FE approach to perform the condition assessment of a concrete overpass damaged by ASR after 50 years in service

Modeling alkali-silica reaction (ASR) induced expansion and damage in reinforced concrete structures is quite complex, yet necessary to obtain accurate predictions of the structural responses of distressed concrete members. In order to predict the expansion and damage at the structural (macroscopic) scale, a new simple yet reliable finite element (FE) approach was developed and validated by the authors. It accounts for the most important parameters affecting ASR through an engineering-based approach, without the need for non-technical guesses or to “fit” model parameters. In this work, the proposed modelling approach is used to analyze the Robert-Bourassa/Charest overpass (Quebec City, Canada), which was demolished in 2010 due to severe structural distress induced by ASR. Results show that the proposed FE approach is capable of properly performing the condition assessment of the structure at the time of demolition based only on simple measurable parameters, thus proving its applicability to simulate ASR in slender reinforced concrete structures.