Spalling of brick beneath a joint between coping stones on a garden wall Exterior masonry walls are exposed to many environmental factors which affect the durability of brick, one of which is freeze-thaw action. The severity of frost exposure and its affect on the durability of the brick can be affected by the moisture content of the brick at the start of freezing, the rate of cooling, the coldest temperature attained, and the number of the freeze-thaw cycles.
Material properties can also affect the performance of brick.
The rate of water absorption and surface drying characteristics, pore size distribution and inter-connectedness, as well as material strength all play a role in how a brick will perform during freezing and thawing. The main objective of this project is to study the frost durability of clay brick. This cabinet allows a number of different standard freeze-thaw tests to be performed. Variation in the cooling rate, temperature and freeze-thaw cycle duration can be controlled in the cabinet and their effect on the performance of the brick noted. Along with this, additional materials tests can be performed to evaluate the properties of the bricks that are being tested in the freeze-thaw cabinet.