A New Process By Which Cyclic Freezing Can Damage Concrete--the Erlin/Mather Effect A Concept

This article outlines the current thinking regarding cyclic freeze/thaw damage that occurs in concrete and proposes a new process that explains this phenomenon. The authors comment that freeze/thaw damage in concrete is usually attributed to improprieties in the concrete. They contend that no single explanation is adequate to explain why freezing and thawing may damage concrete. The authors link some of the various theories by concentrating on the thermal contraction of ice after freezing and on ice accretion, both of which are involved in a phenomenon that causes damage to concrete when temperatures cycle below the initial freezing point of pore solutions. These changes are in addition to the commonly-used 9% increase in volume resulting from the water conversion to ice. The authors conclude that temperature cycling within the subfreezing range will cause expansion and contraction of the ice, cyclic increase and decrease of stress on the paste and ice along a plane subparallel to the concrete surface, attendant cracking and surface scaling, and distress deeper into the concrete.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00088846
• Authors:
  • Erlin, Bernard
  • Mather, Bryant
• Publication Date: 2005-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1407-1411
• Serial:
  • Cement and Concrete Research
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue Number: 7
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0008-8846
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00088846

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Concrete; Cracking; Freeze thaw durability; Freezing; Icing; Pore water; Thermal degradation; Thermal expansion
• Uncontrolled Terms: Thermal contraction
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01002301
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 22 2005 1:24PM