Title:
Our Biggest Practical Challenge: The reliability of Our Performance-Based Test Methods
Author(s):
Ideker
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
10/17/2021
Abstract:
Concrete is a very widely used and highly versatile construction material; however, it is often exposed to very harsh conditions that have shown to affect its performance. In the case of alkali-silica reaction, many laboratory test procedures have been developed since the 1940’s aiming at forecasting the field performance of various types of reactive aggregates and the effectiveness of preventive measures for concrete, notably supplementary cementitious materials and lithium-based admixtures. These tests use accelerated conditions in the laboratory that sometimes have shown limited correlation with the expected field performance of the material’s combinations tested. Outdoor exposure site testing has been used over the past few decades in order to better understand/forecast the long-term field performance of alkali-silica reactive aggregates under various environmental conditions and to optimise the tools that engineers can use in the laboratory to predict this long-term behaviour in reasonable time periods. This presentation gives a summary of some of those investigations conducted over the past few decades aiming at preventing the deleterious effects of reactive aggregates in concrete around the world. Thoughts on future research needs and directions will be provided.