ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CONCRETE ABSTRACTS PORTAL

  • The International Concrete Abstracts Portal is an ACI led collaboration with leading technical organizations from within the international concrete industry and offers the most comprehensive collection of published concrete abstracts.

International Concrete Abstracts Portal

  


Title: Effectiveness of Slag Cement in Preventing Alkali-Silica Reaction: Ten-Year Results

Author(s): D.D. Higgins and G. McLellan

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 263

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 31-42

Keywords: accelerated tests; alkali-silica reaction; expansion; slag; slag cement.

DOI: 10.14359/51663251

Date: 10/1/2009

Abstract:
To investigate the relationship between the alkali content of concrete and the expansion caused by alkali-silica reaction, several hundred concrete prisms containing reactive natural aggregate, were regularly measured over a period of ten years. These prisms contained between 0 and 70% slag cement in combination with portland cements, and had concrete alkali contents between 4.5 and 11 kg/m3 (0.3 and 0.7 lb/ft3). The alkali content of the Portland cements ranged from 0.54 to 1.15% and that of the slag cements from 0.58 to 0.83%. Prisms were moist-stored at 20°C (68 °F) and at 38°C (100°F). Storage at the higher temperature accelerated the rate of expansion, and slightly increased the ultimate expansion. The correlation between the two temperatures was very good in terms of classifying mixtures as either ‘expanding’ or ‘non-expanding’. It is concluded that storage at 38°C (100°F) is an accelerated test that can be used to reliably predict what would happen at ‘normal’ temperature. The mixtures containing slag cement, tolerated much greater alkali contents in the concrete, without expansion. This effect was more pronounced for higher proportions of slag cement.