Factors Affecting Resistance of Concrete to Freezing and Thawing Damage

Abstract

The variation in cement type affects the performance of concrete in terms of durability and strength. Concretes made with different cement types are known to behave differently under similar conditions such as environmental conditions, mixture proportions, etc. In 1940, the Portland Cement Association initiated a long-time durability study to investigate the effects of the variation in cement type on different durability aspects. The United States Bureau of Reclamation agreed to place 28 different cement types on the parapet wall panels of the Green Mountain Dam. Each of the 28 cement types was used in 3 or 4 of the 104 panels of the parapet wall. The Green Mountain Dam is located on the Blue River, a tributary of the Colorado River, 13 mi southeast of Kremling, Colo. The dam itself is an earthfill structure. This particular paper investigates the influence of cement type, air-entrainment, and method of air-entrainment on the freezing and thawing resistance of concrete.