Watertight freeze-thaw resistant reinforced concrete members: A review

This review addresses watertight reinforced-concrete members exposed to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. The core evidence window covers publications from 2020 to 9 September 2026; earlier studies are retained when they define frost-damage mechanisms or methods for characterizing pore and air-void systems. One hundred peer-reviewed scientific publications were analyzed, while standards were considered separately. Hydraulic-pressure theory, critical saturation, osmotic effects, and salt-related mechanisms were compared against their conditions of applicability, and the evidence was then traced from water ingress and saturation to microdamage, cracking, reinforcement-bond degradation, and member-level response. Studies measuring permeability and freeze-thaw resistance on the same mixtures do exist; the research gap lies instead in inconsistent test procedures and the limited transfer of material indices to reinforced members. In one panel-concrete study, 2% cementitious capillary crystalline waterproofing produced the strongest response and larger dosage weakened the effect; this value is not treated as a universal dosage. Likewise, a favorable result at 0.6% superabsorbent polymer is restricted to the recycled-concrete mixture in which it was measured. At member scale, one RC-beam program after 300 cycles reported an approximately 20% reduction in energy absorption for low-air concrete versus about 7% for concretes with more developed air systems. Heterogeneous mixtures, saturation histories, and test procedures prevent derivation of a universal conversion from concrete test grade to structural service life. The review therefore identifies the applicability limits of existing mechanisms and the data that need to be connected in matched material-to-member test programs.

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