Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Recycling of waste glass in dry-mixed concrete blocks: Evaluation of

alkali-silica reaction (ASR) by accelerated laboratory tests and long-term
field monitoring
Shuqing Yang, Jian-Xin Lu, Chi Sun Poon ⇑
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

 Long-term field monitoring of ASR

showed the feasibility of using glass
aggregates in dry-mixed blocks.
 Two types of ASR gel were identified:
exterior gel in the coarser pores and
interior gel in cracks of glass
aggregates.
 Exterior-glass ASR gel was
innocuously stored in the coarser
pores of the dry-mixed blocks.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) restricts the practical applications of recycled waste glass aggregates in concrete.
Received 6 July 2020 Recent investigations according to ASTM C1260 (laboratory test) found that ASR expansion of glass aggre-
Received in revised form 24 August 2020 gates in dry-mixed mortars could be minimized as compared with the excessive ASR expansion in wet-
Accepted 7 September 2020
mixed mortars. This study aimed to validate the benefit of the dry-mixed method by a long-term (15 years)
field monitoring, as no study had been reported on the long-term ASR behavior of glass based dry-mixed
mortars before. The results showed that the development process of the ASR gel of the glass aggregates in
Keywords:
the dry-mixed mortars tested by the laboratory tests (ASTM C1260 and ASTM C227) was consistent with
Exterior-glass ASR gel
Dry-mixed blocks
the long-term field monitoring results. According to ASTM C227 (laboratory test), after six months of the
Waste glass ASR test, the ASR gel was firstly identified only on the exterior surface of the glass aggregates in the macro
Long-term review pores of the dry-mixed mortars (exterior-glass ASR gel), which did not cause expansion. Later, the ASR gel
Concrete blocks was observed within the interior pre-existing cracks of the glass aggregates (interior-glass ASR gel). For
Interior cracks the long-term tested blocks collected from the field, only exterior-glass ASR gel was detected in the 15 years
old blocks because of the much slower ASR rate in the field. No ASR induced crack was observed. The results
of the study also showed that the additional use of glass powder as a supplementary cementitious material
was effective to control the formation of the deleterious interior-glass ASR gel in the dry-mixed mortars,
which could further increase the usage of waste glass in concrete blocks.
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: cecspoon@polyu.edu.hk (C.S. Poon).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120865
0950-0618/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Yang et al.
1. Introduction
The increasing consumption of glass bottled beverages and
wine has led to a rapid increase in waste glass generation in
municipalities such as Hong Kong. Many cities similar to Hong
Kong do not have adequate glass manufacturing industry and
therefore the management of waste glass is a pressing problem.
The management of over 100,000 tonnes/annum of waste glass
containers in Hong Kong is a challenge [1]. Similarly, many cities
in Australia, the United States and Europe are also confronted with
the same waste glass disposal problem [2–5]. The utilization of
waste glass in concrete production is environmentally friendly
because it can relieve the burden on landfills and conserve deplet-
ing natural sand resources. Studies have been conducted on the
performance of concrete produced with the incorporation of glass
aggregates and glass powder as partial replacements of con-
stituents in the concrete product especially in the conventional
wet-mixed concrete [5–8]. Recently, the use of glass aggregates
in the dry-mixed concrete blocks has attracted more research
and practical interests [9–13] because the requirement for the
raw material and quality in the production of non-structural con-
crete products are comparatively lower [14].
Furthermore, previous studies have demonstrated that unlike
the excessive ASR expansion caused by the utilization of the
alkali-active glass aggregates in the conventional wet-mixed con-
crete, the dry-mixed concrete blocks suffered significantly lesser
ASR expansion tested by the Accelerated Mortar Bar test according
to ASTM C1260 [9,15,16]. Based on studies using ASTM C1260, the
development and distribution of ASR gel were different in the con-
ventional wet-mixed mortars and the dry-mixed concrete blocks
[12]. Contrary to those formed from natural reactive aggregates,
the formation of ASR gel in both the conventional wet-mixed mor-
tars [2,3] and the dry-mixed concrete blocks [17] was not found in
the interface between the glass aggregates and the cement paste
(glass aggregates-cement paste interface). Pre-existing cracks in
glass aggregates which were produced in the crushing process of
the glass bottles, and different pore structures in the concrete
resulted in different distributions of ASR gels [18–20]. For the con-
ventional wet-mixed mortars, the ASR gel was found within the
interior pre-existing cracks of the glass aggregate (interior-glass
