Abstract
The behavior of internally cured high performance concrete, HPC, exposed to freezing and thawing cycles, was investigated. Two saturated curing agents, Limestone dust and powder of Porcelanite rock, were used to facilitate internal curing for concrete. These agents were used as partial replacements of fine aggregate in two volumetric percentages, 20 and 30 percent. The cast concrete specimens were separated in two groups according to curing method: water-cured and sealed (only internally-cured) specimens. The concrete specimens were subjected to three exposure systems, F0: without freezing and thawing, and F1 and F2: with 50 and 100 cycles of freezing and thawing, respectively. The freezing and thawing test was done as stipulated by the ASTM C666. The conducted tests for each exposure were: compressive and flexural strengths. The results revealed that internal curing does not enhance the concrete resistance to freezing and thawing cycles. Using saturated agents has increased the moisture content of concrete and makes it more vulnerable to frost action deterioration. Sealed specimens for all investigated mixes showed lower reductions in strength than water-cured ones. The lesser water content of these mixes may be the reason for that behavior.
Highlights
Cyclic freezing and thawing deterioration is known to be the major source of deterioration of concrete in most of the places experiencing severe cold weather
Porcelanite and limestone dust were adopted as internal curing agents
They were graded as the fine aggregate and used as partial replacement for fine aggregate in 20 and 30% by volume
Summary
Cyclic freezing and thawing deterioration is known to be the major source of deterioration of concrete in most of the places experiencing severe cold weather. Damage due to freezing and thawing deterioration can take various forms, the most common being scaling and micro-cracking [3]. Other forms of damage may include large-scale spalling and crumbling of concrete and crossing fatigue-like cracks visible on the surface. All these symptoms are generally accompanied by loss in strength and serviceability of concrete. Microscopic studies verify the growth of around 1 - 10 μm wide micro-cracks upon subjecting concrete to freezing and thawing cycles. These cracks have been found to pass through cement paste and follow the boundaries of most large aggregate particles [6]. Curing and saturation are believed to have major influences on durability of high performance concrete when exposed to freezing and thawing cycles
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