Title: Impact of Laboratory-Accelerated Aging Methods to Study Alkali–Silica Reaction and Reinforcement Corrosion on the Properties of Concrete

Abstract

This study focuses on two separate investigations of the main aging mechanisms: alkali–silica reactivity (ASR) and the corrosion of reinforcing steel (rebar) concrete, both of which may result in a premature failure to meet the serviceability or strength requirements of a concrete structure. However, these processes occur very slowly, spanning decades. The impact of direct chemical additives to fresh concrete to accelerate ASR and the corrosion of reinforcing steel on the fresh and hardened properties of the ensuing material are investigated to inform the potential use of chemicals in large-scale studies. The deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) is determined by means of expansion, cracking, bulk diffusivity and surface resistivity measurements, and compressive, split tensile and flexural strength tests. The results indicate that the addition of sodium hydroxide and calcium chloride can effectively accelerate the crack formation and propagation in concrete due to ASR and the corrosion of rebar, respectively. The ASR-induced cracks maintained a constant crack width from 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm over the measurement period regardless of the intensity of aging acceleration. Adding 4% chloride by weight of cement for accelerating rebar corrosion resulted in an average crack that was 82% larger than in the case of ASRmore » accelerated with the addition of sodium hydroxide. The addition of alkali resulted in an increase in early-age (7-day) strength. At a total alkali loading of 2.98 kg/m3, 3.84 kg/m3 and 5.57 kg/m3, the 28-day compressive strength of concrete decreased by 3%, 10% and 24%, respectively. Similarly, a higher early-age strength and a lower later-age strength was observed for the concrete in the presence of corrosive calcium chloride. The results from this research are expected to inform future studies on the long-term performance of RC structures under accelerated ASR and corrosion.« less

Authors:

Attar, Arezou ^[1]; Gencturk, Bora  ^[2];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-6920-0834"

Aryan, Hadi ^[2]; Wei, Jianqiang ^[3]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, New York, NY (United States). Structural Engineering III
2. Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
3. Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Publication Date:

Thu Jul 23 00:00:00 EDT 2020

Research Org.:

Univ. of Houston, TX (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

OSTI Identifier:

1801222

Grant/Contract Number:  

NE0008438

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Materials

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 13; Journal Issue: 15; Journal ID: ISSN 1996-1944

Publisher:

MDPI

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 42 ENGINEERING; 71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; Chemistry; Materials Science; Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering; Physics