ASR gel) which resulted in large expansions and ASR induced
cracks [2,3,20]. Maraghechi et al. [2,20] explained this was due to
the limited volume of the interior micro cracks of the glass aggre-
gates rendering the buildup of high concentrations of the slowly
diffusing sodium and silica. However, for the dry-mixed concrete
blocks, the ASR gel was found mainly on the exterior surface of
the glass aggregate in the macro pores (exterior-glass ASR gel).
The macro pores in the dry-mixed concrete blocks were produced
during the casting of the concrete. The presence of these macro
pores in the dry-mixed concrete blocks could accommodate the
exterior-glass ASR gel and thus much smaller expansion was expe-
rienced [12,17].
For the dry-mixed concrete, besides the ASTM C1260 test, few
studies reported the ASR performance of the dry-mixed glass
aggregates concrete. For the wet-mixed concrete, some studies
reported that different ASR test methods gave consistent results
[21–23], whereas other studies also showed testing by ASTM
C1260 and ASTM C227 gave different results [24,25]. In ASTM
C1260 (Accelerated Mortar-Bar Method), the alkali-silica reactivity
of aggregate was evaluated rapidly in the 80 °C alkali solution for
14 days [26]. In comparison, ASTM C277 (Mortar-Bar Method)
evaluated ASR expansion of the reactive aggregate and cement
combination in a longer-term period of 12 months without immer-
2
Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865
sion in the alkali solution [27]. Zhu et al. [25] indicated that the
expansion values of glass concrete at 14 days complied with the
acceptance limit of ASTM C1260 and consequently the glass aggre-
gates were classified as alkali-silica unreactive, whereas the expan-
sion value tested by ASTM C227 ascertained the glass aggregate
was reactive. They attributed this difference to the elevated tem-
perature and 1 M NaOH solution used in ASTM C1260 which pro-
moted the pozzolanic effect of fine glass particle to delay the ASR
expansion.
With the same requirement of mix proportions and sample
sizes as ASTM C1260, the slower ASR reaction rate of ASTM C227
would reflect the development process of the ASR gel in the dry-
mixed concrete blocks. The less ASR expansion and innocuous
ASR gel in the dry-mixed blocks could be further investigated in
the slower reaction process by ASTM C227. Irrespective of the
promising findings regarding the utilization of glass aggregates in
the dry-mixed blocks, its long-term ASR performance in the prac-
tical application was still unknown. Before extensive application
of the glass aggregates in dry-mixed concrete blocks, more
research studies are also needed to demonstrate the long-term
durability in relation to ASR.
In addition to being used as aggregate, the potential of using
finely ground glass powder as a supplementary cementitious
material (SCM) to partially replace cement in the wet-mixed con-
crete has been investigated to maximize the utilization of waste
glass [19,28–33]. It has been found that with the pozzolanic effect,
the use of glass powder in producing glass aggregate concrete
could be one of the effective ways to suppress the ASR [30,31].
Due to the pozzolanic reaction, portlandite is consumed and less
soluble calcium is available to react with the dissolved silica.
Therefore, the alkalinity of the pore solution in the concrete is also
decreased. As a result, the glass concrete would be less vulnerable
to be attacked by ASR. Therefore, more glass aggregates could be
used in the wet-mixed concrete. However, little study concerns
the effectiveness of using glass powder to control ASR expansion
of concrete blocks prepared with glass aggregates.
2. Research objectives
For practical application of glass aggregate in the dry-mixed
concrete blocks, a thorough understanding of the ASR development
process and the ASR long-term performance is needed. For the lab-
oratory tests, the ASR performances of the dry-mixed concrete
blocks were monitored by ASTM C1260 and ASTM C227 to investi-
gate the ASR development process. For the actual application in the
long term, the ASR behavior for the dry-mixed glass concrete pav-
ing blocks which had been laid 15 years ago in the field for actual
pedestrian use was assessed and compared with the laboratory
test results. Furthermore, the combined use of glass cullet as aggre-
gates and glass powder as a partial cement replacement was
explored to maximize the utilization of waste glass for the produc-
tion of the dry-mixed concrete blocks.
The research objectives of this paper are as follows.
 Compare the ASR expansion of the 14-day accelerated test
(ASTM C1260) and 1-year prism test (ASTM C227) on dry-
mixed concrete blocks incorporating glass cullet as aggregates
and glass powder as a SCM.
 Evaluate the ASR gel characteristics in dry-mixed concrete
blocks containing glass aggregates and the effectiveness of
using glass powder in suppressing the formation of ASR gel.
 Relate the long-term field performance of dry-mixed glass con-
crete blocks with the laboratory tests.
S. Yang et al. Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865

