Effective ASR inhibiting length and applied electrical field under accelerated lithium migration technique

This study investigates the effective concrete length and electric field strength during Accelerated Lithium Migration Technique (ALMT) application for the inhibition of the alkali-silica reaction (ASR). Concrete specimens measuring 10 cm in diameter and 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 17, 20 and 23 cm in length are fabricated. Specimens with 5, 7, and 9 cm in length are applied 9 A/m2 constant current density, and the rest specimens are applied 60 V constant voltage. After the ALMT process, the specimen is cut every 0.5 cm and analyzed its cation content. Experimental results shows that if the aim of ASR inhibition is to reduce the cement alkali content to below 0.6 % and to restrict the upper limit of the applied voltage to 60 V, the lowest effective current density is approximately 3.96 A/m2, with a treatment length of 15.75 cm, over about 70 days.