Effects of cold temperatures on abrasion resistance of concrete with different mixture compositions

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates the abrasion resistance of concrete used in cold-region infrastructure, with a focus on the effects of temperature and mixture composition. A number of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and normal concrete (NC) mixtures was evaluated under four temperature conditions (+ 20 °C, 0 °C, − 10 °C, and − 20 °C). The mixtures incorporated varying supplementary cementing materials (SCMs), namely metakaolin (MK), silica fume (SF), slag (SL), fly ash (FA), aggregate sizes, coarse-to-fine (C/F) aggregate ratios, and binder contents. Abrasion resistance was assessed using rotating-cutter and sandblasting test methods to provide a comprehensive evaluation of surface durability. The results indicate that mixtures containing MK and SF achieved the highest compressive strength and abrasion resistance, while FA showed the poorest performance; SL provided moderate strength gains but limited abrasion improvement. Due to denser aggregate packing from mechanical vibration, NC consistently outperformed SCC at all temperatures. Regarding mix design trade-offs, increasing the C/F aggregate ratio or maximum aggregate size reduced compressive strength but enhanced abrasion resistance. Lowering the binder content from 500 to 250 kg/m³ caused the largest overall performance losses. Decreasing temperature consistently enhanced both compressive strength and abrasion resistance across all mixtures. This enhancement was more pronounced in mixtures with low binder content or FA, whereas mixtures with refined MK and SF exhibited smaller relative gains but maintained superior absolute performance. The findings emphasize the interactive effects of temperature and mix design variables on abrasion performance, offering practical insight for developing concrete mixtures suited to cold-region infrastructures.