3. Materials and methods Table 1

Chemical compositions of OPC and GP.

3.1. Materials Components (%) OPC GP

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) 19.60 68.47
For the glass concrete paving blocks which had been laid Ferric oxide (Fe2O3) 3.32 0.32
15 years ago in the field, a batch of 100x200x60 mm paving blocks Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) 7.33 1.82
Magnesium oxide (MgO) 2.55 1.61
was produced at a local block manufacturing plant [15]. The mix
Calcium oxide (CaO) 63.15 10.27
formulation of the paving blocks in the field was developed by Sodium oxide (Na2O) 0.12 16.71
the researchers taking into account the criteria and requirements Potassium oxide (K2O) 0.39 0.33
of the compaction moulding machine used in the block manufac- Sulphur oxide (SO3) 2.14 –
turing plant [15]. The particle size distributions of the glass aggre- Mean particle size (lm) 40.8 48.3

gates (GA) and recycled aggregates (RA, crushed concrete rubbles) Note: GP = glass powder.
used in the concrete paving blocks are shown in Fig. 1.
The cementitious material and the waste glass used in the lab-
oratory test were obtained from the same source for the plant pro-
duced blocks used in the field test. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)
(Green Island Cement, Hong Kong) complying with ASTM Type I
was used as the cementitious material. Natural river sand and
recycled glass cullet were used as fine aggregates. The mixed col-
ored glass cullet (Green, Brown and clear color) was sourced from
a local recycling factory which collected and crushed soda-lime
glass beverage bottles to make glass sand. The glass cullet was
washed by tap water to remove impurities such as dust and frag-
ments of paper labels. Subsequently, the washed glass cullet was
dried in the oven at 105 °C for 1 day and naturally cooled down
to room temperature before use. Complying with ASTM C1260
and ASTM C227 requirements, the fine aggregates which were
used to fabricate the mortar bars in the laboratory test were sieved Fig. 2. Particle size distributions of glass powder and cement.
to the grading specified in the standards. The glass powder was
used as a SCM to partially replace the OPC. The glass powder was
obtained by finely grinding the mix colored glass cullet in a labora- Table 2
tory ball mill for 3 h. The chemical composition and the particle Physical properties of aggregates.

size distribution of OPC and glass powder (GP) are shown in Table 1 Physical properties Sand GA RA
and Fig. 2 respectively. The physical properties of the aggregates Water absorption (%) 1.0 0.30 10
used in this study are shown in Table 2. Particle density (kg/m3) 2620 2500 2530
Fineness modulus 2.56 3.46 3.53

3.2. Mix proportions and test method Note: GA = glass aggregates, RA = recycled aggregates.

3.2.1. Mix proportions of mortars used in laboratory tests
According to ASTM C1260 and ASTM C227, a water to cement
ratio (W/C) of 0.47 and a fine aggregate to cement ratio (A/C) of
2.25 was used to prepare the laboratory mortar samples. Three ser-
ies of mixes were prepared. In Series I-conventional wet-mixed
mortars (WMI), the mix proportions followed the specific mix pro-
portions of the ASTM standards. In Series II-dry-mixed mortars
(DM), because the fresh mixes of the dry-mixed mortars require
a zero-slump value to facilitate immediate demoulding after cast-
ing, the W/C was lowered to 0.24. The fabrication of the dry-mixed
mortars simulated the production of concrete blocks in commer-
cial plants. The details of casting method of the dry-mixed mortars
could be found in our previous study [12]. In Series III-modified
wet-mixed mortars (WMII), in order to compare the influence of
the two casting methods, the conventional wet-mixed mortars
were also fabricated by using a W/C of 0.24 and with the use of
superplasticizer to improve the workability.
In all the mixes, glass aggregates were used to replace river
sand at a rate of 0%, 50% and 100% to investigate the effect of dif-
ferent contents of glass aggregates on ASR. The mix proportions
are given in Table 3.
In order to suppress the ASR and maximizing the use of recycled
glass in the mortars, glass powder was used to replace OPC at a rate
of 10%, 20% and 30%. The mix proportions of the mortars (Series IV
to VI) prepared with the use of glass powder are shown in Table 4.

3.2.2. Concrete paving blocks in the field

The mix proportion of the concrete blocks used in the field
study is shown in Table 5. Fig. 3 shows the stretch of pavement laid
with the studied blocks. The average relative humidity (RH) was
80%; the average temperature was about 24 °C; The mean mini-
mum temperature was 22 °C; The mean maximum temperature
was 27 °C from 2004 to 2019 in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Observa-
tory). After 15 years of service, a number of blocks were retrieved
from the field to the laboratory for detailed analysis.

3.2.3. ASTM C1260 accelerated mortar bar test

In accordance with the ASTM C1260, the sample required for
Fig. 1. Grading of glass aggregates and recycled aggregates. the test is a 25  25  285 mm mortar bar. For each mixture, three
3
S. Yang et al. Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865

Table 3
Mix proportions of mortars prepared for Series I, II and III.

Notation Cement(g) GA(g) Sand(g) SP(%) W/C

Series I-WM
0%GA-WMI 440 0 990 – 0.47
50%GA-WMI 440 495 495 – 0.47
100%GA-WMI 440 990 0 – 0.47
Series II-DM
0%GA-DM 440 0 990 – 0.24
50%GA-DM 440 495 495 – 0.24
100%GA-DM 440 990 0 – 0.24
Series III-modified WM
0%GA-WMII 440 0 990 1.0 0.24
50%GA-WMII 440 495 495 1.0 0.24
100%GA-WMII 440 990 0 1.0 0.24

Note: GA = glass aggregates, SP = superplasticizer.

Table 4
Mix proportion of mortars of Series IV, V and VI.

