Fracture Based on Micromechanics Schemes in Alkali-Silica Reaction

Abstract

Alkali-Silica Reaction is a deleterious chemical reaction which affects concrete due to the swelling of a gel close to reaction sites generally located in or at the surface of reactive aggregates. The pressure build-up due to the swelling of the gel can lead to fracture of the interface between the aggregates and the cement paste, and cracking in the cement paste. Our goal is to predict the anisotropy of the macroscopic expansion of concrete through the computation of the crack directions. The choice of the micromechanical representation of the concrete has been helped by comparison of different estimates with finite element simulations on typical crack patterns. In this article we explain the micromechanics modeling.