# Pore Structure of Calcium Sulfoaluminate Paste and Durability of Concrete in Freeze–Thaw Environment

International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials, Dec 2016

Mercury intrusion and nitrogen sorption porosimetry were employed to investigate the pore structure of calcium sulfoaluminate ($C\overline{S} A$) and portland cement pastes with cement-to-water ratio (w/c) of 0.40, 0.50, and 0.60. A unimodal distribution of pore size was drawn for $C\overline{S} A$ cement pastes, whereas a bimodal distribution was established for the portland cement pastes through analysis of mercury intrusion porosimetry. For the experimental results generated by nitrogen sorption porosimetry, the $C\overline{S} A$ cement pastes have a smaller and coarser pore volume than cement paste samples under the same w/c condition. The relative dynamic modulus and percentage weight loss were used for investigation of the concrete durability in freeze–thaw condition. When coarse aggregate with good freeze–thaw durability was mixed, air entrained portland cement concrete has the same durability in terms of relative dynamic modulus as $C\overline{S} A$ cement concrete in a freeze–thaw environment. The $C\overline{S} A$ cement concrete with poor performance of durability in a freeze–thaw environment demonstrates the improved durability by 300 % over portland cement concrete. The $C\overline{S} A$ concrete with good performance aggregate also exhibits less surface scaling in a freeze–thaw environment, losing 11 % less mass after 297 cycles.

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Kyle de Bruyn, Eric Bescher, Chris Ramseyer, Seongwon Hong, Thomas H.-K. Kang. Pore Structure of Calcium Sulfoaluminate Paste and Durability of Concrete in Freeze–Thaw Environment, International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials, 2017, 59-68, DOI: 10.1007/s40069-016-0174-3