Notation Cement(g) GP(g) Glass(g) Sand(g) SP(%) W/C

Series IV
100%GA-WMI-10%gp 396 44 990 0 – 0.47
100%GA-WMI-20%gp 352 88 990 0 – 0.47
100%GA-WMI-30%gp 308 132 990 0 – 0.47
Series V
100%GA-DM-10%gp 396 44 990 0 – 0.24
100%GA-DM-20%gp 352 88 990 0 – 0.24
100%GA-DM-30%gp 308 132 990 0 – 0.24
Series VI
100%GA-WMII-10%gp 396 44 990 0 1.0 0.24
100%GA-WMII-20%gp 352 88 990 0 1.0 0.24
100%GA-WMII-30%gp 308 132 990 0 1.0 0.24

Note: GP = glass powder, SP = superplasticizer.

Table 5
Mix proportions of the factory produced blocks for the field study (wt%).

Notation Cement GA RA Water W/C

PB-50%GA50%RA 18.9 37.7 37.7 5.7 0.3

Note: GA = glass aggregates, RA = recycled aggregates.

for 24 h to allow the mortar bars to attain sufficient initial strength.

Subsequently, the samples were immersed in a 1 M NaOH solution
in the 80 °C water bath until the end of the test. Before measure-
ment, the surface of the samples was dried by a wet towel. The
zero reading was recorded after 24 h of 80 °C tap water immersion
and the subsequent comparator readings were taken periodically
until the end of the test.

3.2.4. ASTM C227 mortar bar test

The sample size and the sample preparation procedure of ASTM
C227 were similar to the ASTM C1260 as described above. After
24 h of room temperature curing, the initial lengths of the samples
were measured. Then the samples were sealed in a container and
stored in an environmental chamber at the temperature of 38 °C
and 100% RH. Before the length measurements of the 14-day old
mortars, the containers were taken out from the chamber and
placed at the room temperature for at least 16 h. Repeated mea-
surements were taken at the ages of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months.

Fig. 3. Concrete paving blocks in the field.

