Testing concrete parts for frost resistance cost-effectively, yet complying with applicable standards

Online, May 18, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Only a few materials other than concrete can withstand such loads: In order to be eventually categorised as frost-resistant, concrete components have to undergo hours-long warm and cold baths alternating between -20 °C and +20 °C 56 times. With a tailor-made test assembly by the company LABOSTRUCT from Guntramsdorf, Austria, freeze-thaw resistance has been tested in the Versuchsanstalt fur Bautechnik Wiener Neustadt since the end of 2009 more economically and with absolutely standard-compliant temperature cycles in a Memmert TTC temperature test chamber (www.memmert.com).

LABOSTRUCT developed a test assembly for the Versuchsanstalt fur Bautechnik Wiener Neustadt, that allows samples to be left in one place during the entire test procedure, that is, in a water-filled basin during the thawing phases. A side feed-through for the supply and drain hoses was fitted to a Memmert TTC temperature test chamber, so that with the aid of a circulating pump and a thermostat-controlled water heater, water can flow continuously between the supply tank outside and the inner basin.

The temperature ramps can be conveniently set via the Celsius software or stored on chip cards. Additionally, programmed contacts take over electronic control of the watering procedures, i.e. the synchronisation of the watering with the thawing phase, as well as the draining of water prior to the start of the frost phase. Of special importance to those responsible at the Research Centre was the comprehensive logging and documentation of the entire testing process, including, and apart from the time cycles, the verification that all temperature ramps comply exactly with the standard. The entire case study can be read at www.atmosafe.net.