Seminoe Dam - Assessment of Concrete by Quantitative Methods – The Petrographic Damage Rating Index

The Damage Rating Index (DRI) method was conducted on mass concrete cores to determine the value of the method for overall evaluation of damage to Reclamation’s concrete structures. This study compares the current Seminoe Dam compressive strength trends with DRI results and contemplates how the results could be used to evaluate concrete from structures suffering from ASR in Reclamation’s aging concrete infrastructure. The DRI can be performed on a limited number of samples and provides a semiquantitative value related to alkali-silica reaction (ASR) aggravated concrete damage. The DRI value can be used to evaluate the extent of damage caused by ASR and appears to correlate well with the traditional petrographic concrete quality approach. The approach may be a useful way to estimate the extent of damage in a concrete structure.