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Title:

GEOCHEMICAL METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING ALKALI-SILICA-REACTION GEL

Accession Number:

00771114

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

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Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309070635

Abstract:

A geochemical method for staining various products of the alkali-silica reaction is presented. The method is based on both the composition of alkali-silica-reaction (ASR) gel and one of its properties (the ability to exchange cations with a fluid). Specifically, one stain (sodium cobalt nitrite) reacts with exchangeable potassium in the gel to form a bright yellow precipitate on the gel surface. The other class of stains (a variety of rhodamine compounds) reacts with calcium-rich portions of the gel (and, for some compounds, with other calcium-rich components of the concrete) to form a pink-stained gel. The significance of the pink staining is twofold. First, it can provide a high contrast to the yellow-stained gels, making them easier to observe. Second, some rhodamine compounds react predominantly with calcium-rich ASR gels. Some aspects of staining by rhodamine remain the subject of continued study and may be useful for a more detailed understanding of ASR progression and other deterioration mechanisms. However, a positive diagnosis of ASR is indicated by the presence of yellow-stained gel within aggregate, at the aggregate-paste interface, along fractures, or in air voids. The technique can be used as a rapid field screening method or as a useful aid for detailed petrographic examinations.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1668, Concrete in Pavements and Structures.

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Guthrie Jr, G D
Carey, J W

Pagination:

p. 68-71

Publication Date:

1999

Serial:

Transportation Research Record

Issue Number: 1668
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0361-1981

ISBN:

0309070635

Features:

Figures (1) ; References (7)

Uncontrolled Terms:

Subject Areas:

Highways; Materials; I32: Concrete

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Oct 7 1999 12:00AM

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