Determining Concrete Tensile Strength in ASR-Damaged Slabs and Shells Without Transverse Reinforcement

This study addresses the crucial issue of determining the tensile strength in alkali-silica reaction (ASR)-damaged concrete slabs and shells without shear reinforcement. By studying the underlying theories and assumptions inherent in recognized test methods, augmented by new experiments and insights from the literature, this investigation delves into the limitations and applicability of each method to ASR-damaged concrete. Uniaxial tensile testing is found to be overly sensitive to local weaknesses, leading to significant underestimations in ASR-damaged concrete. Brazilian split testing is shown to evaluate compressive strength in ASR-damaged elements rather than tensile strength. Due to the necessity for large specimens, Flexural testing is unsuitable for concrete with low tensile strength and is deemed impractical for existing structures. In contrast, the failure modes observed in wedge splitting for ASR-damaged concrete closely resemble the considered mechanism in the fracture mechanical model used for determining tensile strength based on wedge splitting results. Consequently, wedge splitting is identified as a suitable method for assessing the tensile strength of concrete from ASR-damaged slabs or shells without shear reinforcement.