Abstract
This study provides an advanced understanding of the durability performance of reinforced concrete (RC) with the surface treatment of soy methyl ester-polystyrene blend (SME-PS) when simultaneously subjected to freeze-thaw (F/T) cycles and CaCl2 solution. A three-in-one nondestructive test, which included salt scaling test, electrochemical measurement, and acoustic emission (AE), was developed to enable the advanced investigation on the performance of SME-PS. Compared with control specimens, RC specimens treated with SME-PS exhibit superior salt scaling resistance with only minor damage after 60 F/T cycles. SME-PS can also reduce the corrosion risk of embedded steel by mitigating carbonation and chloride ingress in concrete. The physical protection of SME-PS lies in the modification of the concrete surface by changing its hydrophobicity and occupying/blocking a portion of capillary pores. Petrographic examinations and AE results revealed that a portion of penetrated SME-PS in concrete surface (i.e., top ∼ 1 mm) could be leached by external fluids, which indicated the long-term effectiveness of SME-PS should be further studied.
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