The Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) causes expansion and cracking in concrete. This can result in structural problems in concrete infrastructure that can limit the infrastructure's service life and also generate high maintenance costs. CSHub research seeks to better understand the reaction and its mechanisms, which is key to determining solutions that will prolong the life of concrete infrastructure.

Reports

• A Scientific Investigation into Concrete Pavement Durability (January 2021)

Related Research Briefs

• Investigating the Mechanisms of ASR Using Atomistic Methods (July 2020)
• Simulating the Formation of ASR Gels (April 2019)
• Mechanical Properties of Alkali-Silica Gels (August 2017)
• Atomistic Modeling of ASR Gel (August 2017)
• Two-Phase Model of Pavement Fracture (June 2016)
• Bottom-up Modeling of ASR in Concrete (March 2016)

News

• Investigating a Big Dam Concrete Problem (MIT News, September 2017)

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Dupuis, R; Béland, L.K. & Pellenq, R. Molecular simulation of silica gels: Formation, dilution, and drying, Physical Review Materials, Volume 3, 7, 2019.
• Dufresne, A., Arayro, J., Zhou, T., Ioannidou, I., Ulm, F.J., Pellenq, R., & Béland L. K. Atomistic and mesoscale simulation of sodium and potassium adsorption in cement paste, The Journal of Chemical Physics, Volume 149, 70, 2018.