Effect of Calcium Nitrate on the Freeze-Thaw-Resistance of Concrete

Concrete in cold climates is not only exposed to cold weather while concreting but also to freeze-thaw cycles during its lifetime. Thus not only the concrete production needs to be adjusted to the environmental conditions but also the mixture has to be durable and resist the environmental impacts. Commonly an air entraining agent is used to interrupt the capillary pore system and to provide further space for the freezing water to expand. The downside of this approach is a loss in compressive strength. Within this paper the effect of simultaneous use of air entraining agent and calcium nitrate is discussed. It is shown that calcium nitrate can counteract strength loss due to the air entraining agent without reducing the durability gain in the same extent. A certain combination of calcium nitrate and air entraining agent can also be used to increase the freeze-thaw-resistance.     «

Concrete in cold climates is not only exposed to cold weather while concreting but also to freeze-thaw cycles during its lifetime. Thus not only the concrete production needs to be adjusted to the environmental conditions but also the mixture has to be durable and resist the environmental impacts. Commonly an air entraining agent is used to interrupt the capillary pore system and to provide further space for the freezing water to expand. The downside of this approach is a loss in compressive str...     »