An Experimental Study on Frost Resistance of Concrete Pavement Containing Nano-silica and Polypropylene Fibers

In this study frost resistance and mechanical properties of concrete containing both nano-silica and polypropylene fibers are studied. Nano-silica is employed to be as substitute of a portion of cement. For comparison the frost resistance and mechanical properties of plain concrete, concrete containing nanosilica (without fibers) and concrete containing polypropylene fibers are also experimentally studied separately in this work. The specimens were subjected to cycles of freezing and thawing in water according to ASTM C666A. Loss of mass and reduction in compressive strength measured after differentcycles. Experimental results show that using nano-silica incorporating polypropylene fibers enhances frost resistance and compressive strength of concrete pavement because of that the permeability and porosity of concrete are reduced due to the use of nano-silica and also the tensile strength of concrete is enhanced due to the use of polypropylene fibers

Keywords:

durability , concrete pavements , freeze and thaw , nano-particles , polypropylene fibers