Freeze–Thaw Durability and Salt Scaling Resistance Assessment of Portland Cement Concrete Composite Pavement

The SHRP 2 R21 project on composite pavement investigated the durability of various mixtures of portland cement concrete (PCC) used in the construction of a two-layer composite PCC pavement. Project consultants in Europe, where composite PCC over PCC pavement was more common than in the United States, advised the R21 research team to consider using the CIF (capillary suction, internal damage, and freeze–thaw) standard of the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems, and Structures (RILEM), Paris, rather than the familiar ASTM standards. As a result, the R21 project adopted the RILEM CIF standard to evaluate the freeze–thaw durability and salt scaling resistance of concretes. The research also explored a modified RILEM CIF test (using pure water instead of a sodium chloride solution in scaling tests) alongside the standard RILEM CIF tests. The paper describes this experience to expose other institutions and agencies in the United States to the RILEM standards for the freeze–thaw durability and salt scaling resistance testing of concretes.