Frost Durability of High-Performance Concrete Incorperating Slag or Silica Fume

This paper presents the results of laboratory studies conducted to determine freezing and thawing and scaling resistance of high-performance concrete. High-performance concretes were made using a combination of different cementitious materials (blast-furnace slag and silica fume). The water-to-cementitious materials ratio was 0.27, and the bulk volume of coarse aggregate and fine aggregate per unit volume of concrete were fixed at 0.50 and 0.60, respectively. All mixtures used a superplasticizer and were non-air-entrained. Test cylinders were cast for testing in compression at 1 and 28 days, and test prisms were cast for determining resistance to freezing and thawing cycles in accordance with ASTM C 666, Procedure A, and for resistance to scaling from deicing chemicals according to ASTM C 672. The curing methods were water curing and steam curing. The air-void parameters of the hardened concrete were determined on the sawn sections. The test results indicate that non-air-entrained, high-performance concrete with steam curing showed low durability factors. High-performance concrete with water curing performed satisfactorily when subjected to up to 1500 cycles of freezing and thawing. Water-cured, high-performance concrete showed no appreciable scaling after 100 freezing and thawing cycles, showing high resistance to scaling.