Characterization of Cementitious Materials Exposed to Freezing and Thawing in Combination with Deicing Salts Using 3D Scans

Surface deterioration of concrete subjected to freezing and thawing in combination with deicing salts is one of the most important factors determining the durability of concrete infrastructure in cold climates. The freeze–thaw deicing salt (FTDS) resistance of cementitious materials can be determined by the capillary suction of de-icing chemicals and freeze–thaw (CDF) test. Specimens are subjected to repeated freeze–thaw cycles with simultaneous addition of deicing salt and the amount of material scaled off near the surface is determined. For concretes with adequate FTDS resistance, this test method works very well. However, specimens with unknown performance often experience increased edge scaling. This leads to a falsification of results and consequently to an underestimation of the actual freeze–thaw resistance. In materials research, however, concretes with high levels of surface deterioration are studied in order to investigate various factors of influence on the freeze–thaw resistance of concretes in a targeted manner. This article presents a novel methodology that delivers new information regarding surface deterioration of CDF samples using high-resolution 3D scan data. Change of volume is used to support deterioration results of the standard CDF methodology. Increase of surface area is used to estimate change in roughness of samples.