On the Interactions of Aggregates with Supplementary Cementing Materials for Durable Concrete Structures
- Supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) are an important part of modern concrete structures. Their use has many advantages (reduction of the cement amount, improvement of the durability and therefore CO2 reduction). For example certain SCMs added to concrete mixtures can avoid the alkali-silica reaction (ASR). But such materials have a wide range of composition and therefore the mechanisms can be very differently. The knowledge of dissolution processes of aggregates and SCMs separate and together in alkaline solutions can help to understand the damage of concretes caused by ASR and the effects to avoid ASR in more details. Many dissolution experiments were performed in highly alkaline solutions (KOH) under CPT conditions (pH 14, 40°C) using aggregates in original grain sizes and Si and Al containing SCMs in different ratios. Also Calcium hydroxide was added to investigate the influence of calcium ions as a main part of the pore solution. The concentrations of soluble silica and alumina were determined by ICP-OES. Such dissolutionSupplementary cementing materials (SCMs) are an important part of modern concrete structures. Their use has many advantages (reduction of the cement amount, improvement of the durability and therefore CO2 reduction). For example certain SCMs added to concrete mixtures can avoid the alkali-silica reaction (ASR). But such materials have a wide range of composition and therefore the mechanisms can be very differently. The knowledge of dissolution processes of aggregates and SCMs separate and together in alkaline solutions can help to understand the damage of concretes caused by ASR and the effects to avoid ASR in more details. Many dissolution experiments were performed in highly alkaline solutions (KOH) under CPT conditions (pH 14, 40°C) using aggregates in original grain sizes and Si and Al containing SCMs in different ratios. Also Calcium hydroxide was added to investigate the influence of calcium ions as a main part of the pore solution. The concentrations of soluble silica and alumina were determined by ICP-OES. Such dissolution experiments, with which an interaction was settled between the aggregate and the SCM via the alkaline solution, arose that under specific conditions the dissolution of aggregates was strongly influenced. Obviously both main constituents of concretes interact with each other. Additionally effects of the dissolved calcium ions must be considered. It was found that the efficiency depends on the amount and chemical composition of the SCMs used and on the reactivity of aggregates.…