scholarly journals Petrographically Quantifying the Damage to Field and Lab-cast Mortars Subject to Freeze-thaw Cycles and Deicer Applications

Author(s):  
CHUNYU QIAO ◽  
Nima Hosseinzadeh Nanehkaran ◽  
Prannoy Suraneni ◽  
Sihang Wei ◽  
David Rothstein

Abstract Although calcium oxychloride (Ca-Oxy) is known to damage cementitious materials exposed to calcium chloride (CaCl2) deicers, there is little direct observation of Ca-Oxy in the field due to its instability. This paper uses optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) to detect the formed Ca-Oxy and quantify its associated damage in a field mortar subject to freeze-thaw cycles and deicer applications. The characterized damage in the field mortar is compared to that in lab-cast portland cement paste and mortar which are submerged in a CaCl2 solution of 25 wt. % under freeze-thaw cycles (-8 to 25 °C). The field and lab-cast mortars show similar cracking patterns that are parallel to the exposure surface with a variation of 30-45° in the preferred orientation due to the constraints of sand particles. During each lab-controlled freeze-thaw cycle, the high CaCl2 concentration of 25 wt. % stabilizes the formed Ca-Oxy, which continually damages the mortar and eventually results in 3-4 times higher crack density compared to that in the field mortar. SEM-EDX analysis confirms the presence of secondary deposits including Friedel’s salt, ettringite and Ca-Oxy. Image analysis on thin section photomicrographs shows a reduction of 86.4% in calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) content in the damaged field mortar compared to the undamaged field mortar, suggesting significant leaching of Ca(OH)2 to form Ca-Oxy due to the deicer application.

Author(s):  
Chunyu Qiao ◽  
Nima Hosseinzadeh ◽  
Prannoy Suraneni ◽  
Sihang Wei ◽  
David Rothstein

AbstractAlthough calcium oxychloride (Ca-Oxy) is known to damage cementitious materials exposed to calcium chloride (CaCl2) deicers, there is little direct observation of Ca-Oxy in the field due to its instability. This paper uses optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) to detect the formed Ca-Oxy and quantify its associated damage in a field mortar subject to freeze-thaw cycles and deicer application. The characterized damage in the field mortar is compared to that in lab-cast portland cement paste and mortar which are submerged in a CaCl2 solution of 25 wt.% under freeze-thaw cycles (− 8 to 25 °C). The field and lab-cast mortars show similar cracking patterns that are parallel to the exposure surface with a variation of 30–45° in the preferred orientation due to the constraints of sand particles. During each lab-controlled freeze-thaw cycle, the high CaCl2 concentration of 25 wt.% stabilizes the formed Ca-Oxy, which continually damages the mortar and eventually results in 3–4 times higher crack density compared to that in the field mortar. SEM-EDX analysis confirms the presence of secondary deposits including Friedel’s salt, ettringite and Ca-Oxy. Image analysis on thin section photomicrographs shows a reduction of 86.4% in calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) content in the damaged field mortar compared to the undamaged field mortar, suggesting significant leaching of Ca(OH)2 to form Ca-Oxy due to the deicer application.


2014 ◽  
Vol 629-630 ◽  
pp. 207-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Yi Zhang ◽  
Ying Fang Fan ◽  
Qi Wang

High volume utilization of industrial wastes and by products is the solution for high disposal coast. The anti-frost of high performance concrete is a key factor for safe utilization of concrete structure containing industrial wastes under severe environment. In this paper, to understand the property on anti-frost of high performance containing ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) under cold marine environment. Some comparison studies were conducted on plain concrete by rapid freeze-thaw cycle test. During the rapid freeze-thaw cycle test, the mass loss and relative elastic modulus were measured regularly at the prescribed conditioning ages. The development of microstructure in concrete was analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The rapid freeze-thaw cycle test results show that the plain concrete was destroyed severely at 150 freeze-thaw cycles. After 225 freeze-thaw cycles, the mass loss and the relative dynamic modulus of elasticity of GGBFS concrete decrease 1.3% and 26.11%, respectively, that indicates that GGBFS significantly improve the anti-frost performance of concrete; The addition of GGBFS can accelerate the cement hydration reaction, promote more Ca (OH)2 crystals shift to C-S-H gel and help to increase the density of the micro-structure of concrete, which can prevent the formation of micro-cracks and suppress the propagation of cracks and thus effectively improve the durability of concrete. KEY WORDS: GGBFS; freeze-thaw durability; microstructure; scanning electron microscopy; X-ray diffraction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Wang ◽  
Jinyang Cui

Cement solidification/stabilization is a commonly used method for the remediation of contaminated soils. The stability characteristics of solidified/stabilized contaminated soils under freeze-thaw cycle are very important. A series of tests, which include unconfined compressive strength tests, freeze-thaw cycle tests, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests, are performed to study the variation law of strength characteristics and microstructure. It aims at revealing the microcosmic mechanism of solidified/stabilized Pb2+ contaminated soils with cement under freeze-thaw cycle. The results show that the unconfined compressive strength of the contaminated soils significantly improved with the increase of the cement content. The unconfined compressive strength of stabilized contaminated soils first increases with the increase of times of freeze-thaw cycle, and after reaching the peak, it decreases with the increase of times of freeze-thaw cycle. The results of the scanning electron microscopy tests are consistent with those of the unconfined compressive strength tests. This paper also reveals the microcosmic mechanism of the changes in engineering of the stabilized contaminated soils under freeze-thaw cycle.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongliang Zhang ◽  
Guangqing Yang ◽  
Xiaodi Niu ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Zhijie Wang

