Case Studies in Construction Materials 11 (2019) e00287

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Case Studies in Construction Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cscm

Case study

Effects of surface states on salt-frost scaling resistance

of cement concrete
Zhang Huia,b , Gao Peiweib,*, Pan Youqianga , Zhang Zhixianga
a
Jiangsu SinoRoad Engineering Research Institute, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
b
Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: This study discussed influences of surface states of concrete on salt-frost durability. By
Received 1 August 2019 using the Capillary suction of Deicing solution and Freeze-thaw test method(CDF), the
Received in revised form 7 October 2019 effects of factors, such as solution saturation in capillary, surface property and load
Accepted 8 October 2019
coupling were compared and analyzed. It is found that drying shrinkage exerts greater
effects on salt-frost resistance of the concrete in comparison with solution saturation in
Keywords: capillary. According to the CDF test standard recommended by RILEM, the salt-frost test
Salt-freezing cycle
results of the surface formed with the partitions in the laboratory overestimate salt-frost
Saturation
Surface property
resistance of the concrete in the actual situation. Scaled mass of the top surface of the
Load coupling molded concrete due to salt frost is about 50% larger than that of the surface formed with
the partitions. Coupling effects of repeated load and salt-freezing cycles can aggravate salt-
frost damages of the concrete.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction

Frost resistance durability is a key point needing to be considered during the construction of concrete in cold regions.
After entraining air in the concrete, air voids therein can effectively buffer all kinds of stress generated in the cement mortar
and play the role of an airbag [1,2]. The study on the mechanism of concrete freeze-thaw failure began in the 1930s. Due to
the complexity of the mechanism of concrete freeze-thaw failure, it has not been fully studied, but the series of hypotheses
proposed have largely guided the study of concrete durability. Osmotic hypothesis [3] proposed by Powers and Helmuth in
1953 further shows how air-void structure affects frost resistance durability of concrete. Although osmotic theory can better
explain deleterious effects of deicing salt, it cannot reasonably explain the several basic phenomena of salt-frost damages of
the concrete. For example, why salt-frost damages of the concrete caused by salt solution with low and medium
concentration are the most serious and what is the importance of salt solution existing on concrete surface to salt-frost
damages in freezing [4]. With the advance of testing technique for pore microstructure [5], Existing researches [6,7] also
reveal that in addition to air-void structure, surface conditions also have great effects on salt-frost resistance of the concrete.
Even though air-void spacing factor of the concrete is smaller than 0.25 mm, salt-frost durability can be dramatically reduced
if surface performance of the concrete is attenuated in the process of plastering and usage. Hazrati et al. [8–10] also
confirmed that salt-frost resistance of the concrete under different surface states shows a large difference and the salt-frost
resistance of the concrete with sealed surface is several times superior to that of the ordinary concrete. O. Uzhan Opurolu
et al. [11] considered that the main reason for salt-frost scaling of the concrete is the local stress caused by the inconsistent

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: gpw1963@163.com (P. Gao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2019.e00287
2214-5095/© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
2 H. Zhang et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 11 (2019) e00287

temperature and deformation of ice and the concrete during temperature-fall process. In recent years, it has proven to be
effective to prevent the intrusion of water and harmful media by concrete surface treatment to further improve the salt
resistance of concrete [12]. Even as early as the last century, impregnated paste-like protective materials were considered
one of the most suitable materials for concrete protection [13]. Some studies [14] believe that the deterioration of existing
concrete starts at the surface, and the protection performance based on the surface resistance to penetration and
compactness is the most direct and effective to improve the resistance of existing concrete to deterioration and durability.
The fundamental means. In conclusion, various researches demonstrate that there are factors from multiple aspects
influencing salt-frost durability of the concrete on the surface. Therefore, it is still inadequate to only study the effects of air-
void structure, while other factors, such as erosion, weathering and load effects of passing vehicles also need to be
concerned. This study mainly discussed effects of factors, like solution saturation, surface process of the concrete, curing
conditions of the concrete and loading effects of vehicles on salt-frost resistance when the concrete was firstly subjected to
salt frost. The aim is to provide certain reference to improve salt-frost resistance of the concrete on road surfaces or in bridges
and culverts.

