Research Article Effect of Fast Freeze-Thaw Cycles on Mechanical Properties of Ordinary-Air-Entrained Concrete

Copyright © 2014 Huai-shuai Shang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Freezing-thawing resistance is a very significant characteristic for concrete in severe environment (such as cold region with the lowest temperature below 0∘C). In this study, ordinary-air-entrained (O-A-E) concrete was produced in a laboratory environment; the compressive strength, cubic compressive strength of C50, C40, C30, C25, and C20 ordinary-air-entrained concrete, tensile strength, and cleavage strength ofC30 ordinary-air-entrained concreteweremeasured after fast freeze-thaw cycles.The effects of fast freeze-thaw cycles on the mechanical properties (compressive strength and cleavage strength) of ordinary-air-entrained concrete materials are investigated on the basis of the experimental results. And the concise mathematical formula between mechanical behavior and number of fast freeze-thaw cycles was established. The experiment results can be used as a reference in design, maintenance, and life prediction of ordinary-air-entrained concrete structure (such as dam, offshore platform, etc.) in cold regions. 1