Empirical Multiphase Dielectric Mixing Model for Cement-Based Materials Containing Alkali-Silica Reaction Gel

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is a common cause of concrete deterioration. Water (either in free or bound form), in the presence of reactive aggregates, plays a major role in the reaction itself and in the formation and expansion of the deleterious gel produced. Since microwave signals are sensitive to the presence of water in dielectric materials, microwave materials characterization techniques have the potential to detect and monitor ASR gel in concrete structures. Dielectric mixing models are physics-based models that relate the macroscopic (i.e., effective) dielectric constant of a material to the dielectric constant of its constituents and their respective volumetric contents. In this investigation, an empirical multiphase dielectric mixing model is developed in conjunction with measured dielectric constants of two sets of mortar samples with ASR-reactive and nonreactive aggregates at R-band (1.7-2.6 GHz). The proposed model is capable of closely predicting the effective (temporal) dielectric constant of the samples. The modeling results are validated by a comparison with the measured temporal dielectric constant of the samples, showing good agreement. Through this investigation, quantitative information on the influence of constituents of ASR-reactive mortar samples (including ASR gel) are obtained, and the pertinent results indicate significant potential for microwave materials characterization techniques for ASR detection and evaluation.