Alkali Silica Reaction (ASR) Mitigation in Concrete by using Lithium Nitrate

Ravi Agarwal, U S Vidyarthi, U C Gupta, N Sivakumar

Expansive alkali silica gel forms due to the alkali reaction with reactive aggregates.  Cracks and damage to the part of the concrete structure are the results of the formation of this expansive gel. There are several ways to minimize this reaction, out of which Lithium Nitrate compound is believed to reduce the reaction between alkalis (present in the cement) and silica (present in the aggregates). In this paper a laboratory investigation has been done with the combination of reactive aggregate, OPC and varying percentage of Lithium Nitrate to evaluate the effectiveness of Lithium Nitrate compound in controlling expansions resulting from alkali-silica reaction.