Interaction between loading, freeze-thaw cycles, and chloride salt attack of concrete with and without steel fiber reinforcement

In this paper, the deterioration of concrete subjected to the combined action of four-point bending—loading, freeze-thaw cycles, and chloride salt attack—is discussed. Test results show that concrete tested in chloride salt solution scaled much more severely than in fresh water, and its weight loss in chloride salt solution was twice that in water. However, dynamic modulus of elasticity (DME) of concrete in chloride salt solution dropped more slowly than that in water due to supercooling resulting from chloride salt. It is also shown that the degradation process of concrete simultaneously exposed to loading, freeze-thaw cycles, and chloride salt attack was significantly accelerated. The higher the stress ratio exerted, the lesser the freeze-thaw cycles that concrete could resist and, consequently, the shorter the service life. When a relatively high steel fiber content is introduced (1.5 vol.%), the deterioration process of concrete subjected to the three damaging processes is considerably reduced.