Evaluation of Deicer Impacts on Pervious Concrete Specimens (Phase II)

Liv Haselbach et al.
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:15:19 PDT

This research examined the chemical degradation of pervious concrete due to calcium chloride or magnesium chloride deicers. The project consisted of Phase I, Phase IIa, and Phase IIb. Phase I was previous work where a testing protocol was developed to mimic deicer applications. Phases IIa and IIb are parts of this project. Phase IIa used split tensile testing on Phase I specimens and further evaluated the chemical data from Phase I magnesium chloride applications. Phase IIb repeated the Phase I protocol for a larger number of new ordinary Portland cement specimens and evaluated the impact on strength using the unconfined compressive strength test. The hypotheses were based on complexation and precipitation chemistry. Specimens subjected to calcium chloride showed visible degradation. Specimens exposed to magnesium chloride deicer showed a large increase in loss of calcium ions in Phase I. Both deicers showed a loss in strength compared with a water control in Phase IIb. Results from the split tensile testing were inconclusive. The protocol from Phase I with the unconfined compression test may be an effective testing procedure to determine if different designs might be more resistant to chemical degradation by these two deicing chemicals.