Freeze thaw and deicer salt scaling resistance of concrete prepared with alkali aluminosilicate cement

[Display omitted] •Alkali aluminosilicate binder produced excellent resistance to freeze-thaw cycles.•Deicer salt scaling can be a drawback of concrete prepared with alkali aluminosilicate cement.•Chemically modified alkali aluminosilicate binder produced improved deicer salt scaling resistance. Concrete materials were prepared with a cement based primarily on the alkali aluminosilicate chemistry. Two aspects of concrete performance were emphasized and compared against those of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete: freeze-thaw durability, and deicer salt scaling resistance. Test results indicated that the concrete prepared with the alkali aluminosilicate cement (AAC) produced excellent freeze-thaw durability; its dicer salt scaling resistance, however, was lower than that provided by the OPC concrete. Efforts were made to improve the deicer salt scaling resistance of the AAC concrete through refinement of the AAC composition. The use of an air-entraining agent was found to enhance the deicer salt scaling resistance of the AAC concrete. Modification of the AAC chemistry with polyethylene glycol, tartaric acid, or a combination of sodium benzoate and triisopropanolamine was found to also improve the AAC concrete resistance to deicer salt scaling with minimal effect on compressive strength.