This paper presents the durability performance of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) exposed to a marine environment for up to 21 years. Concrete specimens (152 x 152 x 533 mm [6 x 6 x 21 in.]) were cast using a water-cementitious materials ratio (w/cm) in the range of 0.09 to 0.19, various types and lengths of steel fibers, and the presence of conventional steel reinforcement bars in select mixtures. Laboratory testing included taking cores from each block and determining the existing chloride profile, compressive strength, electrochemical corrosion monitoring, and microstructural evaluation. Regardless of curing treatment and w/cm, the results revealed that UHPC exhibits significantly enhanced durability performance compared with typical high-performance concrete (HPC) and normal concretes. UHPC prisms exhibited minimal surface damage after being exposed to a harsh marine environment for up to 21 years. Chloride profiles revealed penetration to a depth of approximately 10 mm (0.39 in.) regardless of exposure duration. Electrochemical corrosion monitoring also showed passivity for reinforcement at a cover depth of 25 mm (1 in.) following 20 years.

Freezing-and-thawing (F-T) resistance is a key parameter in evaluating the durability of concrete. The response of concrete under F-T environment varies depending on the mixture proportion and materials used. This paper focuses on the F-T behavior and damage resistance of normal-strength (NC), high-strength (HSC), high-performance (HPC), and ultra-high-performance (UHPC) concrete. The mechanisms causing F-T damage are discussed, specifically based on expansion of freezable water under negative temperature and thermal stress arising from differences in the coefficient of thermal expansion of cement and aggregates. To quantify damage, two parameters—namely, mass loss ratio (MLR) and relative dynamic elastic modulus (RDEM)—are compiled for different classes of concrete. Results show that UHPC exhibited much lower increase in MLR and reduction in RDEM than NC and HPC, respectively. The effects of F-T loading on other mechanical properties of concrete such as compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile strength and stress-strain relationship are also investigated in this paper as possible parameters to help characterize F-T resistance. It is found that F-T will decrease the peak stress but increase the peak strain, and the flexural strength has the fastest loss rate for NC, HPC, HSC and UHPC, respectively. As concrete under F-T environment is often exposed to chloride, the significance of sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration and chloride diffusion coefficient (CDC) on HSC and UHPC under NaCl solution are studied. UHPC exhibits better resistance on chloride diffusion after F-T action due to denser internal pore structure. To improve the F-T resistance of concrete, the performance of two supplementary cementitious admixtures, fly ash and silica fume, to partially replace cement are studied. Results show that the appropriate fly ash replacement of 10 to 30% or silica fume replacement of 5 to 10% is found to enhance the F-T resistance. In addition, introducing fibers such as PVA or PP can improve the F-T resistance significantly, although using the wrong proportion may have a negative effect. Using combined admixture of polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene fiber with 1.5% volume in cement-based composites reduces strength degradation caused by F-T loadings.

The use of strain relief method is one of the most direct methods for determination of in-place stresses. In this method, a hole is drilled in the concrete member and the change in strain in the vicinity of the hole, on the surface of the member, is measured by means of electrical resistance strain gauges (ERSG). This change in strain due to drilling is used to assess the in-place stress in the member using constitutive relationship and calibration coefficient. This paper presents the experimental application of incremental hole drilling method (IHDM) in concrete under uniaxial stress. A small hole of 25 mm diameter and 40 mm deep was drilled incrementally to estimate the in-place stress in an axially loaded column with minimum damage. Dry drilling was used to eliminate the effect of swelling due to moisture (water) during the drilling. The experimental strain released was then correlated with an analytical solution using the theory of elasticity and finite element method (FEM). The excellent agreement of experimental results with analytical and numerical values of strain released suggests that IHDM can be conveniently used to evaluate in-place stresses in columns.