Effect of Alkali-Silica Reaction on Shear Strength of Reinforced Concrete Structural Members

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) was discovered in the early 40s by Stanton (1940) of the California Division of Highways. Since, it has been recognized as a major degradation mechanism for concrete dams and transportation infrastructures. Sometimes described as the ’cancer of concrete’, this internal swelling mechanism causes expansion, cracking and loss of mechanical properties. There are no known economically viable solutions applicable to massive concrete to prevent the reaction once initiated. The e ciency of the mitigation strategies for ASR subjected structures is limited. Several cases of ASR in nuclear generating stations have been disclosed in Japan (Takatura et al. 2005), Canada at Gentilly 2 NPP (Tcherner and Aziz 2009) 1, and more recently, in the United States for which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued Information Notice (IN) 2011-20, ’Concrete Degradation by Alkali Silica Reaction,’ on November 18, 2011, to provide the industry with information related to the ASR identified at Seabrook. Considering that US commercial reactors in operation enter the age when ASR degradation can be visually detected and that numerous non nuclear infrastructures (transportation, energy production) have already experienced ASR in a large majority of the States (e.g., Department of Transportation survey reported by Touma (Touma 2000)), the susceptibility and significance of ASR for nuclear concrete structures must be addressed in the perspective of license renewal and long-term operation beyond 60 years. The aim of this report is to perform an extensive parametric series of 3D nonlinear finite element analyses of three di erent “beam-like” geometries, including two di erent depths, three di erent types of boundary conditions, and four other parameters: namely, the ASR volumetric expansion, the reinforcement ratio, the loss of elastic modulus induced by ASR and the loss of tensile strength caused by ASR.