Ice Formation Mechanisms in Normal and High-Performance Concrete Mixtures
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 12, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper presents a critical analysis of the mechanisms of ice formation in high-performance materials. The process of ice formation in ordinary and high-performance concrete mixtures is first investigated by low-temperature calorimetry. Three concrete mixtures (with water-to-cement ratios of 0.25, 0.35, and 0.45) were prepared and tested. The mechanisms of ice formation were also studied from a theoretical point of view using a numerical model. In this analysis, special attention is placed on the phenomenon of solid/liquid interface propagation. Test results indicate that a reduction of the water-to-cement ratio contributes to refine the concrete pore structure and limit the amount of ice formed between 0 and −55°C. However, low-temperature measurements and theoretical calculations show that it is hardly possible to totally impede ice formation in cement-based materials. According to both types of analysis, ice formation in high-performance concrete mixtures is most certainly initiated by the propagation of a solid/liquid interface.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Adamson, A. W. (1990). Physical chemistry of surfaces. 5th Ed., Wiley Intersciences.
2.
Bager, D. H., and Sellevold, E. J. (1986). “Ice formation in hardened cement paste—Part II: Drying and resaturation of room temperature cured paste.” Cement and Concrete Res., 16(6), 835–844.
3.
Beaudoin, J. J., Gu, P., Tumidajski, P. J., and Perron, S. (1996). “Microstructural changes on drying and rewetting of hydrated cement paste —An A.C. impedance spectroscopy study.” Proc., RILEM Int. Conf., 32–42.
4.
Beaudoin, J. J., and Marchand, J. ( 1999). “Pore structure.” Handbook of analytical techniques in concrete science and technology, Noyes Publishing, 528–628.
5.
Brun, M., Lallemand, A., Quinson, J.-F., and Eyraud, C. (1977). “A new method for the simultaneous determination of the size and shape of pores: The thermoporometry.” Thermochimica Acta, 21, 59–88.
6.
Cohen, M. D., Zhou, Y., and Dolch, W. L. (1992). “Non-air-entrained high-strength concrete—Is it frost resistant.” ACI Mat. J., 89, 406–415.
7.
Defay, R., Prigogine, I., Bellemans, A., and Everett, D. H. (1966). Surface tension and adsorption. Longmans, London.
8.
Drost-Hansen, W. (1967). “The water-ice interface as seen from the liquid side.” J. Colloid and Interfaces Sci., 25, 131–160.
9.
Everett, D. H. ( 1961). “The thermodynamics of frost damage to porous solids.” Trans. Faraday Soc., 57, 1541–1551.
10.
Fagerlund, G. (1973). “Determination of pore-size distribution from freezing-point depression.” Mat. and Struct., Paris, 6(33), 215–225.
11.
Fagerlund, G. (1993). “Frost resistance of high performance concrete—some theoretical considerations.” Rep. TVBM-3056, Div. of Build. Mat., Lund Institute of Technology, 38 p.
12.
Feldman, R. F. (1970). “Length change-adsorption relations for the water-porous glass system—40°C.” Can. J. Chem., 48(2), 287–297.
13.
Feldman, R. F. (1984). “Pore structure damage in blended cements caused by mercury intrusions.” J. Am. Ceramic Soc., 67(1), 30–33.
14.
Foy, C., Pigeon, M., and Banthia, N. (1988). “Freeze-thaw durability and deicer salt-scaling resistance of a 0.25 water-cement ratio concrete.” Cement and Concrete Res., 18(4), 604–614.
15.
Gran, H. C. ( 1997). “Investigations of water in the pore structure of hydrated cement paste by NMR,” PhD thesis, Dept. of Chem., University of Oslo, Blindern, Norway.
16.
Hammer, T. A., and Sellevold, E. J. (1989). “Frost resistance of high strength concrete.” ACI Spec. Publ. SP-121, 457–489.
17.
Haynes, J. M. (1968). “Thermodynamics of freezing in porous solids.” Low Temperature Biol. of Foodstuffs, 79–104.
18.
Helmuth, R. A. (1960). “Capillary size restrictions on ice formation in hardened portland cement pastes.” Proc., 4th Int. Symp. on Chem. of Cement, 855–869.
19.
Jacobsen, S. ( 1995). “Scaling and cracking in unsealed freeze/thaw testing of portland cement and silica fume concretes,” PhD thesis, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., University of Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway.
