Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Investigation on water absorption of concrete under the coupling action of uniaxial compressive load and freeze-thaw cycles

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Materials and Structures Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In service life, the premature destruction mechanism and durability of reinforced concrete (RC) structures are mainly governed either by mechanical or environmental loads or by combined ones. These damages can strongly affect the water transport in concrete which may lead to more serious deterioration. This paper presented an experimental investigation on the coupling action of different uniaxial compressive stress levels (\(\lambda _{c}\)= 0, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8) and freeze-thaw cycles (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 cycles), following by capillary water absorption tests. The residual strain was measured by strain gauges to evaluate the damage evolution of concrete. Moreover, the cumulative water content and sorptivity of specimens under the coupling action were recorded at a given time of exposure through an improved water absorption test set-up. The results show that concrete specimens with fly ash (15% by cement) exhibit better frost and water penetration resistance than ordinary concrete. The frozen samples with applying 60% ultimate load (0.6fc) have the best water penetration resistance in comparison with that samples are applied 0, 0.7 and 0.8, which is consistent with the result that under uniaxial compressive load only. Residual strain derived from strain-temperature curves indicates the deterioration of concrete is a continued accumulated and irreversible damage process. The distribution of water content and wetting front of penetration depth are remarkably influenced by the stress levels and freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs). The test data of cumulative water content confirms that FTCs play a relatively important role in the water absorption of concrete under the coupling action. In addition, an effectively theoretical method for predicting water absorption of concrete damaged under the coupling action of uniaxial compressive load and FTCs was developed in terms of the sorptivity. These conclusions presented in this paper will be helpful to better understand the degradation mechanism of frost resistance for RC structures after subjected to uniaxial compressive loading in coastal regions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Yu S, Hao J (2020) Modeling of the corrosion-induced crack in concrete contained transverse crack subject to chloride ion penetration. Constr Build Mater 258:119645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119645

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Hoseini M, Bindiganavile V, Banthia N (2009) The effect of mechanical stress on permeability of concrete: a review. Cem Concr Compos 31(4):213–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2009.02.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Xu J, Peng C, Wan LJ, Wu Q, She W (2020) Effect of crack self-healing on concrete diffusivity: mesoscale dynamics simulation study. J Mater Civ Eng 32(6):04020149. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0003214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Win PP, Watanabe M, Machida A (2004) Penetration profile of chloride ion in cracked reinforced concrete. Cem Concr Res 34(7):1073–1079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2003.11.020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Peng C, Wu Q, Shen J, Mo R, Xu J (2021) Numerical study on the effect of transverse crack self-healing on the corrosion rate of steel bar in concrete. J Build Eng 41:102767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102767

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bentz DP, Garboczi EJ, Lu Y et al (2013) Modeling of the influence of transverse cracking on chloride penetration into concrete. Cem Concr Compos 38:65–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2013.03.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Al-Ameeri A, Rafiq MI, Tsioulou O (2020) Combined impact of carbonation and crack width on the chloride penetration and corrosion resistance of concrete structures. Cem Concr Compos 115:103819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Zhang WL, Franois R, Cai YX, Charron JP, Yu LW (2020) Influence of artificial cracks and interfacial defects on the corrosion behavior of steel in concrete during corrosion initiation under a chloride environment. Constr Build Mater 253:119165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bao JW, Li SG, Yu ZH, Xu J, Li YL, Zhang P, Si Z, Gao S (2021) Water transport in recycled aggregate concrete under sustained compressive loading: experimental investigation and mesoscale numerical modelling. J Build Eng 44:103373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Glasser FP, Marchand J, Samson E (2008) Durability of concrete—degradation phenomena involving detrimental chemical reactions. Cem Concr Res 38(2):226–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2007.09.015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Sun W, Zhang YM, Yan HD, Mu R (1999) Damage and damage resistance of high strength concrete under the action of load and freeze-thaw cycles. Cem Concr Res 29(9):1519–1523. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(99)00097-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Long GC, Yang ZX, Bai CN et al (2019) Durability and damage constitutive model of filling layer self-compacting concrete subjected to coupling action of freeze-thaw cycles and load. J Chin Ceram Soc 47(7):855–864 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Sun J, Lu L (2015) Coupled effect of axially distributed load and carbonization on permeability of concrete. Constr Build Mater 79(15):9–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.09.080

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Bishnoi S, Uomoto T (2008) Strain-temperature hysteresis in concrete under cyclic freeze-thaw conditions. Cem Concr Compos 30:374–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2008.01.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Muttaqin H, Hidetoshi O, Yasuhiko S, Tamon U (2004) Stress-strain model of concrete damaged by freezing and thawing cycles. J Adv Concr Technol 2(1):89–99. https://doi.org/10.3151/jact.2.89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Wang L, Cao Y, Wang ZD, Du P (2013) Evolution and characterization of damage of concrete under freeze-thaw cycles. J Wuhan Univ Technol Mater Sci Ed 28(4):710–714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-013-0757-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Wang LC, Zhang QY (2021) Investigation on water absorption in concrete after subjected to compressive fatigue loading. Constr Build Mater 299(11):123897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123897

