| Description |
Durability of structures is a major challenge for the building industry. One of the many types of concrete deterioration that can affect durability is alkali-silica reaction (ASR). ASR has been found in most types of concrete structures, including dams, bridges, pavements, and other structures that are 20 to 50 years old. The degradation mechanism of ASR produces a gel that significantly expands in the presence of water as supplied from the surrounding environment. This expansion gel product can create high stresses and cracking of the concrete, which can lead to other forms of degradation and expensive structural replacement costs. The four essential factors that produce an expansive ASR gel in concrete are the presence of alkalis, siliceous aggregate, moisture, and free calcium hydroxide (CH). If concrete is starved of any one of these essential components, the expansion can be prevented. Reducing CH through the use of a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) such as natural pozzolan pumice is the focus of this research. By using a pozzolan, the amount of CH is reduced with time based on the effectiveness of the pozzolan. Many pozzolans exist, but one such naturally occurring pozzolanic material is pumice. This research focuses on determining the effect of a finely ground pumice as a SCM in terms of its resistance to ASR expansion, as well as improving resistance to other potential concrete durability mechanisms. In spite of having high alkali contents in the pumice, mixtures containing the SCM pumice more effectively mitigated the ASR expansion reaction than other degradation mechanisms. Depending on the reactivity of the aggregates and fineness of the pumice, 10-15% replacement of cement with the pumice was found to reduce the ASR expansion to the acceptable limits. The amount of CH remaining in the concrete was compared to the ASR expansion in order to improve understanding of the role of CH in the ASR reaction. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were used to quantify the relative amount of CH across time. From analyzing mortar specimens in an aggressive ASR environment for 14 days, specimens with 15% of cement replaced by a finely ground pumice showed up to 40% lower CH content and 95% reduction in ASR expansion compared to 100% cement specimens. Instead of using low alkali cement, this type of pumice can be utilized in longer durable service-life structures despite whether highly reactive siliceous aggregates are used in the concrete mixtures. |
