Durability of Cementitious Materials in Deicing Environments
Summary
Cementitious materials in cold climates are routinely exposed to freeze-thaw cycles and deicing salts, which together pose a dual threat of physical and chemical deterioration. Water ingress followed by freezing generates internal hydraulic pressures that can lead to cracking, scaling and loss of surface integrity. Concurrently, chloride-based deicers react with calcium hydroxide and aluminate phases to form expansive products such as calcium oxychloride and Friedel’s salt, further compromising pore structure and transport properties. The combined action of mechanical stress and deleterious phase formation accelerates microcracking, increases permeability and undermines service life. To counter these effects, contemporary research focuses on optimising mix compositions—using supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), tailored pore refiner admixtures and alternative deicers—to enhance resistance to salt ingress, inhibit harmful reaction products and maintain mechanical performance under cyclic thermal and chemical loading.
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Durability of Cementitious Materials in Deicing Environments publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in durability of cementitious materials in deicing environments across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Freeze-thaw cycles: Repeated transitions between freezing and thawing of pore water in cementitious materials, causing hydraulic pressures and mechanical cracking.
Calcium oxychloride: An expansive reaction product formed when calcium hydroxide in cement paste reacts with calcium chloride, leading to internal stresses and cracking.
Friedel’s salt: A chloroaluminate compound (calcium chloroaluminate hydrate) formed in chloride-contaminated concrete, which can block pores and affect transport properties.
Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs): Industrial by-products or natural materials (e.g., fly ash, slag, silica fume) added to cement to refine pore structure and reduce deleterious phase formation.
References
- The Influence of Calcium Chloride Salt Solution on the Transport Properties of Cementitious Materials. Advances in Civil Engineering (2015).
- Calcium oxychloride formation in pastes containing supplementary cementitious materials: Thoughts on the role of cement and supplementary cementitious materials reactivity. RILEM Technical Letters (2016).
- Petrographically quantifying the damage to field and lab-cast mortars subject to freeze-thaw cycles and deicer application. Journal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience (2021).
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