Effect of the chemical composition of synthetic alkali-silica gels on their structure, swelling behavior and water uptake

For alkali-silica reaction (ASR) gels, the relationship between swelling expansion, structure and chemical composition, particularly the effect of aluminum, remains unknown. This study investigates the structure, swelling expansion and associated water uptake of synthetic ASR gels with various Al/Si (0–0.1) and Ca/Si (0.1–0.4) ratios. The results show that aluminum incorporated into the gel structure reduces the overall swelling expansion and the leaching of silicate species during the swelling test. Moreover, they revealed that water in the Al-ASR gels is more tightly bound, reducing the overall water uptake compared to the Al-free ASR gels. Additionally, there is a linear correlation between the maximal swelling results and the ASR gel composition. However, no direct correlation emerged between the amount of water uptake and the free swelling of the ASR gels, which indicates that other factors, like the type of water bonding and pore size of the gels, are decisive for the swelling mechanism.