mortar bars were prepared, and all the samples were demoulded
after 24 h of curing at laboratory conditions (25 °C and 80% RH).
After demoulding, the samples were stored in a tap water filled
seal container. The container was placed in an 80 °C water bath
4
3.2.5. Microstructural test
Sections of the laboratory-produced mortar bars (5 mm thick)
and the field applied plant produced concrete blocks were cut by
a low-speed diamond saw. Then the slices were dried in a vacuum
freezer for 48 h to remove moisture and subsequently impregnated
in an epoxy resin (EpoThinTM 2). After hardening, the specimens
S. Yang et al.
were preliminarily ground by SiC papers of 320, 600, 1200 and
2400 grit and further finely polished by the oil-base diamond pol-
ishing fluid of 9, 3, 1 and 0.25 lm. Prior to observations, the pol-
ished specimens were coated by carbon. The microstructures of
the specimens were examined by a scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) (TESCAN VEGA3 microscope) in Backscattered Electron
(BSE) mode with a low acceleration voltage of 20 kV. The chemical
compositions of specimens were analyzed by an energy-dispersive
X-ray spectrometer (EDS).
4. Comparison of laboratory tests and long-term field
monitoring
4.1. ASR expansion behavior in laboratory tests
The ASR expansions values of the samples determined accord-
ing to ASTM C1260 and ASTM C227 are reported in Fig. 4. As
ASTM C1260
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 4. Expansion of mortar bars prepared with different percentages of glass aggregates according to ASTM C1260 ((a), (b) and (c)) and ASTM C227 ((d), (e) and (f)).
5
Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865
expected, the mortar bars using 100% glass aggregate as a replace-
ment of river sand caused the most serious expansion in both tests,
especially for the wet-mixed mortars. For ASTM C1260 test, the
continuously upward expansion trend of 100%GA-WMI and 100%
GA-WMII implied the expansions would continue beyond the test
duration of 14 days. For ASTM C227, when using 100% glass cullet
as aggregates, the expansion values of all the three series of mixes
were quite low in the first 6 months. However, after about
6 months, the expansion values of all the three series of mixes
increased significantly.
The difference between ASTM C1260 and ASTM C227 was that
there was a time-lag of ASR expansion recorded by the latter test.
These results were consistent with the findings of Saccani and Big-
nozz [21], who also reported lower expansion values by the ASTM
C227 test. The higher temperature and content of available alkalis
in the test accounted for the accelerated of ASR expansion by the
ASTM C1260 test. Maraghechi et al. [20] studied the effect of
ASTM C227
(d)
(e)
(f)
S. Yang et al.
temperature and alkalinity on the dissolution rate of soda-lime
glass and reported also that soda-lime glass had a maximum disso-
lution rate at pH 14 (pH is 14 in 1 M NaOH) and a higher temper-
ature accelerated dissolution rate.
Comparing 100%GA-WMI and 100%GA-WMII, the expansion
values of the wet-mixed mortars determined by both tests
increased as the W/C ratio decreased. It was known that a higher
W/C ratio would lead to a higher porosity, which may partially
relieve the ASR expansion pressure. This explanation is also con-
firmed by the results of Du and Tan [34], which indicated that
the mortars prepared with a higher W/C experienced less
expansion.
By contrast, the expansion values of the dry-mixed mortars
(100%GA-DM) prepared with the same W/C ratio (100%GA-WMII)
was much smaller for both sets of tests. Our previous study by
X-ray computed micro-tomography indicated that due to the near
to zero workability and hence poor compaction, the porosity of the
dry-mixed mortars was higher and the pore structure was coarser,
which could accommodate the ASR expansion pressure [12]. The
coarse porosity of the dry-mix sample measured by X-ray lCT
was 3.7% while the coarse porosity of the wet-mix sample was
2.9% [12].
For ASTM C1260 test, when the replacement level of the river
sand by the glass aggregates was reduced to 50%, the expansion
values of the wet-mixed mortars (50%GA-WMI and 50%GA-
WMII) still exceeded the 0.1% limit at 14 days. For ASTM C227,
although the expansion values of the two series of wet-mixed mor-
tars (50%GA-WMI and 50%GA-WMII) were below the 0.1% limit of
ASTM C227 after 12 months, the upward trends of the expansion
curves still can be observed. In comparison, for the dry-mixed mor-
tars (100%GA-DM), the expansion values remained low and
seemed to remain stable after 14 days by ASTM C1260 test and
12 months of observation by ASTM C227 test.
4.2. Deleterious ASR effects in laboratory tests and long-term field
monitoring
Fig. 5 shows the photographs of the samples captured at the end
of the 14 days of alkali immersion according to ASTM C1260. The
appearance of cracks was consistent with the expansion values
reported in the previous section. No obvious crack was observed
on the surface of the dry-mixed mortars (100%GA-DM), whereas
the typical ASR mapping cracks appeared on the surface of the
wet-mixed mortars (100%GA-WMI and 100%GA-WMII). The 100%
Fig. 5. Photographs of mortars bars captured at the end of 14 days alkali immersion, according to ASTM C1260.
6
Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865
GA-WMII which was prepared with a lower W/C ratio showed
more cracks on the surface than 100%GA-WMI. When 30% of glass
powder was used to replace OPC, fewer cracks were observed on
the surface of the wet-mixed mortars.
Fig. 6 shows the photographs of the samples taken at the end of
12 months exposure period according to ASTM C227. Although ASR
cracks still can be detected on the surface of the wet-mixed mor-
tars, the amounts of the cracks were not as much as those found
in the ASTM C1260 test. Without immersing the samples in the
alkali solution, the leaching of ASR gel was identified on the surface
of all the samples prepared with using glass cullet as aggregates,
even on the surface of the dry-mixed mortars which experienced
only small expansion. This finding implied that the ASR gel which
stored in the large pores of the dry-mixed mortars also leached out
to the surface. With the decrease in the amount of glass aggregates
in the samples, less leaching of ASR gel was noticed. The additional
use of 30% glass powder as the replacement of OPC could further
reduce the leaching of ASR gel to the surface. It was because the
use of glass powder reduced the formation of ASR gel by the poz-
zolanic effect and hence reduced the corresponding leaching of
the gel [31].
Fig. 7 presents the photographs of concrete paving blocks cap-
tured after their utilization in the field for 15 years. In the site, as
shown in Fig. 7 (a), no ASR crack was visually observed on the sur-
face of the paving blocks. For the cross-section of an amplified
image of the concrete paving block in Fig. 7 (b), no obvious crack
nor gel could be observed as well.
4.3. Microstructural and composition analysis
4.3.1. Distribution of ASR gel
When tested according to ASTM C1260, many studies [2,3,20]
including the present authors’ [12,17] consistently confirmed that
in the wet-mixed mortars, unlike those in natural reactive aggre-
gates, the interior-glass ASR gel was formed within interior pre-
existing cracks of the glass aggregates. The interior pre-existing
cracks of the glass aggregates were initially formed during the
crushing process of the glass bottles. The swelling pressure of the
ASR gel further extended the cracks to the cement paste and the
aggregates. In the glass aggregate-cement paste interface, the con-
tinuous buildup of Ca(OH)2 induced the pozzolanic reaction, and
thereby, the formation of a C-S-H layer which prevented further
glass dissolution and ASR progression. Fig. 8 shows the SEM-BSE
images of the wet-mixed mortars after 12 months of ASTM C227
25 mm
S. Yang et al. Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865

Fig. 6. Photographs of mortars bars captured at the end of 12 months exposure, according to ASTM C227.

