Abstract
The scope of the paper is to report an investigation on durability of infrastructure concrete for roads and bridges by creating a size and shape-designed pore systems in concrete in order to improve it, especially in terms of freeze–thaw resistance. By means of this experimental laboratory study, an alternative for usage of air entrainment agents (AEA) in concrete infrastructures was found in the way of using superabsorbent polymer materials (SAPs). The effect of the addition of SAPs of different amounts and different types into fresh concrete mix was investigated, including: compressive strength tests, weight loss measurements, visual and microscopic inspections and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The detrimental strength reduction effect was not observed. The freeze–thaw procedure was varied, using different types of de-icing salts and heating/cooling regimes. It can be concluded that an improvement of the freeze–thaw resistance of concrete infrastructure depends on the particle size and optimal amount of SAPs added into concrete mix. The addition of 0.26 wt % of dry SAPs into the fresh concrete reference mix led to the significant decrease of scaling up to 43% after 28 freeze–thaw cycles. Both dosage and particle size of the SAPs had a significant impact on the obtained results and the freeze–thaw resistance in this experimental laboratory study.
Highlights
Belgium has a very extensive motorway system, which is one of the densest in the world, and is one of the busiest transit countries in Europe
By adding superabsorbent polymer materials (SAPs), the air content of the fresh concrete mix increased by 20%
Based on the reported research concerning the freeze–thaw resistance of concrete mixes used for infrastructure applications, and the effect of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) for the improvement and mitigation of its resistance as an alternative for the application of air entrainment agents (AEA), the following conclusions can be drawn:
Summary
Belgium has a very extensive motorway system, which is one of the densest in the world, and is one of the busiest transit countries in Europe. 40% of the Belgian roads are made of non-reinforced and reinforced concrete [1]. The quality and condition of road infrastructure differs from region to region. Most road construction and maintenance is observed in the north of Belgium in the Flemish Region (Flanders). Flanders invests 350 million euros in the maintenance of roads and bridges every year. The road infrastructure in the south of Belgium (Wallonia) and Brussels-Capital Region is in a quite poor condition where no maintenance is being carried out. Over the past five years there has been an increase of potholes [2,3] as a result of severe winter weather, primarily through the physical process of freeze–thaw and the ingress of water
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