This paper investigates the effectiveness of eight mineral admixtures
in reducing the alkali silica (te) reactivity of cement mortar, The ad
mixtures include one class F fly ash, a condensed silica fume, a groun
d fiberglass, three glass containing waste materials, and two inert fi
llers (carbon and calcium carbonate). Mortar bar expansion, the change
in evaporable water content, the evidence of reaction and the composi
tion of reaction products were studied. It was found that shale is the
only reactive component of the sand and the effectiveness of admixtur
es in reducing alkali-silica reaction depends largely on the chemical
composition of the admixtures. Ground fiberglass is very effective in
controlling the alkali silica reaction, while inert fillers have only
a ''dilution effect''. It is thought that admixtures reduce ASR expans
ion by two reactions: (1) pozzolanic reaction that reduces the permeab
ility of concrete and entraps some fraction of the alkali ions; (2) al
kali silica reaction that consumes most of the available alkali ions a
nd thereby prevents the reaction between alkalis and aggregate.