One of the biggest challenges nowadays when dealing with critical AAR-affected infrastructure is to determine the induced expansion and damage attained to date in the different locations of the structure (i.e. diagnosis), to forecast its potential for further distress over time (i.e. prognosis), as well as its potential structural implications. There are a number of prognosis techniques that have been developed in the past decades which are currently being used worldwide. Yet, most of these approaches use residual expansion procedures based on accelerated laboratory tests performed on cores extracted from damaged structures. However, the majority of the results gathered from these tests have been found to be inaccurate when compared to the swelling behavior of the respective structure in the field and several potential issues have been raised with respect to the test setup and alkali leaching. This work aims to evaluate the efficiency of the various commonly used laboratory setups to assess the residual expansion of AAR-affected concrete. Three different setups (i.e. 38°C and 100% RH; 38°C and soaked in 1M NaOH and; 38°C and wrapped in 0.7M NaOH) and two types of reactive aggregates (fine and coarse) were selected for this research. Expansion is monitored over time and four damage degrees (i.e. 0.05%. 0.12%, 0.20% and 0.30%) are selected for further chemical, microscopic (DRI) and non-destructive tests. Results demonstrated that the 1 M NaOH protocol is much more aggressive than the other two setups. Furthermore, it provides the samples with a unique damage pattern that is different from field affected concrete. Finally, the proposed setup shows to be reliable in providing tested samples with similar deterioration mechanisms than expected. Yet, more efficiency in the reaction kinetics and understanding of the alkalis exchange from the system is still required.

Over the last decades, researchers have proposed a number of tools for the condition assessment of concrete infrastructure affected by alkali-silica reaction (ASR). Amongst those, increasing attention has been given to the Stiffness Damage Test (SDT), Damage Rating Index (DRI), and Residual Expansion (RE) laboratory test procedures that aim to determine the cause and extent (i.e., diagnosis) of damage along with the potential of further deterioration (i.e., prognosis) of affected concrete. Yet, most of the data gathered so far while using the aforementioned tools has been obtained on laboratory test specimens presenting distinct conditions from affected structural members in the field, especially regarding restraint effects. This work aims to understand the impact of restraint on ASR-induced expansion and damage. Thirty-two 450 mm by 450 mm by 675 mm concrete blocks with various reinforcement configurations (i.e., unreinforced, 1D and 2D reinforcement) and incorporating highly reactive coarse and fine aggregates (i.e., Springhill coarse and Texas sand) were manufactured and stored in conditions enabling ASR-induced development (i.e., 38°C and 100 R.H). Two expansion levels were selected for analysis (i.e., 0.08% and 0.15%); once reached, cores were extracted from three different directions (i.e., longitudinal, transversal and vertical) of all blocks and mechanical (i.e., SDT and compressive strength), microscopic (i.e., DRI, scanning electron microscope, etc.) and expansion (i.e., RE) test procedures were conducted on the concrete cores. Results suggest that the presence of restraint influences the induced expansion, resulting in an anisotropic response of the specimens. Furthermore, similar to the expansion behavior, an anisotropic distribution of induced damage and mechanical properties reduction are observed for the restrained concrete blocks in which the restraint configuration seems to significantly affect ASR-induced damage development and features. This led to the observation of a higher number of damage features, ASR development and mechanical properties reduction in cores obtained from unrestrained directions. Yet, some anticipated results from the current research will be studied in detail in the near future where the reliability of the existing techniques (i.e., residual expansion and soluble alkalis) for appraising ASR potential for further induced development and distress (i.e., prognosis) in affected concrete presenting distinct restraint scenarios will be evaluated.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-06Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:53:01Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 marques_ml_me_ilha.pdf: 2611417 bytes, checksum: 92acf490f613feafc8592624dfbb25e9 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Diante dos vários casos registrados de anomalias surgidas em concretos de diferentes estruturas devidas às reações deletérias do tipo álcali-agregado (RAA), pesquisadores de todo o mundo têm buscado conhecer melhor o problema, entender seu mecanismo e caracterizar estruturas já afetadas. Realizou-se no presente trabalho um estudo de caso sobre a Tomada d’água (TA) da UHE Jaguari, visando estimar a expansibilidade do concreto dessa estrutura e a reatividade de agregados provenientes da região. Para isto, foram analisados testemunhos extraídos da TA por meio de ensaios de expansão, análises químicas e microestruturais, e um concreto com traço reconstituído em laboratório, reproduzindo o traço utilizado na construção da TA, avaliando a resistência mecânica, a propriedade elástica e a permeabilidade. Realizouse um estudo em separado dos agregados coletados da região (enrocamento da barragem, pedreira comercial e testemunho de sondagem da rocha de fundação da TA) por se tratar de materiais que provavelmente têm a mesma procedência que o empregado na barragem. Foram realizadas análises químicas, usando técnicas como difração de raios X e infravermelho, bem como análises do potencial expansivo, por meio de barras de argamassa e prismas de concreto, conforme as normas NBR 15577-4 e NBR 15577-6, respectivamente. Este conjunto de informações constitui uma contribuição para que venha a ser feita uma avaliação da real situação da estrutura no tocante à RAA, estabelecendo parâmetros iniciais para estimar em qual estágio de expansão a estrutura se encontra. / Ahead of some registered cases of anomalies appeared in concrete of different structures due to the deleterious reactions of the alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) type, researchers of all over the world have studied this problem, to understand its mechanism and to characterize structures which were already affected. In the present work, a characterization of the concrete used in this dam and a study of residual expansion obtained from extracted cores was performed. The case study was the intake of Jaguari Hydra Power plant, because it presents cracks that are characteristic of alkali-aggregate reaction. Tests were made on the same core of Jaguari Hydra Power Plant and in concrete from laboratory, using a local aggregate in order to evaluate: the strength, the elastic property, the permeability and the expansibility; as well as, chemical and micro structural analysis. Another study was made with aggregate collected from the rockfill of the dam, because this aggregate probably has the same origin that the one which were used in the dam construction and collected from soundings of the foundation rock of intake structure of Jaguari Power plant. This study contemplated chemical analysis, using techniques such as X-ray diffraction and infra-red ray, as well as analysis of the expansive potential in mortar bars and concrete prisms, through method NBR 15577-4 e NBR 15577-6, respectively. All this information will be useful to establish initial parameters and estimate what is the stage of the structure expansion due to alkali-aggregate reaction.

Orientador: Haroldo de Mayo Bernardes / Banca: Antonio Anderson da Silva Segantini / Banca: Selmo Chapira Kuperman / Resumo: Diante dos vários casos registrados de anomalias surgidas em concretos de diferentes estruturas devidas às reações deletérias do tipo álcali-agregado (RAA), pesquisadores de todo o mundo têm buscado conhecer melhor o problema, entender seu mecanismo e caracterizar estruturas já afetadas. Realizou-se no presente trabalho um estudo de caso sobre a Tomada d'água (TA) da UHE Jaguari, visando estimar a expansibilidade do concreto dessa estrutura e a reatividade de agregados provenientes da região. Para isto, foram analisados testemunhos extraídos da TA por meio de ensaios de expansão, análises químicas e microestruturais, e um concreto com traço reconstituído em laboratório, reproduzindo o traço utilizado na construção da TA, avaliando a resistência mecânica, a propriedade elástica e a permeabilidade. Realizouse um estudo em separado dos agregados coletados da região (enrocamento da barragem, pedreira comercial e testemunho de sondagem da rocha de fundação da TA) por se tratar de materiais que provavelmente têm a mesma procedência que o empregado na barragem. Foram realizadas análises químicas, usando técnicas como difração de raios X e infravermelho, bem como análises do potencial expansivo, por meio de barras de argamassa e prismas de concreto, conforme as normas NBR 15577-4 e NBR 15577-6, respectivamente. Este conjunto de informações constitui uma contribuição para que venha a ser feita uma avaliação da real situação da estrutura no tocante à RAA, estabelecendo parâmetros iniciais para estimar em qual estágio de expansão a estrutura se encontra. / Abstract: Ahead of some registered cases of anomalies appeared in concrete of different structures due to the deleterious reactions of the alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) type, researchers of all over the world have studied this problem, to understand its mechanism and to characterize structures which were already affected. In the present work, a characterization of the concrete used in this dam and a study of residual expansion obtained from extracted cores was performed. The case study was the intake of Jaguari Hydra Power plant, because it presents cracks that are characteristic of alkali-aggregate reaction. Tests were made on the same core of Jaguari Hydra Power Plant and in concrete from laboratory, using a local aggregate in order to evaluate: the strength, the elastic property, the permeability and the expansibility; as well as, chemical and micro structural analysis. Another study was made with aggregate collected from the rockfill of the dam, because this aggregate probably has the same origin that the one which were used in the dam construction and collected from soundings of the foundation rock of intake structure of Jaguari Power plant. This study contemplated chemical analysis, using techniques such as X-ray diffraction and infra-red ray, as well as analysis of the expansive potential in mortar bars and concrete prisms, through method NBR 15577-4 e NBR 15577-6, respectively. All this information will be useful to establish initial parameters and estimate what is the stage of the structure expansion due to alkali-aggregate reaction. / Mestre