Title:
Investigation of Approaches for Improving Interfacial Transition Zone-Related Freezing-and-Thawing Resistance in Concrete Pavements
Author(s):
Jiake Zhang, Peter C. Taylor, and Caijun Shi
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
112
Issue:
5
Appears on pages(s):
613-618
Keywords:
durability; freezing and thawing; interfacial transition zone; joints; pavement; silica fume
DOI:
10.14359/51687902
Date:
9/1/2015
Abstract:
Sawn joints in concrete pavements appear to be more susceptible to deterioration under cyclic freezing and thawing than formed joints. One mechanism appears to be related to water and salt solutions more readily penetrating into the concrete through the exposed interfacial transition zone (ITZ) at the saw-cut joint. This in turn will increase the risk of local expansion or dissolution around the aggregate particles at the joint face. The work described in this paper was conducted to evaluate this hypothesis. A range of concrete mixtures with different water-cementitious materials ratios (w/cm) and silica fume contents were tested in a range of deicing solutions and subjected to cyclic freezing and thawing. The data indicate that improving the quality of the ITZ does help to reduce the risk of damage. In addition, the results revealed that saturated concretes have lower freezing-and-thawing resistance compared to concrete simply soaked for a short time.