Effects of fatigue loading and alkali-silica reaction on the mechanical behavior of pavement concrete

The primary aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of mechanical pre-damage and alkali-silica reaction (ASR) on the fracture mechanical properties of pavement concrete. For this purpose, a four point bending test was applied to large format beams to produce a defined level of cyclic pre-damage. The fatigue-induced concrete degradation process was simultaneously recorded using a testing procedure specifically developed for the purpose. In addition, fatigue-induced cracks on extracted drilling cores were spatially visualized and quantified using micro X-ray 3D-computed tomography (3D-CT). The storage of the small-format test specimens, with and without cyclic pre-damage, in an ASR-conducive environment showed that pre-damage leads to an increase in ASR damage processes. Subsequent structural mechanical investigations on small format specimens with and without pre-damage show that fatigue loading and ASR significantly influence fracture mechanical parameters of the concrete.