Study on the Salt Scaling Resistance of Pavement Cement Concrete

The single-side salt-freeze test was used to optimize the concrete mix design for improving the resistance of concrete to salt scaling. The results show that the resistance of concrete to salt scaling improves with decreasing water-cement ratio and increasing air content. Addition of silica fume also improves the resistance of concrete to salt scaling relative to fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, and other silica fume. To enhance the resistance to salt scaling of concrete pavements, the water- cement ratio should be less than 0.4, the air content higher than 3.8%, and the cementitious materials-aggregate ratio is 265∶745 to 280∶720. If fly ash and ground-granulated blast-furnace slag are used then extended curing is required to prevent salt scaling in early-age concrete. Finally, organic instead of inorganic snow-melting agents should be preferred.