Abrasion Resistance of Concrete with Different Mixture Compositions at Cold Curing Temperatures

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different curing conditions/temperatures on the compressive strength, flexural strength (FS), modulus of elasticity (ME), and abrasion resistance of concrete developed with different mixture compositions. The studied parameters included different water-binder ratios (w/b) (0.4 and 0.55), different coarse-to-fine aggregate ratios (C/F) (0.7 and 1.2), addition of steel fibers (SFs), and different supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) (metakaolin [MK] and silica fume [SLF]). The developed mixtures were cured at four different curing conditions: moist curing (C1); air curing (C2); and cold curing, including +5[degrees]C curing (C3) and -10[degrees]C curing conditions (C4). The results indicated that the effect of curing concrete samples at cold curing conditions was more pronounced on FS results compared to all other mechanical properties results, in which the FS reduced by 23% and 41% at +5[degrees]C and -10[degrees]C curing conditions, respectively, compared to at the moist-curing condition. Despite the considerable enhancement in the mechanical properties and abrasion resistance when SFs or SCMs were used in the mixtures, cold curing of mixtures with SCMs or SFs significantly reduced this enhancement. The results also revealed that the rotating-cutter test results of the mixture with SFs were more affected by cold curing conditions than the sandblasting test results. Keywords: abrasion resistance; cold curing conditions; fiber-reinforced concrete; mechanical properties; supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs).