Importance of creep and ASR gel diffusion in predicting ASR induced expansion

Abstract

The paper reviews development of a diffusion-based and creep-based model for calculating the evolution of expansion and damage induced by alkali-silica reaction (ASR). First, the model of Bazant and Steffens (2000) is adopted to calculate the rate of production of the ASR gel within the aggregate. Next, a non-linear diffusion according to Rahimi-Aghdam and Bazant (2017) is presented to model the penetration of ASR gel into the micropores, nanopores and microcracks. The gel diffusion into pores of the aggregate causes expansion and damage to the surrounding concrete, and is found to be an important modeling aspect. The damage is assessed by microplane model M7, into which the creep is incorporated. The creep is found to have a  significant influence on the long-term evolution of ASR-induced damage. The predictions are in good  agreements with the laboratory experiments and the model appears to be ready to predict the ASR effects in real structures.
© 2018 Asociación Española de Ingeniería Estructural (ACHE). Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.