Cold weather conditions pose significant challenges to the performance and durability of concrete materials, construction processes, and structures. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the material-related challenges in cold weather concrete construction, including slow setting, reduced curing rate, and slower strength development, as well as frost damage, early freezing, and freeze–thaw actions. Various innovative materials and technologies may be implemented to address these challenges, such as optimizing the concrete mix proportions, chemical admixtures, supplementary cementitious materials, and advanced construction techniques. The paper also examines the impact of weather-related challenges for personnel, equipment, and machinery in cold environments and highlights the importance of effective planning, communication, and management strategies. Results indicate that the successful implementation of appropriate strategies can mitigate the challenges, reduce construction time, and enhance the performance, durability, and sustainability of concrete structures in cold and freezing temperatures. The paper emphasizes the importance of staying updated about the latest advancements and best practices in the field. Future trends include the development of smart and functional concrete materials, advanced manufacturing and construction techniques, integrated design, and optimization of tools, all with a strong focus on sustainability and resilience.
Brash ice forms in harbours and ship channels from frequent ship passages and the resulting freezing–breaking cycles create a unique ice formation. The brash ice accumulation over the winter season is a result of meteorological, thermodynamical and mechanical processes. A reliable brash ice growth model is an important asset when determining navigation routes through ice conditions and when establishing port ice management solutions. This review aims to describe the brash ice development and its modelling as well as the key parameters that influence the brash ice growth and its estimation. This paper summarises the brash ice growth models and the fundamental theories of level ice growth upon which these models are based, and outlines the main knowledge gaps. The results highlight the importance of porosity and piece size distribution and their effect on the consolidation process. The inclusion of the brash ice lateral movement and the side ridge formation would improve the accuracy of forecast models. Furthermore, the findings of the study identify the effect of omitting meteorological parameters such as snow and radiation, from the brash ice growth models. Their contribution to the level ice thickness suggests a significant influence on the brash ice consolidation process.
Dehydration of concrete floor slabs is a critical step to ensure that the flooring material adheres properly and that there is no moisture-related damage to the floor after installation. Dehydration in a cold climate is often a slow process, which can have a big impact on the overall duration of the construction project, and corresponding measures are often taken to accelerate the drying process, especially in constructions exposed to a cold climate. One common method, typically used to accelerate dehydration in cold weather, is to introduce internal heating cables into the slab. This method reduces the dehydration time, but may not be the best solution from a sustainability perspective. This paper presents a concept study of concrete flooring in a cold climate from a cradle to practical completion perspective. The study focused on the environmental and material aspects of the dehydration of concrete floors in a cast-in-place house. This paper showed that concretes with high water-cement ratios, which are typically preferred due to their low CO2 emissions, may require measures for accelerated dehydration, which ultimately results in a higher environmental impact. The importance of environmental studies is also highlighted to fully understand the environmental aspects of construction.
The thickness and properties of brash ice are usually compared with the properties of the surrounding level ice. The differences between these ice types are important to understand since the consolidated brash ice layer is typically assumed to have the same properties as level ice. Therefore, significant effort in the measurement campaign during the winters of 2020–2021, 2021–2022, and 2023 was made to develop a better understanding of the full-scale brash ice channel development. The channels were located near the shore in the Bay of Bothnia, Luleå, Sweden. The main parameters investigated were the snow, slush, and total ice thicknesses, including ice formed from freezing water and from freezing slush as well as the ice microstructure and strength. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to report the influence of snow in brash ice channels. It was observed that a significant amount of snow covered the brash ice channels between the ship passages. After each ship passage, the snow was submerged and formed slush-filled voids, which thereafter transformed into snow ice (SI) clusters frozen together with columnar ice. The SI content in the brash ice and side ridges was estimated from image analyses. The analyses showed that the snow ice content was 73% in level ice in the vicinity of the ship channel, 58% in the side ridges of the channel, and 21% in the middle of the test channel, whereas in the main channel, the SI contents were 54%, 43%, and 41% in each location, respectively.
The Arctic region is receiving an increasing attention due to the diminishing area of the permanent ice and easing access to various natural resources including especially oil, gas and rare metals. The nearest future will require building a significant number of new harbors and other structures related to sea operations and exploration. Harsh weather conditions including especially extreme freezing temperatures, snowfall and ice formation impose demanding requirements, which must be taken into account while designing, building and maintaining those structures. Concrete is the main construction material used for harbor structures. Unfortunately, the usage of Portland cement, which is the main cementitious binder used for concrete, it involves hardening processes, which are controlled by the hydration reactions. The hydration needs water and temperatures above freezing point, which impose serious limitations in the arctic environment. Furthermore, later exposure to the arctic conditions and especially to ice may impair its long-term durability and thus the sustainability of built structures. The present work focuses on characterization of properties of sea ice forming in harbors located in the Arctic region and on identification of possible implications on concrete material during the construction phase but also in long-term exploitation.
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