test. Results of the EDS spectrums as shown in Table 6 indicated
the pozzolanic products and the ASR gel.
Unlike the only interior-glass ASR gel in the wet-mixed mortars,
our previous study on the dry-mixed mortars tested according to
ASTM C1260 revealed that exterior-glass ASR gel was mainly
formed and also ASR gel interior-glass gel could be found within
some of the interior pre-existing cracks of the glass aggregates
[17]. Fig. 9 presents SEM-BSE images of the dry-mixed mortars
after subjecting to 6 months and 12 months ASTM C227 test. After
6 months of C227 test, as shown in Fig. 9 (a), a small amount of
exterior-glass ASR gel was formed, but no interior-glass ASR gel
was identified within the interior pre-existing cracks of the glass
aggregates. After 12 months of ASTM C227 test as shown in
Fig. 9 (b), a larger amount of exterior-glass ASR gel was visible
on the macro pores, while only a small amount of interior-glass
ASR gel was observed within the interior pre-existing cracks of
the glass aggregates. It seems that the exterior-glass ASR gel was
firstly formed and later progressed to the formation of the

(a) (b)

150mm 25mm

Fig. 7. Photographs of concrete paving blocks captured after the utilization in the field for 15 years, (a) concrete paving blocks in the field, (b) a cross-section of a concrete
paving block.

7
S. Yang et al. Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865

(a) 100%GA-WMI (b) 100%GA-WMI

Glass
Interior-glass ASR gel
aggregate
Pozzola
Pozzolanic
effect
Glass
aggregate

(c) 100%GA-WMII (d) BSE images for EDS spectrum of Fig.8 (a)

Glass aggregate

Interior-glass ASR gel

Fig. 8. SEM-BSE images of wet-mixed mortars (100%GA-WMI and 100%GA-WMII) after 12 months of ASTM C227 test.

Table 6 exterior-glass ASR gel can be observed, and no interior-glass ASR

Results of the EDS spectrums in Fig. 8 (d). gel was noted. It can also be observed that there were very small
gaps between the glass aggregates and exterior-glass ASR gel. This
Spectrum Descriptions Atomic chemical
composition ratio might be due to the shrinkage of the ASR gel upon drying the
(K + Na)/Si Ca/Si samples.
spectrum 1 C-S-H 0.06 1.53
spectrum 2 ASR gel 0.24 0.33
4.3.2. Elemental mappings of ASR gel
As the ASR gel is mainly composed of calcium, sodium and sil-
interior-glass ASR gel. Fig. 10 shows the SEM-BSE images of the ica, elemental mapping which provides the distributions of the
cross-section of the 15 years old glass concrete paving blocks. Only selected elements together with the morphology are shown in

(a) after 6 months exposure (b) after 12 months exposure

Glass aggregate
Exterior-glass
ior-glass ASR gel
g Crack
Glass
aggregate Glass
aggregate
Pre-existing crack
ASR gel
Exterior-glass ASR gel

Fig. 9. SEM-BSE images of dry-mixed mortars (100%GA-DM) (a) after 6 months and (b) 12 months of ASTM C227 test.

8
S. Yang et al. Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865

(a) (b)
Glass aggregate

Exterior-glass ASR gel Crack

Glasss aggregate

Glass aggregate

Fig. 10. SEM-BSE images of 15-year old glass concrete paving blocks.

Fig. 11, where the bright area represents the abundance of the
selected elements. The cement paste and the exterior-glass ASR
gel had the highest and second-highest concentrations of calcium
respectively. This indicates that the calcium in the exterior-glass
ASR gel was mainly sourced from the cement paste. The glass
aggregates had the highest concentration of sodium, followed by
the exterior-glass ASR gel. This implies that the glass aggregate
and the cement paste both can provide sodium for the formation
of the exterior-glass ASR gel. The recycled fine aggregates had
the highest concentration of silica (as it contained a high percent-
age of crushed granite fines) and the glass aggregate contained the
second-highest amount of silica. No ASR gel was identified around
the recycled fine aggregates because most of the silica in granite is
crystalline and stable in nature. In contrast, the exterior-glass ASR
gel was observed along with the exterior rims of the amorphous
glass aggregates.
4.3.3. Chemical compositions of reaction products
As discussed above, the glass aggregate can undergo both ASR
and pozzolanic reactions in different locations in the glass mortars.
The chemical compositions of ASR gel and C-S-H based on EDS
analysis in the dry-mixed mortars are summarized in Fig. 12. The
Ca/Si atomic ratio of the ASR gel varied with the change of the cur-
ing environments and curing ages, whereas the Ca/Si atomic ratio
of the C-S-H remained more or less constant. The reaction produc-
tion tested according to ASTM C227 was diverse. Table 7 also

Recycled fine aggregates

Exterior-glass
ASR gel

Glass aggregate

Cement paste

Fig. 11. Elemental mapping analysis of 15-year old glass concrete paving blocks.

