Research on the Corrosion/Permeability/Frost Resistance of Concrete by Experimental and Microscopic Mechanisms Under Different Water–Binder Ratios

Abstract To study the influence of different water–binder ratios on the corrosion, permeability, and freezing properties of concrete, we produced different strengths of concrete with respective water–binder ratios of 0.32, 0.38, 0.50, and 0.66. The corrosion resistance of the concrete was studied via three corrosion methods: full immersion, half immersion, and dry and wet cycles. The impermeability and frost resistance of concrete with different water–binder ratios were tested and analyzed. The test results show that the corrosion modes in order from strong to weak were dry and wet cycles, half soaking, and full soaking. The relative dynamic elasticity modulus and freeze–thaw index were used to evaluate the frost resistance of concrete based on the analysis of three indices of frost resistance. To study the internal mechanism of corrosion of concrete with different water–binder ratios, microscopic pore structure testing of the concrete was conducted using a Micromeritics AutoPore IV 9500 Series instrument. The porosimeter studies show that the smaller the water–binder ratio, the more small pores and the denser the concrete. The smaller the water–binder ratio, the higher the strength and the better the corrosion, permeability, and frost resistance.