Investigation of physical and mechanical properties of self-consolidating concrete exposed to Cryogenic temperatures

Self-consolidating concrete is a technological construction material widely used in the construction industry. High strength and durability properties of this material are the most important reasons for the use of it in critical structures. While concrete is not expected to be subjected to very low temperatures in normal conditions, the concrete cryogenic liquid tank - which is a more economical and safer method of storage for cryogenic liquids - can be exposed to these temperatures. Although there are limited studies about low temperature concrete behaviour in technical literature, these studies do not present information about physical and mechanical properties of concrete under repeated effects of low temperatures. Purpose of this study is to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of self- consolidating concrete, which has high strength and durability performances, preferred in concrete storage tanks under the effect of cryogenic temperatures. Accordingly, the samples were subjected to 5 cycles of freeze-thawing on 28th, 56th and 90th days (For one cycle samples are kept within liquid nitrogen at -196 ℃ for 1 hour for freezing and within water at +20 ℃ for 24 hours for thawing), afterwards changes in physical and mechanical properties were determined. At the end of the study, experimental results obtained at cryogenic temperature were correlated with concrete characteristics obtained in laboratory conditions. Thus, high strength self-consolidating concrete designs having blast furnace slag and silica fume during its production is concluded to have suitable physical and mechanical properties under the influence of cryogenic temperatures.