FREEZE-THAW RESISTANCE OF BLASTFURNACE CEMENTS: LABORATORY TEST AND LONG TERM EXPERIENCE

Most of the marine structures in the German part of the North Sea are constructed with blastfurnace cement. Furthermore, so are all of the sluices in the Rivers Mosel and Saar. The history of these constructions is well documented and allows one to judge the performance precisely. Performance tests, for instance the CDF-test for freezethaw resistance with sodium chloride solution, are becoming increasingly important. However, problems arise with laboratory tests, especially in the case of freeze-thaw resistance, in the correlation between the laboratory conditions and the environmental conditions that occur in practice. This paper describes the results of a research programme in which some marine constructions of between 25 and 70 years old were investigated. Drill cores from the constructions and laboratory concretes made with the same mix design, but stored in accordance with CDF test regulations, were tested for comparison. The results show that the laboratory tests are not always capable of reflecting performance in practice. This mainly occurs with the measurement of the internal damage of the concrete during the CDF/CIF test.

• INTRODUCTION

• SEA LOCKS AND FLOOD BARRIER

• RIVER SLUICES

• PROBLEMS

• EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS

• TEST PROGRAMME

• RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

• CONCLUSIONS

• REFERENCES