2. Materials and test schemes

2.1. Materials and test methods

The P O 42.5 ordinary Portland cement (Table 1), natural river sand and limestone gravels(Table 2) were used and
saponin air-entraining agent was adopted. The water-binder ratio was 0.38 and the ratio of cement, water, sand and stone
was 447: 170: 674: 1099. Air-entraining agent was added in accordance with percentage (mass fraction) of cement content,
The amount of air entraining agent was adjusted according to the air content of fresh concrete and was about 0.02-0.1% of
the mass of the concrete. The air content was designed as 02% (standard, with no air entraining agent), 34%, 46%,
57%, 810%, and >10%.
In reference to the test method for air content in concrete mixture stipulated in Test Methods of Cement and Concrete for
Highway Engineering (JTGE30-2005), a direct-reading air content detector (Sanyo, Japan) was used. According to different
test requirements, curing was performed under different working conditions. Moreover, based on the Capillary suction of
Deicing solution and Freeze-thaw (CDF) test standard RILEM TC 117-DC (Materials and Sructures.1995) recommended by
RILEM, salt-frost test was carried out. The scaling situation of the specimen surfaces at days 7, 14, 21 and 28 was observed and
the scaled mass was measured and recorded. The concrete was molded through vibration after inserting a
polytetrafluoroethylene partition into the cement mortar. Five specimens with the dimension of 150  150  150 mm
were set in each group, the specimens were demoulded after being cured for 24 h. The specimens were split into half after
curing for 28 days in a standard curing chamber and the salt-frost test was conducted by using the surfaces formed with the
partition with the dimension of 150  150 mm. After drying in the outside, the four sides of the specimens were sealed with
butyl rubber with aluminum foil. After that, the surfaces to be tested were immersed into salt solution of 3% concentration in
a test chamber for 7 days and the immersion depth was 5 mm.

2.2. Simulated different working conditions

(1) By utilizing three curing methods for the specimens, i.e. standard curing for 28 days (room temperature was 20  2  C
and humidity was no smaller than 95%), drying for 7 days outside after standard curing for 28 days and saturating in salt
solution for 7 days in the CDF test chamber after standard curing for 28 days, the different saturations of solution in
capillary were simulated. Air-entraining content of these specimens was controlled at 6  0.5%.
(2) Four different construction conditions of the surface were represented by A, B, C and D. A and B separately indicated the
specimens only vibrated but not plastered with and without bleeding on the surface; C and D denoted the specimen that
was plastered once before initial setting after vibration and the specimen that was plastered separately before initial and
final setting after vibration, respectively. Air-entraining content of these specimens was controlled at 6  0.5%.
(3) CDF salt-frost test was performed on the three sides, including a top surface of the molded concrete, a surface formed
with the partition and a cut surface of a same cube specimen. In the meanwhile, different air contents were introduced
into these specimens, and the highest air content reached about 12%。The air content was designed as 02% (standard,
with no air entraining agent), 34%, 46%, 57%, 810%, and >10%. Samples of concrete cubes of different air contents
were molded and subjected to standard curing. This was followed by tests of the top surface, surface formed with
partitions, and cut surface of the same cubic sample based on the CDF method. Among them, the top surface was
prepared using the procedure C in point (2) of the chapter.

Table 1
Chemical composition of cement /%.

SiO2 CaO MgO Fe2O3 Al2O3 K2O Na2O SO3 碱含量

22.71 66.10 1.90 2.85 4.57 0.68 0.15 1.37 0.50
 H. Zhang et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 11 (2019) e00287 3

Table 2
Test results of limestone aggregate.

