Investigation of alkali-aggregate reaction in carbonate rocks

Alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR) may occur in concrete through siliceous or carbonate rock and alkaline hydroxides. Depending on the type of minerals present in the rock, it is possible the alkali-silica/silicate (ASR), alkali-carbonate (ACR) or both reactions occurrences. The preliminary study of the rock is an obligatory procedure before the application in a concrete structure. This paper presents a laboratory study with the main purpose of verifying the potential in causing alkali-silica and alkalicarbonate reactivity of dolomite rock. With this approach, several methodologies in the ASR and ACR investigations and a detailed mineralogical analysis of the mentioned rocks are showed and the tested results discussed. The results indicate that alkali-silica reaction does not occur in non-siliceous carbonate aggregate even with a very low content of SiO2.