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Influence of concrete’s preconditioning on salt-frost scaling in the slab test
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School of Engineering |
Master's thesis
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en
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80
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Abstract
Salt-frost scaling is one of the major durability concerns for concrete structures in cold climates. Although the slab test method is commonly used to assess scaling resistance, it often produces inconsistent results and may not reliably represent the performance of slag-blended concretes. This study investigates the effects of preconditioning modifications on salt-frost scaling behaviour, with a focus on concrete containing varying amounts of ground granulated blast furnace slag. Three binder types, CEM I, CEM II/B, and CEM III/A, containing 0 %, 17 %, and 42 % slag, respectively, were tested using the reference slab test method and five preconditioning modifications. These modifications included accelerated carbonation, prevention of carbonation, changes in pre-saturation duration, and grinding of the sawn surface. The correlation between scaling and liquid uptake during freeze-thaw cycles was also examined to understand the impact of moisture transport mechanisms such as the pumping effect.
Results indicate that accelerated carbonation significantly increases scaling, not only in slag-rich concretes but also in CEM I mixes. Change in the pre-saturation period had contrasting effects across different mixes. The surface grinding improved repeatability but did not significantly affect scaling. Additionally, no general correlation was found between liquid uptake and scaling. However, for each individual preconditioning method and concrete mix, a clear correlation between liquid uptake and scaling was observed.
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Supervisor
Punkki, JouniThesis advisor
Ojala, TeemuIqbal, Ahsan