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Li X, Jin NG, Tian Y, Jin XY (2013) Experimental study on the capillary absorption of cement-based materials and analysis of influencing factors. Appl Mech Mater 405:2644–2648. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.405-408.2644

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Yang L, Gao DY, Zhang YS, Li Y (2019) Relationship between sorptivity and capillary coefficient for water absorption of cement-based materials: theory analysis and experiment. R Soc Open Sci 6(6):190112. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Nakhi AE, Xi Y, Willam KJ, Frangopol DM, DM, (2000) The effect of fatigue loading on chloride penetration in non-saturated concrete. Eur Congr Comput Methods Appl Sci Eng Barc 1:4

    Google Scholar 

  21. Li D, Liu S (2020) The influence of steel fiber on water permeability of concrete under sustained compressive load. Constr Build Mater 242:118058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118058

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Bao JW, Wang LC (2017) Combined effect of water and sustained compressive loading on chloride penetration into concrete. Constr Build Mater 156:708–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.09.018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Yang ZF, Weiss WJ, Olek J (2006) Water transport in concrete damaged by tensile loading and freeze-thaw cycling. J Mater Civ Eng 18(3):424–433. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2006)18:3(424)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Fu CQ, Ye HL, Jin XY, Yang DM, Jin NG, Peng ZX (2016) Chloride penetration into concrete damaged by uniaxial tensile fatigue loading. Constr Build Mater 125:714–723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.08.096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Yang L, Sun W, Liu C, Zhang YS, Liang F (2017) Water absorption and chloride ion penetrability of concrete damaged by freeze-thawing and loading. J Wuhan Univ Technol 32(2):330–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-017-1599-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Chen DA, Sun GR, Hu DL, Shi J (2021) Study on the bearing capacity and chloride ion resistance of RC structures under multi-factor corrosive environment and continuous load. J Build Eng 44:102990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Wang Y, Cao YB, Zhang P, Ma YW, Zhao TJ, Wang H, Zhang ZH (2019) Water absorption and chloride diffusivity of concrete under the coupling effect of uniaxial compressive load and freeze-thaw cycles. Constr Build Mater 209:566–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.03.091

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Bao JW, Xue SB, Zhang P, Dai ZZ, Cui YF (2020) Coupled effects of sustained compressive loading and freeze-thaw cycles on water penetration into concrete. Struct Concr 4:944–954. https://doi.org/10.1002/suco.201900200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Yoon YS, Won JP, Woo SK, Song YC (2002) Enhanced durability performance of fly ash concrete for concrete faced rockfill dam application. Cem Concr Res 32:23–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(01)00623-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Molero M, Aparicio S, Al-Assadi G (2012) Evaluation of freeze-thaw damage in concrete by ultrasonic imaging. NDT E Int Indep Nondestruct Test Eval 52:86–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2012.05.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Wedding PA, Pigeon M, Pleau R, Aitcin PC (1986) Freeze-thaw durability of concrete with and without silica fume in ASTM C 666 (Procedure A) test method: internal cracking versus scaling. Cem Concr Aggreg 8(2):76–85. https://doi.org/10.1520/CCA10060J

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Djerbi Tegguer A, Bonnet S, Khelidj A, Baroghel-Bouny V (2013) Effect of uniaxial compressive loading on gas permeability and chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete and their relationship. Cem Concr Res 52:131–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2013.05.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Wang LC, Li SH (2014) Capillary absorption of concrete after mechanical loading. Mag Concr Res 66(8):420–431. https://doi.org/10.1680/macr.13.00331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Lunk P (1998) Penetration of water and salt solutions into concrete by capillary suction. J Restor Build Monum 4:399–422

    Google Scholar 

  35. Hanzic L, Llic R (2003) Relationship between liquid sorptivity and capillarity in concrete. Cem Concr Res 33(9):1385–1388. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(03)00070-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Hall C (1989) Water sorptivity of mortars and concretes: a review. Mag Concr Res 41(147):51–61. https://doi.org/10.1680/macr.1989.41.147.51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Xiao QH, Niu DT, Zhu WP (2011) Strength degradation model and durability service life prediction of concrete in freezing-thawing circumstance. Build Struct 41(2):203–207 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Mao MJ, Zhang DS, Yang QN, Zhang WB (2019) Study of durability of concrete with fly ash as fine aggregate under alternative interactions of freeze-thaw and carbonation. Adv Civ Eng 693893:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4693893

