Influence of environmental temperature and moisture conditions on fatigue resistance of concrete

¹ College of Engineering, Nihon University, 1 Nakagawara, Tokusada, Tamura-machi, Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan
² Nexco-Engineering Tohoku Company, 13F Kakyoin Plaza, 2-1-65 Kakyoin, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan

^* Corresponding author: koda@civil.ce.nihon-u.ac.jp

Abstract

It is known that the fatigue resistance of concrete decreases when the concrete is saturated with water and that the compressive strength increases with increasing water content at low temperatures below the freezing point of water. However, there have been few systematic studies on the influence of the ambient temperature and moisture content on the fatigue resistance of concrete. In the present study, static loading and fatigue tests were carried out on concrete cylinders to determine their fatigue resistance under compression. The test methods had been conducted to considered environmental temperatures and water contents. The results indicated that at room temperature, the static compressive strength decreases with increasing moisture content. In contrast, at a low temperature, the compressive strength of the samples increased with increasing moisture content. Furthermore, regardless of the temperature, the fatigue resistance decreased as the moisture content increased.