NTL Record

Title Air Entrainment and Concrete Durability [techbrief]
Record ID 68910
Personal Name
Creator
Van Dam, Thomas J.
Personal Name
Contributor
Yu, Tom
Corporate Creator United States. Federal Highway Administration
Corporate
Contributor
United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Preconstruction, Construction, and Pavements; Applied Pavement Technology, Inc.
Publisher United States. Federal Highway Administration
Publication Date 20191101
Language English
Abstract Hydraulic cement concrete (hereafter referred to simply as concrete) is composed of aggregates bound together by a hydrated cement paste. Concrete contains a significant amount of porosity including small gel pores (0.5 to 10 nm in size) that are an intrinsic feature of the hydration products formed when water reacts with cement, capillary pores (10 nm to 10 μm in size) that are the remnant of the original waterfilled space that existed between the cementitious grains at the time of mixing, and much larger spherical air voids (0.05 to 1.25 mm in size) that were purposefully entrained in the concrete (Mindess, Young, and Darwin 2003). In addition, concrete contains irregularly shaped air voids that were entrapped during the mixing process. The entrained air component plays a critical role in ensuring the durability of the concrete and is the focus of this Tech Brief. It provides background on the mechanisms responsible for freeze-thaw damage, discusses the importance of critical saturation, and introduces specific strategies to better establish an acceptable entrained air-void system.
Rosap ID dot:43682
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/43682
TRT Terms Concrete pavements; Paving; Durability; Air entrained concrete; Air voids
General Subjects Concrete Pavements; Concrete Materials; Freeze-Thaw; Air Content; Air Void System; Air Entrainment; Spacing Factor
Geographical
Coverage
United States
TRIS Online
Accession No
1731909
Contract Number DTFH61-14-D-00006
Report Number FHWA-HIF-17-009
Resource type Brief
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/68000/68900/68910/FHWA-HIF-17-009.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository