A chemo-mechanical model for the acoustic nonlinearity change in concrete with alkali-silica reactions

Abstract

Experimental data have demonstrated that damage induced by alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in concrete, even in its very early stage, can cause changes in the acoustic nonlinearity parameter β. This provides a means to characterize ASR damage in concrete nondestructively. However, there is currently no model that explains the relationship between the acoustic nonlinearity parameter and ASR damage. In this work, we present a micromechanics-based chemo-mechanical model that relates the acoustic nonlinearity parameter to ASR damage. The mechanical part of the model is developed based on a modified version of the generalized self-consistent theory. The chemical part of the model accounts for two opposing diffusion processes. One is the diffusion of alkali ions in the pore solution into aggregates, and the other is the permeation of ASR gel from the aggregate surface into the surrounding porous cement matrix. Furthermore, a fracture model is used to simulate crack initiation and growth, so that the crack density and total expansion can be obtained. Finally, the acoustic nonlinearity parameter is determined as a function of exposure time by accounting for the gel pressure and the crack density. This model provides a way to quantitatively predict the changes in the acoustic nonlinearity parameter due to ASR damage, which can be used to guide experimental measurements for nondestructive evaluation of ASR damage.