Recently, cracking damage to concrete structures due to alkali-aggregate reactions (AAR) have been increasingly throughout the world. Active investigation and research on AAR started in our country in the early 1980 's. A number of research organizations have dealt earnestly with the difficult AAR problem for about ten years now, and the level of research in our country has come lately to rank among the world. Fifty or more experimental results on AAR were reported every year in the annual meeting held by AIJ, JSMS, JCI, the Cement Association, or other societies or associations. Also, 134 reports were presented and about 400 persons were attended in the 8th International Conference on Alkali-Aggregate Reaction (8th ICAAR) held in Kyoto, 1989. This paper reviews various aspects of the latest research on AAR, including such basic studies as the mechanisms of AAR, the microstructure of reaction products and petrographic study, effect of mineral and chemical admixtures on AAR, standard and new testing methods, preventive measures for AAR, and inspection and repair of damaged concrete structure due to AAR.
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