Dual-scale study of pre-damage, water boundary conditions and frost interaction in concrete
Journal article, 2025

This study investigated the interactive effects of pre-damage, water boundary conditions, and internal frost damage on concrete at dual-scale. The pre-damage included pre-cracking, which has not been studied experimentally before, and pre-compressive damage. Concrete specimens underwent pre-damage and had varied water boundary conditions during Freeze-Thaw Cycles (FTC). At the macro-scale, wedge-splitting tests combined with Digital Image Correlation (DIC) were conducted to assess post-FTC strength and fracture behaviour. At the meso-scale, X-ray CT scanning was employed to identify internal crack patterns. Results reveal that at the macro-scale, significant interaction between pre-damage and frost damage reduced splitting tensile strength compared to the internal frost damage alone. Besides, increased water exposure during FTCs reduced both splitting tensile strength and compressive strength, with a less pronounced reduction in splitting tensile strength. It also led to a diffuse crack pattern and increased tensile ductility. At the meso-scale, specimens subjected to the interactive effects of pre-damage and internal frost damage exhibited cracks along aggregate-cement interfaces and within the cement paste. Reference specimens displayed no internal cracks, while specimens exposed to only FTCs showed only cracks along aggregate-cement interfaces. Full submersion of specimens during FTCs induced more internal cracks than solely water on top. These findings on the interactions between pre-damage, water boundary conditions, and internal frost damage offer insight into the causes of frost damage, vital for the design and assessment of concrete structures in frost-prone environments. Furthermore, the results of these dual-scale tests can be used as a test case for the development of upscaling numerical models describing heat transfer and frost degradation in concrete.

Concrete

Pre-damage

Freeze-thaw cycle

Internal frost damage

Water boundary condition

Author

Langzi Chang

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering

Katja Frid

Malmö university

Roland Kruse

Technische Universität Braunschweig

R. Janicke

Technische Universität Braunschweig

Karin Lundgren

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering

Materials and Structures/Materiaux et Constructions

1359-5997 (ISSN)

Vol. 58 2 74

Structural safety of corroded reinforced concrete structures from visual inspection

Formas (2022-01175), 2023-01-01 -- 2025-12-31.

Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)

Building Technologies

DOI

10.1617/s11527-025-02599-9

More information

Latest update

3/6/2025 6