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In cold climates, reinforced concrete structures (RCSs) are frequently and severely damaged by freeze–thaw (FT) and deicing-salt attack during winter periods. FT action can also cause additional water uptake known as frost suction. If a critical degree of water saturation is exceeded, severe deterioration of the microstructure of the concrete is likely, enhancing chloride ingress and increasing the probability of corrosion of its reinforcement. We present herein a test method to characterize the resistance of concrete to FT and chloride ingress. Chloride migration tests were performed on concretes with different degrees of FT deterioration, with and without deicing agents. The performance of RCSs is decisively affected under these combined actions. Quantitative description of the resulting FT damage is achieved using ultrasonic measurements and resonance frequency analysis. The test results confirm that the latter nondestructive test method provides more reliable evaluation of FT damage compared with usual ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements. Different concretes with supplementary cementitious materials and different degrees of FT deterioration with and without deicing agents were tested. While concrete made with air-entraining agents clearly showed the best FT resistance, concrete with ground-granulated blast-furnace slag showed superior resistance to both chloride migration and FT attack, both being positively affected by appropriate curing conditions.
Depending on the specific exposure conditions, reinforced concrete structures (RCS) are simultaneously subjected to different physical and chemical loads. While in the field of reinforcement corrosion, service life prediction based on full-probabilistic models is well-established, the consequences of combined attack have been neglected until now. The most frequent “load” combination on RCS in cold climates are freeze-thaw attack which can lead to inner or outer damage and chloride ingress which can lead to reinforcement corrosion. In an experimental study four different concrete compositions are exposed either to a defined freeze-thaw attack or stored in moist environment. Afterwards, the chloride migration coefficient of the specimens which were both exposed to freeze-thaw-cycles and not, was determined with a modified rapid chloride migration test. The results clearly show an influence of freeze-thaw-induced internal damage on chloride ingress depending on concrete composition.