attack.

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Metadaten
Author:Charlotte ThielORCiD, L. Holme, L. Erlacher, Christoph GehlenORCiD
URL / DOI:https://www.sintef.no/globalassets/project/lorcenis/completed-proceedings_version20191025_lorceniswebsite.pdf
ISBN:978-9-463-88638-3
Parent Title (English):Durable Concrete for Infrastructure under Severe Conditions : Smart admixtures, self-responsiveness and nano-additions, Proceedings 10-11 September 2019, Ghent, Belgium
Editor:Maria Adelaide Araújo, Kim Van Tittelboom
Translator:Nele De Belie
Document Type:conference proceeding (article)
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2019
Release Date:2022/06/22
Tag:Freeze-thaw deicing salt attack; climate weather data; field exposure; heating rate; moisture uptake
Institutes:Fakultät Bauingenieurwesen
Fakultät Bauingenieurwesen / Labor für Baustoffe
Publication:Externe Publikationen
research focus:Gebäude und Infrastruktur
Licence (German):Keine Lizenz - Es gilt das deutsche Urheberrecht: § 53 UrhG