Proceedings pro025 : International RILEM Workshop on Frost Damage in Concrete Minneapolis

The problem of frost resistance of concrete, though studied since the early 1900's, is still not completely solved. Much of the fundamental research in frost damage in concrete dealt with conventional mixtures containing only aggregates, water and portland cement. New materials can alter the behaviour of concrete when exposed to freezing and thawing, and additional work is required in order to understand the effects of these new materials. Many test procedures have been developed to evaluate the frost resistance of concrete, but different procedures often result in different criteria for frost-resistant concrete. This makes the development of specifications for our increasingly global construction market very difficult. Work is needed to relate test results to actual performance. Even theories of frost damage are undergoing refinement, as our understanding of the fundamental processes involved continue to improve.

RILEM Technical Committee 176-IDC: "Internal Damage of Concrete Due to Freeze-Thaw Attack" has been working on the various problems described above. In order to share their interim findings with researchers outside of the committee, as well as to solicit input from outside researchers, a workshop was organised for June 1999 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Senior RILEM researchers in concrete and frost action from eight countries (North America, Japan and Europe) met, presented papers, and held open discussions on various aspects of frost damage in concrete.

These proceedings contain 21 papers as well as the transcripts of two open discussions held at the workshop. The papers cover topics ranging from frost damage theories to testing procedures, and damage in the form of surface scaling to internal damage of both the paste and the aggregate portions of the concrete. The discussions cover test procedures and specifications for frost-resistant concrete. While not a final answer to the issue of frost-resistant concrete, these proceedings represent significant advances in various aspects of the problem.

In the field of frost action of concrete, these proceedings reflect the present status of research.

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