INFLUENCE OF SANDS USED IN SWITZERLAND ON THE DURABILITY OF AIR-ENTRAINED CONCRETE

The strict Swiss specifications (SNV 640464 and 670745) concerning the content of fines in air-entrained concrete used for road paving often make the use of local sands impossible. Hence, sands from distant localities, sometimes from abroad, must often be shipped at higher costs. Results of tests on air-entrained concrete made with different sands commonly used in Switzerland are summarized in this paper. The durability of concrete was tested by means of the conventional frost method and also by applying the following new methods: (a) the quantitative microscopic determination of frost-salt resistance by pore analysis; (b) the qualitative control of concrete by microscopic morphological analysis; and (c) the frost-salt test with rapid cycles of frost and thaw according to the Dobrolubov-Romer method. The results indicate that (a) among the test methods used, a correlation was obtained; (b) the non-air-entrained concrete that consisted of Gebenstorf sand ans a high content of fines failed after 20 cycles; (c) the same concrete but air-entrained resisted 300 cycles without decrease in the modulus of elasticity; (d) the air-entrained concretes that consisted of other sands and high contents of fines also reached 300 cycles with decrease in the modulus of elasticity; and (e) the air-entrained concretes that meet Swiss specifications showed the same durability after 300 cycles as the concretes that do not meet the specifications. /Author/

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: pp 37-43
  • Monograph Title: Air sampling, quality control and concrete
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00163032
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309025893
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Oct 13 1977 12:00AM