Comparative study of the efficacy of fly ash and reactive aggregate powders in mitigating alkali-silica reaction

This study investigates the ability of reactive aggregate powders to mitigate alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in comparison with fly ash using the accelerated mortar bar test (AMBT). ASR expansion results confirm that the reactive aggregate powders can mitigate ASR, although fly ash still has better mitigating efficacy. Microstructural characterization post-AMBT shows presence of exten-sive cracking in the plain OPC mortar, few cracks in the mortar with 25% reactive aggregate pow-ders and negligible cracking in the mortar with 25% fly ash. Elemental analysis shows that the re-active aggregate powders are able to increase the Si/Ca and Al/Si ratio of C-S-H composition similar to fly ash. 25% fly ash replacement however results in much higher Si/Ca and Al/Si ratio which likely explains its better efficacy in mitigation. Thermogravimetric analysis results demon-strate that the reactive aggregate powders are pozzolanic like fly ash and that a reactive aggre-gate powder with better pozzolanic properties has better efficacy to mitigate ASR. The reactive aggregate powders however unlike fly ash do not contribute to compressive strength develop-ment of the mortars.

Automated summary

This study compares the effectiveness of reactive aggregate powders and fly ash in mitigating alkali-silica reaction (ASR) using accelerated mortar bar test (AMBT). The results confirm that both reactive aggregate powders and fly ash can reduce ASR, with fly ash showing better results. Microstructural analysis reveals that cracking is reduced in mortars with reactive aggregate powders and fly ash compared to plain OPC mortar. Elemental analysis demonstrates that reactive aggregate powders can modify the composition of C-S-H to enhance ASR mitigation, although fly ash has a greater effect. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that reactive aggregate powders exhibit pozzolanic properties similar to fly ash, but do not contribute to the compressive strength of the mortars.