9
S. Yang et al.
Fig. 12. Chemicals compositions of ASR gel and C-S-H based on EDS in the dry-mixed mortars.
Table 7
Comparisons of ASR and pozzolanic reactions in dry-mixed mortars and the wet-mixed mortars tested according to ASTM C227.
Reaction location Dry-mix mortars(100%GA-DM)
Products
Glass aggregates-cement paste Interface C-S-H
On surface of glass aggregates in macro pores ASR gel
In internal cracks of glass aggregates ASR gel
summarizes the characteristics of the ASR and pozzolanic reactions
that occurred in the dry-mixed mortars and the wet-mixed mor-
tars tested according to ASTM C227.
5. Pozzolanic reaction
Pozzolanic reaction could occur on the exterior surface of the
glass aggregate, where the cement paste was bonded with the glass
aggregate. The rich Ca2+ environment provided by the cement
paste favored the pozzolanic reaction. The Ca/Si atomic ratios of
the C-S-H produced by using the ASMT C1260, ASTM C227 tests
and after 15 years in the field conditions were similar.
6. Exterior-glass ASR gel
However, on the exterior of the glass aggregate where macro
pores were present on account of the dry-mixed casting method,
the concentration of calcium was lower than that in the cement
paste. Meanwhile, with the abundant supply of amorphous silica
dissolved from the surface of glass aggregates, the formation of
the exterior-glass ASR gel was favored.
Comparing the exterior-glass ASR gel in different ASR tests, the
1-year old gel formed in the ASTM C227 environment had a higher
Ca/Si atomic ratio and a lower alkali content than 14-day old gel
formed in the ASTM C1260 environment. This might be due to
the so-called ‘‘alkali recycling” that the original ASR gel formed
at the early ages was low in calcium and high in alkali and then
the calcium from the cement paste further replaced the alkali as
the concrete aged [35,36]. Eventually, the chemical composition
of the ASR reaction product may approach to that of C-S-H and
all the alkali used in the reaction was recycled back into the
cement paste [37]. The Ca/Si atomic ratio of exterior-glass ASR
Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865
Wet-mix mortars(100%GA-WMII)
Ca/Si (Na + K)/Si Products Ca/Si (Na + K)/Si
1.4 ~ 1.8 0.03 ~ 0.08 C-S-H 1.4 ~ 1.8 0.03 ~ 0.08
0.6 ~ 0.7 0.1 ~ 0.2 – – –
0.2 ~ 0.3 0.2 ~ 0.3 ASR gel 0.2 ~ 0.3 0.2 ~ 0.3
gel of the 15-year old block was lower than that in the ASTM
C227 one, but it was still higher than that in the ASTM C1260 test
sample. This is reasonable because the ASR reaction progressed at a
slower rate in the concrete paving blocks laid in the field due to the
lower average temperature of the exposure condition. With ‘‘alkali
recycling”, it seems the composition of ASR gel formed in the 15-
year block would become similar to those formed in the laboratory
test according to ASTM C227, as the concrete paving block would
continue to age.
7. Interior-glass ASR gel
When the samples were tested according to ASTM C227, the
interior-glass ASR gel was also found in the interior pre-existing
cracks of the glass aggregates at a later age. Considering the need
for the pore fluid to penetrate and diffusion of hydroxyl ions into
the internal cracks, the dissolution of the amorphous silica at these
locations would be slower than that at the exterior of the glass
aggregates. Consequently, the ASR proceeded more slowly in the
internal cracks.
According to ASTM C227, the Ca/Si atomic ratio of the
exterior-glass ASR gel was higher than the interior-glass ASR
gel, which evidently illustrated the more Ca2+ was consumed dur-
ing the formation of the former. This is reasonable as the calcium
in the cement paste firstly comes into contact with reactive sites
of the exterior of the aggregates. The swelling pressure of the
exterior-glass ASR gel could be partly accommodated by the pres-
ence of the macro pores in the dry-mixed mortar leading to only
small expansion. But for the interior-glass ASR gel, the swelling
pressure could lead to the propagation of the cracks which fur-
ther accelerated the reaction.
10
S. Yang et al.
8. Effect of glass powder on mitigation of ASR expansion
8.1. ASR expansion behavior
Fig. 13 illustrates the expansion values of the mortar bars pre-
pared with using 100% glass cullet as aggregates and incorporating
different percentages glass of powder as a partial replacement of
cement. Although compared with ASTM C1260, the test resulted
obtained according to ASTM C227 exhibited lower expansion val-
ues because of the lower alkali concentrations and lower tempera-
ture, both sets of test results confirmed the consistent trend.
Although the increase of the glass powder content introduced a
higher amount of alkalis into the mortars (glass powder contained
16.7% Na2O), the expansion values were lower as the replacement
of cement by glass powder increased. Zheng [31] reported besides
the consumption of the calcium to form calcium silicate hydrates
ASTM C1260
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 13. Expansion of mortar bars prepared with 100% glass aggregates and with different percentages of glass powder according to ASTM C1260 ((a), (b) and (c)) and ASTM
C227 ((d), (e) and (f)).
11
Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865
(C-S-H) by the pozzolanic effect, the mitigation effect of the glass
powder was also attributed to the increasing concentration of alu-
mina in the pore solution, which contributed to the decrease of the
dissolution of silica from the glass aggregate in the highly alkali
