Accelerated Laboratory Test Suggests the Importance of Film Integrity of Sealers on the Protection of Concrete from Deicer Scaling

Abstract

AbstractThis work reports the laboratory performance of five film-forming sealers that protect concrete from deicer scaling (15 freeze-thaw and wet-dry cycles in diluted NaCl or MgCl2 solution). Regardless of the presence or type of sealer, no apparent scaling occurred on the concretes exposed to 2.54% by weight MgCl2 solution, but there was significant reduction in their splitting tensile strength (up to 55% for the nontreated concrete). The best-performing sealer in mitigating this risk of strength reduction was the methyl methacrylate (MMA) polymer. For the concrete exposed to 3% by weight NaCl solution, the scaling resistance and ability of strength preservation were significantly improved by the presence of a sealer. Regardless of the sealer type, the initial rate of water absorption of surface-treated concretes was greatly reduced by the sealer by at least 68%. The water absorption behavior of the sealer-treated concrete showed a strong correlation with mass loss caused by salt scaling. The concrete...