Frost Resistance and Damage Velocity of Compressively Preloaded Concrete

The frost resistance and compressive strength degradation of concrete under the simultaneous action of compressive load and freeze-thaw cycles were experimentally investigated. Air-entrained and non-air-entrained specimens with different water/cement(w/c) ratios were subjected to different compressive stress by specially designed apparatus, while the specimens suffered freeze-thaw cycles. In order to track the strength degradation process, the nondestructive tests were carried out after each freeze-thaw cycle got the residual strength for each specimen. Based on the experimental data, a variable Kss was proposed to describe the damage velocity. Experimental results indicate that the deterioration processes are accelerated by the compressive loads, and the damage velocity increases with the increases of the preloading levels and w/c ratios. The air entrainment decreases the damage velocity and improves the frost resistance of non-air-entrained concrete, although it would reduce the compressive strength of concrete.

The frost resistance and compressive strength degradation of concrete under the simultaneous action of compressive load and freeze-thaw cycles were experimentally investigated. Air-entrained and non-air-entrained specimens with different water/cement（w/c） ratios were subjected to different compressive stress by specially designed apparatus, while the specimens suffered freeze.thaw cycles. In order to track the strength degradation process, the nondestructive tests were carried out after each freeze-thaw cycle got the residual strength for each specimen. Based on the experimental data, a variable Km was proposed to describe the damage velocity. Experimental results indicate that the deterioration processes are accelerated by the compressive loads, and the damage velocity increases with the increases of the preloading levels and w/c ratios. The air entrainment decreases the damage velocity and improves the frost resistance of non-air-entrained concrete, although it would reduce the compressive strength of concrete.