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Integrative experimental and numerical study of ASR affected nuclear concrete containments

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Abstract

The alkali silica reaction (ASR) is a complex multifaceted deleterious one with broad implications on the structural integrity of a nuclear concrete containment (NCC). When compounded with seismic excitation, the structural assessment is even more complex, specially when its intrinsic shear strength is not yet well understood. This paper will highlight 3 years of a holistic research on the pre-cited problem, highlighting the interaction of various tasks, while details can be found in referenced publications. The reported work is broken into four integrated parts: (a) Design of a reactive concrete mix representative of the one in an NCC and likely to expand sufficiently within 6 months; (b) Specimens expansion monitoring in terms of different dimensions and reinforcement ratios for a year; (c) Large-scale testing of shear specimens to evaluate both material (no reinforcement) and structural (with reinforcement) components to assess impact of ASR; and (d) 3D probabilistic nonlinear seismic analyses of an NCC subjected to 40 years of ASR expansion followed by multiple dynamic excitation. It will be shown that the true shear strength of concrete material is affected by ASR, and that this reduction will reduce the seismic resistance of an NCC.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the partial financial support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Madhumita Sircar Technical Analyst) to the University of Colorado (Boulder) through Grant No. NRC-HQ-60-14-G-0010. They would also like to express their gratitude and sincere appreciation to Fall Line Testing & Inspection (Dana Schwartz) for their outstanding support throughout this project, to Holcim for generously donating all the cement and to Bill Hart of Grace Concrete Products who coordinated the donation of lithium nitrate admixture. The extensive comments provided by the anonymous reviewers is gratefully acknowledged as they greatly contributed to the proper shaping of the manuscript. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Examples of analyses performed within this paper are only examples, they should not be utilized in real-world analytic products as they may be based only on very limited and dated open source information.

Funding

This study was funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to the University of Colorado (Boulder) through Grant No. NRC-HQ-60-14-G-0010.

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  1. Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

    Victor E. Saouma & Mohammad Amin Hariri-Ardebili

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  1. Victor E. Saouma
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  2. Mohammad Amin Hariri-Ardebili
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Correspondence to Victor E. Saouma.

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Research funded by US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to the University of Colorado (Boulder) through Grant No. NRC-HQ-60-14-G-0010.

Appendix: Mix designs

Appendix: Mix designs

See Table 3.

Table 3 Specimen casting results
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Saouma, V.E., Hariri-Ardebili, M.A. Integrative experimental and numerical study of ASR affected nuclear concrete containments. Mater Struct 53, 3 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-019-1433-y

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