Evaluation of Damage Due to DEF Through the Multi-level Assessment

Delayed Ettringite Formation (DEF) is among the Internal Swelling Reactions (ISR) that has a detrimental effect on concrete thus compromising the material strength, stiffness, and integrity. Previous research shows that the multi-level assessment applied to concrete affected by ISR is a reliable approach to evaluate cause and extent of damage. However, the Stiffness Damage Test (SDT) has been more readily accepted for engineering applications while further understanding on the application of the Damage Rating Index (DRI) is necessary. This work therefore presents a condition assessment of a DEF-affected unreinforced concrete beam subjected to a moisture gradient to induce varying degrees of damage across the beam height by adapting the multi-level assessment. Correlations between the DEF damage features as depicted through the DRI and outputs from the SDT were found, highlighting the impact of the frequency of feature observation at a scale representative of the measured damage to the material.