Grain Apparent Voidage /％ Bulk density /(kg/m3) Dry Water Absorption Rate of
Size /mm Density/(kg/m3) Saturated Surface/％
Loose Dense Loose Dense
540 2670 51.68 41.2 1290 1570 1.27

(4) This study also considered the influences of repeated loading and unloading on salt-frost resistance of the concrete and
researched three loading conditions, which are represented by JZ, F-40%fc and Y-40%fc. JZ indicates the reference
concrete without repeated loading and unloading; Y-40%fc means that the test surface is loaded to and unloaded from
40% of compressive strength uninterruptedly for 80 times before salt-frost test (namely, zero salt-freezing cycle).
Moreover, F-40%fc denotes that the test surface is repeatedly loaded to and unloaded from 40% of compressive strength
for 20 times after every seven salt-freezing cycles and 80 times of loading and unloading are carried out in total. Loading
rate ranges from 0.3 to 0.5 MPa/s. Air-entraining content is controlled at 6  0.5% and the compressive strength of the
specimens was about 43 MPa.

3. Results and analysis

3.1. Influences of saturation of solution in capillary before salt-freezing the specimens

Test results are shown in Fig. 1. After 28 cycles, the scaled mass of the concrete undergoing CDF curing and standard curing
is very similar. The scaled mass of the concrete dried for 7 days after standard curing reaches the largest, being 0.18 kg/m2,
which is about 50% larger than those under the other two working conditions. Furthermore, after the 14th cycle, the
difference between the scaled mass of the concrete dried for 7 days after standard curing and that under the other two
working conditions does not continuously expand. These phenomena indicate that if the specimens are in the state of drying
shrinkage before undergoing salt frost for the first time, salt solution continuously seepages in the salt-frost process, which
can increase osmotic pressure, thus aggravating the salt-frost damages on the concrete surfaces in the early stage.

3.2. Effects of different surface states

3.2.1. Difference of different plastering processes

The influence of different plastering methods on salt-frost resistance of the concrete shows an obvious law in the whole
test process. As shown in Fig. 2, under the condition of only vibration, the scaled mass is the largest for the unplastered
concrete with bleeding in the group A, while it is the smallest for unplastered concrete without bleeding in the group B. The
scaled mass of the concrete undergoing secondary plastering in the group D is larger than that of the concrete with one
plastering in the group C. This demonstrates that stratification caused by bleeding and multiple plastering are unfavorable
for salt-frost durability of the concrete. This may be because these conditions result in the loss of air content in the surface
layer and the deterioration of air-void structure.
Furthermore, some researches demonstrate that excessive plastering can lead to loss of air content, deteriorate air-
void structure and form a loose structure in the surface layer of the concrete, thus increasing scaled mass, as displayed
in Fig. 3 [9,10].

Fig. 1. Effects of solution saturation in capillary on scaling rate.

4 H. Zhang et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 11 (2019) e00287

Fig. 2. Impacts of plastering on salt-frost scaling rate.

Fig. 3. Changes of surface state of the concrete after plastering.

3.2.2. Differences of top surface of the molded concrete, surface formed with partition and cut surface
In order to further explore influences of surface state on salt-frost durability of the concrete, this research studied
differences of salt-frost scaling of the top surface of the molded concrete, the surface formed with the partitions and the cut
surface of the cube specimen and considered different ranges of air content.
For the convenience of comparison, the scaled mass on the top surface of the molded concrete used in Fig. 4 is the median
of scaled mass of the five test blocks. The results show that the top surface of the molded concrete, the surface formed with
the partitions and cut surface are ranked from small to large according to scaled mass on different surfaces due to salt frost
under the same air content. When air content is in the range of 3%6%, the scaled mass of the surface formed with the
partitions is generally about 30% smaller than that of the top surface of the molded concrete. In the CDF laboratory, there is a
risk of overestimating the salt-frost resistance of the concrete in actual situation when predicting it through test results of
the surface formed with the partitions.

Fig. 4. Scaled mass on different surfaces under different air contents.

