Alireza Azarioon

Achieving greater durability of concrete is desired, particularly in cold climate areas. Accordingly, understanding the internal deterioration of concrete exposed to freeze-thaw cycles is of particular interest. This paper establishes a novel model for predicting the internal deterioration of normal concrete subjected to freeze-thaw cycles. Mathematical formulas and experimental works provide the basis for the model development. Two stages of concrete deterioration are considered andD-N(damage-number of freeze/thaw cycles) relationships for each stage are developed. Comparisons are made with a sample of 55 experimental tests to validate the paper’s propositions and theoretical results. The paper demonstrates that the proposed model can serve as an effective tool to evaluate concrete deterioration under freeze-thaw cycles. The results add to the literature by providing an understanding of the mechanical deterioration of concrete in cold climate areas greater than currently available. Because the focus of the paper is on normal concrete, the results should be used for other types of concrete with special care.