PREDICTION OF FREEZING AND THAWING DURABILITY OF CONCRETE PAVING BLOCKS

This paper presents experimental results regarding freezing and thawin g performance of various concrete paving blocks using a standard accel erated laboratory test, ASTM C 666, procedure A. A total of 124 paving blocks having eight different mixture proportions, prepared at optimu m moisture content and fabricated at a commercial plant site, were use d. The parameters investigated included bulk characteristics (density, absorption, and compressive and splitting tensile strength) and mass loss under various freezing and thawing cycles. It was found that ASTM C 666 can be utilized successfully to evaluate the relative performan ce of various paving blocks. Mass loss correlated well with the cement content (aggregate-cement ratio) and the bulk properties of the pavin g block samples. Minimum cement content, instead of minimum strength o r maximum absorption, is the most suitable requirement for ensuring a reasonable freezing and thawing resistance for concrete paving blocks.