There is quite a lot of experience in diagnosis of ASR in structures that exert ASR-related damages. However, the diagnosis of ASR-related damages is not sufficient for asset owners to make a reliable repair and maintenance plan. For this purpose a prognosis of the residual expansion and subsequently the decrease in mechanical properties is required. However, predicting future expansion of an existing structure diagnosed with ASR requires extensive experimental testing and numerical modelling due to complex nature and heterogeneous properties of concrete.

The aim of this project is to investigate the critical parameters for the ASR reaction and its relation and influence on the mechanical properties, such as: remaining available reactive silica in the aggregates, alkalinity of the pore solution and its buffer capacity. Based on these results a function for the loss of mechanical properties due to the expansive ASR reaction will be given and verified by computational modelling.

Patrick Holthuizen has finished his Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Applied Science in The Hague (2012). Afterwards he continued his studies at TU Delft, where he received a MSc degree in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering), with a specialisation in Material& Envinronment (2016). 

From 2016 until 2019 he was employed by BAM Infraconsult, working as a concrete technology consultant. Gaining experience in consulting contracters on the application of concrete, regarding concrete mixture design, durability, restrained deformation, curing, repair and maintenance of concrete structures.

This led in 2019 to start up his own concrete consultancy company and working at various major infrastructural project, such as the Rijnlandroute.

In 2021 he joined forces with Nebest B.V., a consultancy company with a material testing laboratory, by starting a new concrete technology department within Nebest B.V. This resulted in multiple new relationships and agreements for future collaborations at new construction sites. With this step the concrete consultancy could be broadend by offering additional service with our own concrete laboratory.

Towards the end of 2021 he got the opportunity to fulfil a lifelong ambition, to obtain a PhD-title in concrete durability on which he is currently working (Oct 2021-  ), more specifically on the prediction of residual ASR expansion and its influence on the mechanical properties of concrete.