In deep season frozen areas, the solidified layer is easy to be destroyed due to the influence of freeze-thaw cycles after the surface layer of the sandy slope is solidified by chemical methods. In order to study the application effect of the new sand consolidating agent after solidifying sand body, the mechanism of strength formation was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The freeze-thaw cycle tests were carried out on sand consolidating samples. The direct shear tests and unconfined compressive strength tests were carried out before and after freeze-thaw cycles to analyze the freeze-thaw resistance of sand consolidating samples. The sand consolidation agent was tested on-site, and its strength was tested to observe its effect. The results showed that the adhesive membranes on the surface of sand particles were formed by the sand consolidating agent, which increased the cohesion and strength of sand particles. After freeze-thaw cycle tests, the cohesion, internal friction angle, and compressive strength of the solidified sand gradually decreased with increasing freeze-thaw cycles. The decreasing rate reduced from fast to slow and then tends to be stable. The failure mode of samples changed from brittle failure to plastic failure. The sand consolidating layer can effectively prevent collapse of the sandy slope. Combining with the external-soil spray seeding, the sand consolidation layer is beneficial to the growth of plants.


1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 725-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Roy ◽  
P. La Rochelle ◽  
S. Leroueil ◽  
J.M. Konrad ◽  
G. Bergeron

A laboratory study of the evolution of the behaviour of a sensitive clay under many freeze–thaw cycles is presented; it follows the laboratory study of Leroueil et al. (1991) and the field study of Roy et al. (1992). The physical properties of the clay have been followed by means of consistency and permeability tests after each freeze–thaw cycle, and the mechanical behaviour has been assessed by means of falling cone, oedometer, and consolidated isotropically undrained triaxial tests. The changes in internal structure have been observed by means of the scanning electron microscope and the mercury porosimeter. The results show that the changes in properties are significant during the first three freeze–thaw cycles and hardly significant during the following cycles. The structure change can be explained by the high suction that develops during the generation of ice lenses behind the frost front. Key words : clay, freeze–thaw, shear strength, permeability, heaving, settlements. [Journal translation]


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Longxiao Chen ◽  
Kesheng Li ◽  
Guilei Song ◽  
Deng Zhang ◽  
Chuanxiao Liu

AbstractRock deterioration under freeze–thaw cycles is a concern for in-service tunnel in cold regions. Previous studies focused on the change of rock mechanical properties under unidirectional stress, but the natural rock mass is under three dimensional stresses. This paper investigates influences of the number of freeze–thaw cycle on sandstone under low confining pressure. Twelve sandstone samples were tested subjected to triaxial compression. Additionally, the damage characteristics of sandstone internal microstructure were obtained by using acoustic emission (AE) and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Results indicated that the mechanical properties of sandstone were significantly reduced by freeze–thaw effect. Sandstone’ peak strength and elastic modulus were 7.28–37.96% and 6.38–40.87% less than for the control, respectively. The proportion of super-large pore and large pore in sandstone increased by 19.53–81.19%. We attributed the reduced sandstone’ mechanical properties to the degenerated sandstone microstructure, which, in turn, was associated with increased sandstone macropores. The macroscopic failure pattern of sandstone changed from splitting failure to shear failure with an increasing of freeze–thaw cycles. Moreover, the activity of AE signal increased at each stage, and the cumulative ringing count also showed upward trend with the increase of freeze–thaw number.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 954-967
Author(s):  
Jie-lin Li ◽  
Long-yin Zhu ◽  
Ke-ping Zhou ◽  
Hui Chen ◽  
Le Gao ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huren Rong ◽  
Jingyu Gu ◽  
Miren Rong ◽  
Hong Liu ◽  
Jiayao Zhang ◽  
...  

In order to study the damage characteristics of the yellow sandstone containing pores under the freeze-thaw cycle, the uniaxial compression test of saturated water-stained yellow sandstones with different freeze-thaw cycles was carried out by rock servo press, the microstructure was qualitatively analyzed by Zeiss 508 stereo microscope, and the microdamage mechanism was quantitatively studied by using specific surface area and pore size analyzer. The mechanism of weakening mechanical properties of single-hole yellow sandstone was expounded from the perspective of microstructure. The results show the following. (1) The number of freeze-thaw cycles and single-pore diameter have significant effects on the strength and elastic modulus of the yellow sandstone; the more the freeze-thaw cycles and the larger the pore size, the lower the strength of the yellow sandstone. (2) The damage modes of the yellow sandstone containing pores under the freeze-thaw cycle are divided into five types, and the yellow sandstone with pores is divided into two areas: the periphery of the hole and the distance from the hole; as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases, different regions show different microscopic damage patterns. (3) The damage degree of yellow sandstone is different with freeze-thaw cycle and pore size. Freeze-thaw not only affects the mechanical properties of yellow sandstone but also accelerates the damage process of pores. (4) The damage of the yellow sandstone by freeze-thaw is logarithmic function, and the damage of the yellow sandstone is a power function. The damage equation of the yellow sandstone with pores under the freezing and thawing is a log-power function nonlinear change law and presents a good correlation.


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