20.
Le Sage de Fontenay, C., and Sellevold, E. J. ( 1980). “Ice formation in hardened cement paste—I: Mature water-saturated pastes.” Durability of building materials and components, ASTM STP 691, ASTM, West Conshohocken, Pa., 425–438.
21.
Litvan, G. G. (1972). “Phase transitions of adsorbates—Part IV: Mechanism of frost action in hardened cement paste.” J. Am. Ceramic Soc., 55(1), 38–42.
22.
Litvan, G. G. (1973). “Pore structure and frost susceptibility of building materials.” Proc., Int. Symp. RILEM/IUPAC, 18–30.
23.
Marchand, J., Gagné, R., Jacobsen, S., Sellevold, E. J., and Pigeon, M. (1995). “The frost durability of high-performance concrete.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Concrete Under Severe Conditions, ConSec '96, Vol. 1, 273–288.
24.
Matala, S. ( 1995). “Effects of carbonation on the pore structure of granulated blast furnace slag concrete,” PhD thesis, Facu. of Civ. Engrg. and Surv. Concrete Technol., Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland.
25.
Papon, P., and Leblond, J. (1990). Thermodynamique des états de la matière. Hermann, Paris.
26.
Parrott, L. J., Hansen, W., and Berger, R. L. (1980). “Effect of first drying upon the pore structure of hydrated alite paste.” Cement and Concrete Res., 10(5), 647–656.
27.
Pigeon, M. (1996). “Durability of HS/HPC.” Proc., 4th Int. Symp. on Utilization of High-Strength/High Perf. Concrete, Vol. 1, 39–45.
28.
Powers, T. C. (1949). “The air requirement of frost-resistant concrete.” Proc., Hwy. Res. Board, PCA Bull. 33, Vol. 29, 184–211.
29.
Powers, T. C., and Helmuth, R. A. (1953). “Theory of volume changes in hardened portland cement paste.” Proc., Hwy. Res. Board, PCA Bull. 46, Vol. 32, 285–297.
30.
Prado, P. J., Balcom, B. J., Beyea, S. D., Bremner, T. W., Armstrong, R. L., and Grattan-Bellew, P. E. (1998). “Concrete freeze/thaw as studied by magnetic resonance imaging.” Cement and Concrete Res., 28(2), 261–270.
31.
Radjy, F. ( 1968). “A thermodynamic study of the system hardened cement paste and water and its dynamic mechanical response as a function of temperature,” PhD thesis, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., University of Stanford, Stanford, Calif.
32.
Radjy, F. (1975). “Thermodynamic parameters for sorption of water by hardened cement.” Proc., 77th Annu. Meeting of the Am. Ceramic Soc., Cements Division, Washington, D.C.
33.
Scherer, G. (1993). “Freezing gels.” J. Non-Crystalline Solids, 155, 1–25.
34.
Scherer, G. (1999). “Crystallization in pores.” Cement and Concrete Res., 29(8), 1347–1358.
35.
Sellevold, E. J., and Bager, D. H. (1980a). “Some implications of calorimetric ice formation results for frost resistance testing of cement products.” Tech. Rep. 86/80, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
36.
Sellevold, E. J., and Bager, D. H. (1980b). “Low temperature calorimetry as a pore structure probe.” Proc., 7th Int. Congr. on the Chem. of Cement, Vol. 4, 394–399.
37.
Sellevold, E. J., Jacobsen, S., and Bakke, J. A. ( 1996). “High-strength concrete without air entrainment: Effect of rapid temperature cycling above and below 0°C.” Freeze-thaw durability of concrete, E & FN Spon, London, 43–50.
38.
Sellevold, E. J., Justnes, H., Smeplass, S., and Hansen, E. A. (1994). “Selected properties of high-performance concrete.” Proc., Engrg. Found.
39.
Tabikh, A. A., Balchunas, M. J., and Schaefer, D. M. (1971). “A method used to determine cement content in concrete.” Hwy. Res. Rec. 370, 1–7.
40.
Villadsen, J. (1989). “The influence of curing temperature on pore structure of hardened cement paste.” Tech. Rep. 218/90, Lab. for Bygn. Mat., Danmarks Tekn. Højskole.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
History
Received: Aug 18, 1999
Published online: Feb 1, 2000
Published in print: Feb 2000
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.