On Mechanical Degradation of Reinforced Concrete Affected by Alkali-Silica Reaction

In this paper a constitutive relation is developed for reinforced concrete subjected to a continuing alkali-silica reaction. The chemo-mechanical interaction is described within the framework of chemo-plasticity. The formulation invokes the assumption that the formation of expansive phases results in degradation of mechanical properties of the material. The approach employs a constitutive model for reinforced concrete, as recently developed by the writers. An extensive numerical analysis is conducted examining the effect of the reaction on mechanical characteristics in axial compression/tension for different reinforcement intensities. Some of the key results are compared with the available experimental data.