solution.
Fig. 13 also shows the expansion value of the dry-mixed mor-
tars prepared with 100% glass aggregates was initially much lower
than those of the wet-mixed mortars. The use of 20% and 30% glass
powder as a replacement of OPC would be able to control the
expansion within the limit value. Thomas [30] concluded the
SCM with low alkali and calcium contents and a high silica content
are more effective to mitigate the potential ASR deleterious expan-
sion. The same researcher [30] also suggested that when using
SCMs with a higher content of alkali, the OPC replacement level
would need to be higher to eliminate the ASR deleterious expan-
sion. For the wet-mixed mortars prepared with the use of 100%
ASTM C227
(d)
(e)
(f)
S. Yang et al.
glass aggregates, when the replacement level of OPC by glass pow-
der was up to 30%, it still failed to suppress ASR expansion. Further
increase in glass powder as a replacement of OPC was not practical
as it would lead to a low initial compressive strength [38].
8.2. Microstructure analysis
Although the replacement of OPC by glass powder mitigated the
expansion values of both series of the wet-mixed mortars (100%
GA-WMI-30%gp and 100%GA-WMII-30%gp) and the dry-mixed
mortars (100%GA-DM-30%gp), the glass aggregates still suffered
from ASR. The ASR gel also can be detected both in the wet-
mixed and the dry-mixed mortars as shown in Fig. 14. For the
wet-mixed mortars, the interior pre-existing cracks of the glass
aggregates were still filled with ASR gel as depicted in Fig. 14 (a).
As a result, excessive expansion of the interior-glass ASR gel still
caused cracking in the cement paste. In contrast in Fig. 14 (b), for
the dry-mixed mortars, no interior-glass ASR gel was identified
but the exterior-glass ASR gel still could be found along with the
exterior surface of the glass aggregates. Moreover, the amount of
ASR gel found in the macro pores was smaller than that found in
the dry-mixed mortars prepared without the glass powder. This
smaller amount of ASR gel could well be stored in the pores and
did not cause much expansion as revealed in Section 5.1.
As shown in Fig. 14 (c) and Fig. 14 (d), with the pozzolanic reac-
tion, rims of C-S-H could be observed around the glass powder,
which reacted with calcium hydroxide and therefore reduced the
alkalinity of the pore solution [30]. Therefore, for the dry-mixed
(a) 100%GA-WMII-30%gp
ASR
Cracks in the
paste
(c) 100%GA-WMII-30%gp
Reaction rim
Fig. 14. SEM-BSE images of dry-mixed mortars and wet-mixed mortars prepared with 30% glass powder as a replacement for cement tested according to ASTM C227.
12
Construction and Building Materials 262 (2020) 120865
mortars, with a lower concentration of calcium in the pore solution
as the glass powder would consume a considerable amount of
portlandite through the pozzolanic reaction, the extent of ASR
would be less.
9. Conclusions
The ASR performances of the dry-mixed concrete blocks were
evaluated and compared by accelerated laboratory tests and
long-term field monitoring. Based on the above findings, the con-
clusions were summarized as follows:
1. For the ASR evaluation by laboratory tests, the expansion values
of the dry-mixed glass mortars determined by ASTM C227 were
closely related to the results tested by ASTM C1260 accelerated
test.
2. For the wet-mixed mortars, when tested by ASTM C1260 or
ASTM C227, ASR only occurred within the interior pre-
existing cracks of the glass aggregates. For the dry-mixed mor-
tars tested by ASTM C227, ASR occurred initially on the exterior
surface of the glass aggregate and later within the interior pre-
existing cracks. Compared with ASTM C1260, the slower reac-
tion rate of ASTM C227 was able to reveal more clearly the
development process of the ASR gel of glass aggregates in the
dry-mixed mortars.
3. In the dry-mixed mortar, the exterior-glass ASR gel was innocu-
ously stored in the coarser pores of the dry-mixed mortars and
the ASR expansion was released by the macro pore, which did
(b) 100%GA-DM-30%gp
ASR gel
Cracks
(d) 100%GA-DM-30%gp
Reaction rim
S. Yang et al.
not cause expansion. However, in the wet-mixed mortar, the
excessive interior-glass would cause deleterious expansion
cracks in the concrete.
4. Long term field monitoring in Hong Kong validated the labora-
tory test results. With the slower ASR reaction rate in the field
(2004 to 2019 in Hong Kong, average RH: 80%, mean tempera-
ture: 24 °C, mean minimum temperature: 22 °C, mean maxi-
mum temperature:27 °C), only the exterior-glass ASR gel was
detected and no interior-glass ASR gel was found. The overall
test results indicated that the use of 50% glass aggregate in
the dry-mixed blocks would have little risk of damages due to
ASR.
5. The ASR expansion test and the SEM-BSE results confirmed that
the deleterious interior-glass ASR gel in the dry-mixed mortars
can be further controlled by the use of glass powder as a SCM.
Thus, more waste glass can be recycled for making the dry-
mixed concrete blocks.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Shuqing Yang: Data curation, Writing - original draft, Concep-
tualization, Investigation. Jian-Xin Lu: Writing - review & editing,
Investigation. Chi Sun Poon: Supervision, Methodology, Funding
acquisition, Resources.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank the Environment and Conservation
Fund and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for funding
support.
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