Freezing and thawing resistance of internally cured high performance concrete

The behavior of internally cured high performance concrete, HPC, exposed to freezing and thawing cycles, was investigated. Two saturated curing agents, Limestone dust and powder of Porcelanite rock, were used to facilitate internal curing for concrete. These agents were used as partial replacements of fine aggregate in two volumetric percentages, 20 and 30 percent. The cast concrete specimens were separated in two groups according to curing method: water-cured and sealed (only internally-cured) specimens. The concrete specimens were subjected to three exposure systems, F0: without freezing and thawing, and F1 and F2: with 50 and 100 cycles of freezing and thawing, respectively. The freezing and thawing test was done as stipulated by the ASTM C666. The conducted tests for each exposure were: compressive and flexural strengths. The results revealed that internal curing does not enhance the concrete resistance to freezing and thawing cycles. Using saturated agents has increased the moisture content of concrete and makes it more vulnerable to frost action deterioration. Sealed specimens for all investigated mixes showed lower reductions in strength than water-cured ones. The lesser water content of these mixes may be the reason for that behavior