 H. Zhang et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 11 (2019) e00287 5

By taking air content of 3.9% of the concrete as an example, the changes of scaled mass due to salt frost on different concrete
surfaces is shown in Fig. 5. The scaled mass of the top surface of the molded concrete after 28 cycles is about 1 kg/m2, while those
of the surface formed with the partitions and cut surface separately are 0.65 kg/m2 and only 0.21 kg/m2.
The state of different specimens after 28 cycles is shown in Fig. 6. The top surface of the molded concrete has been
scaled so severely that aggregates are exposed. It is considered that the plastered layer shows a large water-cement ratio
and low cement stone strength in floating pulp, where there are a high capillary porosity and very few air voids. As a result,
high osmotic pressure and hydrostatic pressure are easily produced in salt-freezing cycles, thus damaging cement stone
with low strength in the layer of floating pulp. For the cut surface, owing to aggregates are contained in the surface and
hardly spalled, scaled mass due to salt frost is small. This conclusion is the same as that described in the literature [15]: the
concrete sawing surface ablation amount is smaller than the non-sawing surface, and the concrete at the sawing surface is
considered to be dense.

3.3. The relationship between load effects and salt-frost resistance of the concrete

Fig. 7 demonstrates the changes of scaled mass of the surface formed with the partitions of the concrete specimens with
number of salt-freezing cycles after certain repeated loading to and unloading from 40% of ultimate compressive strength
(40%fc) when air content is 6%. The scaled mass of the concrete specimens (Y-40%fc) in the salt-frost test after uninterrupted
loading and unloading for 80 times before salt-frost test is approximately equal to that of reference concrete specimen
without repeated loading and unloading and they are 0.14 kg/m2 and 0.12 kg/m2, respectively. The scaled mass due to salt
frost of the concrete specimen (F-40%fc) undergoing 20 times of repeated loading and unloading every after seven salt-
freezing cycles is obviously larger than those under the first two conditions and reaches 0.22 kg/m2, which is nearly two
times that of the formers. This indicates that the coupling effects of repeated load and salt-freezing cycles can intensify salt-
frost damages of the concrete. The general laboratory salt-frost test is likely to overestimate the salt-frost resistance of the
concrete on road surfaces or in bridges and culverts. There are also studies [16] that the reason for the further increase in the
amount of concrete salt ablation is that under the action of the load cycle, the relative dynamic elastic modulus of the
concrete is continuously decreased, causing cracks in the concrete and increasing the permeability coefficient.

Fig. 5. Changes of scaled mass due to salt frost on different concrete surfaces under the air content of 3.9%.

Fig. 6. Surfaces of the specimen after 28 cycles.

6 H. Zhang et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 11 (2019) e00287

Fig. 7. Changes of scaled mass of the concrete surfaces due to salt frost after repeated loading and unloading.

4. Conclusions

(1) Scaled mass of the specimens pre-saturated with salt solution due to salt frost is approximate to that of the unsaturated
concrete specimens, while the scaled mass of the concrete dried for seven days after standard curing due to salt frost
exceeds 50% of that of the concrete after standard curing. This demonstrates that drying shrinkage has greater influences
on salt-frost resistance of the concrete in comparison with the solution saturation in capillary.
(2) Based on CDF test criteria recommended by RILEM, the laboratory salt-frost tests yield safer results compared with the
evaluation of salt-frost resistance of actual concrete. Compared with the surface formed with the partitions, the top
surface of the molded concrete is relatively weaker. Therefore, vibration time and plastering process should be paid
attention to in actual engineering, so as to prevent surface bleeding and loss of air content.
(3) The coupling effects of repeated load and salt-freezing cycles can aggravate salt-frost damages of the concrete and the
general laboratory. The laboratory salt-frost tests yield safer results compared with the evaluation of salt-frost resistance
of actual concrete. Therefore, it is suggested to consider the influence of vehicle load in the test conditions and further
optimize the test evaluation method.

