Investigations on aggregate reactions and the development of damage in concrete

性能方法在混凝土施工中的应用越来越多，这增加了开发更好的工具以快速可靠地评估混凝土制造材料质量的压力。最近的研究表明，与自然暴露条件相比，许多骨料在“性能”测试中的反应不同，有时会导致在混凝土施工中使用质量差的骨料材料，或者拒绝使用质量好的骨料。该研究计划的目的是提高我们对天然和再生骨料的组成/物理性质对其作为混凝土制造材料的行为的影响的理解，无论是在“加速”实验室条件下还是在自然环境下。此外，该研究计划建议研究不同类型的反应性粗骨料和细骨料的反应和膨胀过程，以及其他有害过程，对混凝土中的损坏/损坏的发展产生影响。这不仅有助于更好地理解混凝土退化的机制，而且反过来也有助于对混凝土基础设施的性能进行更可靠的预测和建模。最后，由于大城市地区附近的优质材料来源正在迅速枯竭，这可能会增加在混凝土建筑中使用边际天然骨料或回收材料的压力，因此更好地了解混凝土制造材料的特性如何影响最终产品的性能（混凝土）以及如何通过性能测试对其进行可靠的评估，对于我们的自然资源的适当管理计划至关重要。

The growing use of a performance approach in concrete construction has increased the pressure to develop better tools for quickly and reliably evaluating the quality of concrete-making materials. Recent research has shown that many aggregates respond differently in "performance" tests compared to natural exposure conditions, sometimes resulting in poor quality aggregate materials being used at risk in concrete construction, or in good-quality aggregates being rejected. The objective of the research program is to improve our understanding of the influence of the compositional/physical properties of natural and recycled aggregates on their behaviour as concrete-making materials, either under "accelerated" laboratory conditions or when subjected to natural environment. Furthermore, the research program proposes to study how the reaction and expansion processes in different types of reactive coarse and fine aggregates, as well as through other deleterious processes, impact on the development of distress/damage in concrete. This will not only contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the degradation of concrete, but it should in turn contribute to a more reliable prediction and modeling of the performance of concrete infrastructure. Finally, as sources of good quality materials in the vicinity of large urban areas are depleting rapidly, which will likely increase the pressure for using marginal natural aggregates or recycled materials in concrete construction, a better understanding of how the properties of concrete-making materials influence the performance of the final product (concrete) and how it could reliably be evaluated through performance testing, is critical in a proper management scheme of our natural resources.