This work is intended to provide a better understanding about the properties and roles of the reaction rim in an alkali-silica reaction. A simplified calcium-alkali-silicate system was created to simulate the multiple interactions among reactive silica, alkaline solution and portlandite near the aggregate surface during the formation and evolution of the reaction rim in an alkali-silica reaction. A transport barrier preventing the migration of calcium and silicate through itself was found on the interface between the alkali silicate and the calcium hydroxide. The barrier was mainly composed of calcium alkali silicate with silicon-oxygen organizations of Q² and Q³ according to the results of 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance, the calcium to silica mole ratio ranging from 0.22 to 0.53 and the alkali to silica ratio ranging from 0.20 to 0.26 based the location of the elemental compositional analysis and the storage period of the system.
Keywords: alkali–silica reaction; calcium alkali silicate; reaction rim; transport barrier.