Data availability statement

All data included in this study are available upon request by contact with the corresponding author.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.
We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection
with the work submitted
We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can
inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product,
service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript
entitled “Effects of surface states on salt-frost scaling resistance of cement concrete”.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation (Youth Fund) (BK20180113), Jiangsu
Natural Science Foundation (Surface Project) (BK20181112), High-level Talent Project Funding Scheme of Jiangsu
(XCL-CXTD-007), Post-doctoral fund of China (2018M630559, 2014M551588) and project of traffic construction in Shanxi
Province (16-2-08) for its financial support in this project.

References

[1] Lianxiang Du, Kevin J. Folliard, Mechanisms of air entrainment in concrete, Cem. Concr. Res. 35 (2005) 1463–1471.
[2] Zhang Hui, Ding Jiantong, Zhang Jian, Influence factors of frost-salt resistance of cement concrete, J. Chongqing Jiaotong Univ. 4 (32) (2013) 34–37.
[3] T.C. Power, R.A. Helmuth, Theory of volume change in hardened Portland cement pastes during freezing, Proc. Highway Res. Board 32 (1949) 285–297.
[4] Yang Quanbing, Mechanisms of deicer frost scaling of concrete (I)- capillary uptake degree of saturation and Ice2Formation pressure, J. Build. Constr.
Plan. Mater. Res. 10 (5) (2007) 522–527.
[5] Zhang Hui, Ding Jian-tong, G.A.O. Pei-wei, Analysis on the air-void system test methods of concrete, Low Temperature Archit. Technol. 12 (138)
(2009) 7–9.
 H. Zhang et al. / Case Studies in Construction Materials 11 (2019) e00287 7

[6] M. Pigeon, J. Marchand, R. Pleau, Frost resistant concrete, Constr. Build. Mater. 10 (5) (1996) 339–348.
[7] M. Pigeon, R. Pleau, Durability of Concrete in Cold Climates, E&FN Spon, London, 1995.
[8] K. Hazrati, C. Abesque, M. Pigeon, Efficiency of sealers to prevent the deicer salt scaling resistance of concrete, Proceedings of the International
Workshop on the Resistance of Concrete to Freezing in the Presence of Deicing Salts, Quebec, Canada, 1993, pp. 191–228.
[9] Remzi Sahin, Mehmet Ali Tasdemir, G.ü Rüstem, Determination of the optimum conditions for de-icing salt scaling resistance of concrete by visual
examination and surface scaling, Construct. Build. Mater. (2009) 1–8.
[10] Remzi Sahin, Mehmet Ali Tasdemir, G.ü Rüstem, Determination of the optimum conditions for de-icing salt scaling resistance of concrete by visual
examination and surface scaling, Construct. Build. Mater. (2009) 1–8.
[11] O. uzhanopurolu, Erik. Schlangen, Modeling of frost salt scaling, Cem. Concr. Res. 38 (2008) 27–39.
[12] P.A.M. Basheer, L. Basheer, D.J. Cleland, et al., Surface treatments for concrete: assesment methods and reported performance, Constr. Build. Mater.
11 (7) (1997) 413.
[13] R. Hager, “Silicones for Concrete Protection.” Prceedings of the International Conference, University of Dundee, Scotland, 1996, pp. 361–367.
[14] Yan. Zhang, The Surface Penetration Treatment to Strengthening the Existing Concrete and Durability Research in the Western Environment, Lanzhou
Jiaotong University, 2014.
[15] Z.H.A.N.G. Guo-qiang, Q.I.N. Wei-zu, Research on test method for scaling resistance of deicing chemicals, J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. 17 (2) (2000) 5–8.
[16] L.I. Zhong-hua, B.A. Heng-jing, G.A.O. Xiao-jian, Research on deicer-frost resistance of pavement concrete under repeated load, J. Wuhan Univ. Technol.
7 (30) (2008) 62–65.