Service-life of concrete in freeze-thaw environments: Critical degree of saturation and calcium oxychloride formation

Advancements in service-life prediction of concrete in freeze-thaw environments are reviewed to help inform concrete design, specification, and future areas of research. Critical degree of saturation and the formation of calcium oxychloride are specifically reviewed due to recent research progress and the ability to model the service-life of concrete in freeze-thaw prone environments is discussed. The current theory, numerical modeling, and experimental efforts used to investigate critical degree of saturation and calcium oxychloride formation are summarized and a discussion of how critical degree of saturation and calcium oxychloride develop due to environmental exposure and transport of water or calcium chloride, resulting in expansive stresses (i.e., freezing or calcium oxychloride formation) is presented. Areas of future work are identified related to advancements in experimental and numerical techniques, improved on-site evaluation tools of concretes, and the adoption of design specifications and construction practices that ensure service-life under the reviewed degradation mechanisms.