Frost damage is caused by moisture freezing in the construction. Frost damage can occur as cracks, stone splinters and swelling of the material. When water freezes, the volume of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

increases by 9 %. When the volumetric moisture content exceeds 91 %, then the volume increase of water in the pores of the material caused by freezing cannot be absorbed by sufficient empty pores. This causes an increase in the internal pressure. If this pressure exceeds the

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS), ultimate strength, or F_\text within equations, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials t ...

of the material, then micro-cracks occur. Visible frost damage develops after an accumulation of micro-cracks as a result of several

freeze-thaw Frost weathering is a collective term for several mechanical weathering processes induced by stresses created by the freezing of water into ice. The term serves as an umbrella term for a variety of processes such as frost shattering, frost wedg ...

cycles. Frost damage can be prevented by the use of frost-proof materials, ''i.e.'', a material which has sufficient closed pores, by which the volume increase caused by the freezing of water in capillary pores can be absorbed by the ice-free closed pores.Pakkala T.A., Köliö A., Lahdensivu J. and Kiviste M. (2014). ''Durability demands related to frost attack for Finnish concrete buildings''. Building and Environment 82.

Concrete

Frost damage of early-age

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

is particularly harmful for the concrete mechanical resistance because the ice volume expansion causes micro-cracks in the concrete structures, and as a consequence it lowers the

compressive strength In mechanics, compressive strength or compression strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to reduce size (as opposed to tensile strength which withstands loads tending to elongate). In other words, compre ...

of concrete. Therefore, when concreting at cold temperature cannot be avoided, it is essential to have a minimum

curing time A cure is a completely effective treatment for a disease. Cure, or similar, may also refer to: Places * Cure (river), a river in France * Cures, Sabinum, an ancient Italian town * Cures, Sarthe, a commune in western France People * Curate or c ...

at a temperature sufficiently above the

freezing point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends ...

of the concrete pore water, so that the early strength of concrete is high enough to resist the inner tensile stress caused by water freezing.

Sources

References {{Reflist Bibliography * Goesten A.J.P.M. (2016). ''Hygrothermal simulation model: Damage as a result of insulating historical buildings''. Eindhoven University of Technology. * ter Bekke T. (2001). ''Vochttransport in monumentaal metselwerk''. Eindhoven University of Technology. This article is a translation of th
corresponding article
on the

Dutch Wikipedia The Dutch Wikipedia ( nl, Nederlandstalige Wikipedia) is the Dutch-language edition of the free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. It was founded on 19 June 2001. As of , the Dutch Wikipedia is the -largest Wikipedia edition, with articles. It w ...

. Construction Concrete Water ice Weathering

Concrete

See also

Sources