Comprehensive Assessment and Freeze–Thaw Durability Prediction of Wet-Sprayed Concrete for Cold-Region Tunnels

TL;DR

This study evaluates how wet-sprayed concrete resists freeze-thaw cycles in cold tunnels and predicts its long-term durability using different cement mixtures.

Contribution

A novel freeze–thaw deterioration equation is developed to predict the service life of wet-sprayed concrete in cold-region tunnels.

Findings

Ternary composite binders improve frost resistance, allowing concrete to withstand up to 200 freeze–thaw cycles.

Concrete with mineral admixtures shows enhanced compactness and reduced rebound rates during spraying.

Durability models for wet-shotcrete have high correlation coefficients (R2 > 0.94), supporting their use in life prediction.

Abstract

This study examines freeze–thaw deterioration patterns and predicts the service life of wet-sprayed concrete with composite cementitious materials in cold-region tunnels. The microstructure and particle size distribution of four materials (cement, fly ash, silica fume, and mineral powder) were analyzed. Subsequent tests evaluated the rebound rate, mechanical properties, and durability of wet-sprayed concrete with various compositions and proportions of cementitious materials, emphasizing freeze–thaw resistance under cyclic freezing and thawing. A freeze–thaw deterioration equation was developed using damage mechanics theory to predict the service life of early-stage wet-sprayed concrete in tunnels. The results indicate that proportionally combining cementitious materials with different particle sizes and gradations can enhance concrete compactness. Adding mineral admixtures increases concrete viscosity, effectively reducing rebound rates and dust generation during wet spraying. Concrete incorporating binary and ternary mineral admixtures shows reduced early-age strength but significantly enhanced later-age strength. Its frost resistance is also improved to varying degrees. The ternary composite binder fills voids between cement particles and at the interface between paste and aggregate, resulting in a dense microstructure due to a ‘composite superposition effect.’ This significantly enhances the frost resistance of wet-mixed shotcrete, enabling it to withstand up to 200 freeze–thaw cycles, compared to failure after 75 cycles in plain cement concrete. The relative dynamic modulus of elasticity of wet-shotcrete follows a parabolic deterioration trend with increasing freeze–thaw cycles. Except for specimen P5 (R2 = 0.89), the correlation coefficients of deterioration models exceed 0.94, supporting their use in durability prediction. Simulation results indicate that, across all regions of China, the service life of wet-shotcrete with ternary admixtures can exceed 100 years, while that of plain cement concrete remains below 41 years.

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