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Shang HS, Song YP, Ou JP (2009) Behavior of air-entrained concrete after freeze-thaw cycles. Acta Mech Sol Sin 22(3):261–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0894-9166(09)60273-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Jacobsen S, Marchand J, Hornain H (1995) SEM observations of the microstructure of frost deteriorated and self-healed concretes. Cem Concr Res 25(8):1781–1790. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(95)00174-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Dry CM (2000) Three designs for the internal release of sealants, adhesives, and waterproofing chemicals into concrete to reduce permeability. Cem Concr Res 30(12):1969–1977. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(00)00415-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Qi C, Weiss J, Olek J (2003) Characterization of plastic shrinkage cracking in fiber reinforced concrete using image analysis and a modified Weibull function. Mater Struct 36(260):386–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02481064

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Matallah M, Borderie CL, Maurel O (2010) A practical method to estimate crack openings in concrete structures. Int J Numer Anal Methods Geomech 34(15):1615–1633. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.876

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  44. Du P, Yao Y, Wang L, Cao Y (2014) Mechanical damage model of concrete subject to freeze-thaw cycles coupled with bending stress and chloride attack. Adv Mater Res 936:1342–1350. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.936.134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Cao J, Chung D (2002) Damage evolution during freeze-thaw cycling of cement mortar, studied by electrical resistivity measurement. Cem Concr Res 32(10):1657–1661. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(02)00856-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Kaufmann JP (2004) Experimental identification of ice formation in small concrete pores. Cem Concr Res 34(8):1421–1427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.01.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Banthia N, Pigeon M, Lachance L (1989) Calorimetric study of freezable water in cement paste. Cem Concr Res 19(6):939–950. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(89)90107-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Sun Z, Scherer GW (1977) Pore size and shape in mortar by thermoporometry. Cem Concr Res 40(5):740–751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2009.11.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Baktheer A, Chudoba R (2021) Experimental and theoretical evidence for the load sequence effect in the compressive fatigue behavior of concrete. Mater Struct 54(2):82. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-021-01667-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Li HM, Wu J, Song YJ (2014) Effect of external loads on chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete with fly ash and blast furnace slag. J Mater Civ Eng 26(9):1–6. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000941

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  51. Bao JW, Wang LC (2017) Effect of Short-term sustained uniaxial loadings on water absorption of concrete. J Mater Civ Eng 29(3):04016234. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001746

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Fagerlund G (1997) On the service life of concrete exposed to frost action. Freeze-Thaw Durab Concr 7054:23–41

    Google Scholar 

  53. Lim CC, Gowripalan N, Sirivivatnanon V (2000) Microcracking and chloride permeability of concrete under uniaxial compression. Cem Concr Compos 22(5):353–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0958-9465(00)00029-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Zhang P, Dai YQ, Ding XY, Zhou CS, Xue X, Zhao TJ (2018) Self-healing behaviour of multiple micro-cracks of strain hardening cementitious composites (SHCC). Constr Build Mater 169:705–715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Yang ZF (2004) Assessing cumulative damage in concrete and quantifying its influence on life cycle performance modeling. Purdue University, West Lafayette, p 2004

    Google Scholar 

  56. Lockington DA, Parlange JY, Dux P (1999) Sorptivity and estimation of water penetration into unsaturated concrete. Mater Struct 32(5):342–347. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02479625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Wang LC (2009) Analytical methods for prediction of water absorption in cement-based material. China Ocean Eng 4:719–728. https://doi.org/10.1139/S08-045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Wang LC, Ueda T (2014) Mesoscale modeling of chloride penetration in unsaturated concrete damaged by freeze-thaw cycling. J Mater Civ Eng 26(5):955–965. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000901

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Bao JW, Li SG, Zhang P, Ding XY, Xue SB, Cui YF, Zhao TJ (2019) Influence of the incorporation of recycled coarse aggregate on water absorption and chloride penetration into concrete. Constr Build Mater 239:117845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117845

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Wang A, Zhang CZ, Sun W (2003) Fly ash effects: I. The morphological effect of fly ash. Cem Concr Res 33(12):2023–2029. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(03)00217-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Wang A, Zhang CZ, Sun W (2004) Fly ash effects: II. The active effect of fly ash. Cem Concr Res 34(11):2057–2060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2003.03.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Wang A, Zhang CZ, Sun W (2004) Fly ash effects: III. The micro-aggregate effect of fly ash. Cem Concr Res 34(11):2061–2066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2003.03.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely appreciate financial support provided by the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (2020-MS-100). This support is gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Gaoxinyuan District, Dalian, 116024, People’s Republic of China

    Linjun Mu & Licheng Wang

  2. Shenyang Longhu Real Estate Development Company, 46-81 Pufeng Road, Shenbei New District, Shenyang, 110000, People’s Republic of China

    Lan Wang

Authors
  1. Linjun Mu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Licheng Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lan Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Licheng Wang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mu, L., Wang, L. & Wang, L. Investigation on water absorption of concrete under the coupling action of uniaxial compressive load and freeze-thaw cycles. Mater Struct 55, 127 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-022-01964-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-022-01964-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation