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Comparative study on physical and mechanical properties of high Slump and

zero slump high volume fly ash concrete (HVFAC)

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 Global NEST Journal, Vol 15, No 4, pp 578-584, 2013
Copyright© 2013 Global NEST
Printed in Greece. All rights reserved

TECHNICAL NOTE

COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF HIGH

SLUMP AND ZERO SLUMP HIGH VOLUME FLY ASH CONCRETE (HVFAC)

MUKHERJEE S.1, * 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Jadavpur University

MANDAL S.1 Kolkata- 700032 India
ADHIKARI U.B.2 2 Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute

Jadavpur, Kolkata- 700032, India

Received: 28/04/11 *to whom all correspondence should be addressed:

Accepted: 20/03/13 e-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
An experimental investigation was carried out to compare the compressive strength of zero slump
and high slump concrete with high volume fly ash. 40% to 70% replacements of OPC (by weight)
with class F fly ash have been incorporated. Superplasticizer was added at 1% of binder (cement +
fly ash) to the zero slump mixture to get a slump in the range of 140 to 180mm and cubes were cast
without compaction. The results showed that the apparent porosity and water absorption were higher
for zero slump concrete than high slump concrete. Zero slump concrete showed better compressive
strengths than superplasticized concrete with 40 to 60% fly ash addition for all curing times tested
(3,7 and 28 days). Ultrasonic pulse velocity results categorized all mixes as of ‘EXCELLENT’
concrete quality. Based on the present experimental investigation, it can be concluded that high
volume fly ash concrete is suitable for general construction applications.
KEYWORDS: HVFAC, Roller Compaction, High Slump, Zero Slump, Compressive Strength,
Apparent Porosity.

INTRODUCTION
Thermal power plant ash generation in India has increased from about 40 million tonnes during
1993-1994 (Manz, 1997), to 112 million tonnes during 2005-06 (Kumar et al. 2011) and is expected
to be in the range of 175 million tonnes per year by 2012, on account of the proposal to double the
power generation (Joshi and Lothia, 1997). This may create a serious problem of disposal in relation
to environmental pollution and health hazards.
There were numerous studies on the strength characteristics of concrete containing fly ash in
different proportions (Tangtermsirikul et al., 2004, Kokubu et al., 1996, Atis, 2005 and Cheng et al.,
2000). Concrete mixtures containing more than 50% fly ash by mass of cementitious material with a
low water content (w/cm < 0.4) is termed as high volume fly ash concrete (Reiner and Rens, 2006).
However, there is very little study regarding the strengths of high volume fly ash concrete
with/without any superplasticizer particularly using Indian fly ash. Thus, the aim of this work is to
make a suitable high volume fly ash mix without superplasticizer suitable for road construction that
supposed to be compacted by suitable roller. A comparison has been made with the low slump fly
ash concrete with high slump fly ash concrete using superplasticizer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials
Class F Fly ash was collected from National Thermal Power Corporation, Farakkha, West Bengal,
India. The cement used was Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) of Grade- 43. The chemical
composition of fly ash and cement is given in Table 1.
Fine aggregate used was river sand having specific gravity of 2.5 and fineness modulus of 2.65.
Figure 1 shows the results of sieve analysis report of the river sand and fly ash. The particle size
COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OH HIGH SLUG 579

distribution of the sand indicates that it falls in Zone-II, as per IS; 383-1970 classifications. Crushed,
angular, graded coarse aggregates of size 12 mm and 16 mm were used in the investigation. Figure
2 represents the grading of coarse aggregate. The specific gravity and the water absorption of the
coarse aggregates were 2.85 and 0.9%, respectively. Potable water was used for casting and
curing. Polycarboxylic ether based high range water reducing admixtures (superplasticizer) were
incorporated for high slump fly ash concrete. The properties of the superplasticizer are given in
Table 2.

Table 1. Chemical properties of fly ash and ordinary Portland cement

COMPONENTS Fly Ash OPC
SiO2 64.58 18.62
Al2O3 25.89 4.75
Fe2O3 5.27 3.02
CaO 0.59 61.42
MgO 0.26 3.21
Na2O 0.027 1.51
K2O 0.041 1.42
SO4 0.31 2.29
Loss on Ignition 2.40 3.55
Specific Gravity, Gs 2.42 3.11
(g cm-3)

Table 2. Typical properties of superplasticizer

Properties Value
pH 7±1
Relative Density 1.09 ± 0.01 at 25OC
Solid Content not less than 30% by weight
Chloride ion Content < 0.2%

Figure 1. Particle size distributions of fine aggregate (sand) and fly ash
580 MUKHERJEE et al.

Figure 2. Gradation of coarse aggregate

Mixture Proportions
Table 3 shows the mixture proportions of different mixes using fly ash. The mixture proportions were
made after several trials in the laboratory. The replacement of cement by fly ash was made (by
weight) with 40, 50, 60 and 70% and designated as F40, F50, F60 and F70 respectively. The water
to binder ratio for the above mixes was fixed at 0.35 to make zero slump fly ash concrete.
A separate set of concrete mixes was made with addition of superplasticizer and designated as
F40S, F50S, F60S and F70S respectively. The dose of superplasticizer was kept as 1% to achieve a
slump in the range of 140 to 180 mm. A control mix (F0S) with superplasticizer was also made
without any fly ash.

Table 3. Mixture proportions for a cubic-meter of concrete

Mix Designation
Components
F0S F40 F50 F60 F70 F40S F50S F60S F70S
Cement (kg) 400 240 200 160 120 240 200 160 120
Fly Ash (kg) 0 160 200 240 280 160 200 240 280
Aggregate-16 mm 695 695 695 695 695 695 695 695 695
(kg)
Aggregate-12 mm 463 463 463 463 463 463 463 463 463
(kg)
Sand (kg) 637 637 637 637 637 637 637 637 637
W/B Ratio 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35
Superplasticizer 4 0 0 0 0 4 4 4 4
(L)
Slump (mm) 140 0 0 0 0 180 170 150 140

Specimen Size and Curing

Specimen size for compressive strength test was taken as 100 mm X 100 mm X 100 mm. Zero
slump concrete was compacted in three layers. Each layer was hammered over a wood plate with a
weight of 0.6 kg for 12 to 15 times. Cubes with high slump concrete were compacted by vibration
table. All the specimens were cured in potable water after removal of mould till testing.
COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OH HIGH SLUG 581

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fresh Concrete
It is noted that the slump value decreases with the increase of fly ash replacement from 40% to 70%.
Generally, the addition of fly ash with superplasticizer increases the workability of concrete within a
lower range of fly ash addition. Beyond an optimum range, the slump will definitely fall due to the
higher surface area of fly ash in high volume fly ash concrete. As the specific gravity of fly ash is less
than that of cement and the replacement of cement was made by weight, the specific surface areas
of the mix remains higher with higher replacement ratios. For high slump concrete, similar results
were noticed for a fixed amount of superplasticizer. It is evident that use of superplasticizer in the
mix can convert zero slump concrete to high slump concrete.

Bulk Density, Porosity and Water Absorption

To determine the bulk density, apparent porosity and water absorption of the concrete specimens,
three cubes from each series were kept in water for 7 days for water to penetrate the pores.
Specimens were then suspended in water with a copper wire of 0.5 mm thickness to take the
suspended weight (S1 W). The soaked weight (S2 W) was also recorded by carefully removing the
surface water and copper wire. The specimens were then dried in hot air oven at 110OC for 24 hours
and their dry weight (DW) determined. The following equations were used to find out the bulk
density, apparent porosity and water absorption of the specimens.

gm DW
Bulk Density = (1)
cc S2W-S1W

S2W-DW
Apparent Porosity % = ×100 (2)
S2W-S1W
S2W-DW
Water Absorption % = ×100 (3)
DW

It is evident that the bulk density of the OPC concrete is higher compared to fly ash content
specimens. This is because the specific gravity of fly ash is much lower compared to OPC (Gs of
OPC- 3.11 g cm-3, Fly ash- 2.42 g cm-3). The value of bulk density is decreased with increasing fly
ash content in the mix. The apparent porosity and water absorption generally decreases with the
replacement of OPC by fly ash upto a certain limit (30-40% Max.). However at a higher replacement
level, the trend is reversed as shown in the fig. 4 and fig 5.for short duration. Similar results were
obtained for HVFA concrete of short duration by other researchers (Li, 2004 and Poon et al., 2000)
Compared to high slump concrete specimens, zero slump specimens show higher % apparent
porosity and water absorption values.

Figure 3. Bulk density of concrete specimens with OPC replacements

582 MUKHERJEE et al.

Figure 4. Apparent porosity of concrete Figure 5. Water absorption of concrete

specimens with OPC replacements specimens with OPC replacements

Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity

Table 4 represents the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) result of concrete specimens after different
OPC replacement. The test was conducted as per IS: 13311 (Part 1) – 1992. Results indicate that all
concrete specimen’s fall in ‘EXCELLENT’ category (pulse velocity above 4.5 km sec-1, IS 13311,Part
1). It is evident from UPV results that on increasing the fly ash content the quality of the concrete
begins to deteriorate. Compared to zero slump concrete specimens, the high slump concrete
specimens shows better UPV test result.

Table 4. Ultrasonic pulse velocity test on samples (km sec-1)

F0S F40 F50 F60 F70 F40S F50S F60S F70S
5.17 4.75 4.67 4.62 4.58 4.89 4.78 4.67 4.59

Table 5. Compressive strength of the specimens at different curing times (MPa)

Mix Compressive strength at different time interval (MPa)
Designation 3 day 7 day 7 day % 28 day 28 day %
strength gain strength gain
w.r.t. 3 day w.r.t. 7 day
F0S 27.96 45.58 (63.02) 50.35 (10.46)
F40 22.05 28.20 (27.89) 43.65 (54.78)
F50 19.75 25.03 (26.73) 35.31 (41.07)
F60 13.92 20.89 (50.07) 31.40 (50.31)
F70 8.92 12.13 (35.99) 23.67 (95.13)
F40S 7.75 21.54 (177.94) 31.72 (47.26)
F50S -- 20.38 -- 29.42 (44.35)
F60S -- 17.78 -- 27.99 (57.42)
F70S -- 15.2 -- 24.72 (62.63)

Compressive Strength
Table 5 shows the compressive strength of different mixes. It is obvious that the high range water
reducing admixture delays the setting of concrete and thus the demoulding is not possible for
specimens with superplasticizer particularly having fly ash replacement more than 50%. As a result
the strength at 3 day is not reported for some mixes. Hence, strength gain in F50S, F60S and F70S
could not be calculated. The % strength gain for 7 day has been calculated based on 3 day strength
as well as 28 day strength gain has been calculated based on 7 day strength.
In the high slump concrete mixes (F40S, F50S, F60S and F70S) the percentage strength gain after
7 days is much higher than those after 28 days, which is almost similar to OPC concrete. The
COMPARATIVE STUDY ON PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OH HIGH SLUG 583

similar, initial rate of % strength gain has been found from the data of other researchers (Bouzoubaa
and Lachemi, 2001).On increasing the fly ash content, the 28-day strength gain seems to increase
and is maximum in specimen of 70% fly ash content (F70S).
In the zero slump concrete mixes, the 28 day strength gain is much higher when compared to those
of 7 day strength gain. Moreover, 28-day strength gain increased on increasing fly ash content in the
batch and is maximum in F70 batch.

Environmental and Economical Benefit

Table 6 and Table 7 shows both the environmental and economical benefit for the high volume fly
ash concrete. It is generally accepted that 1 tonnes of cement production releases 1 tonnes of
carbon die oxide in the atmosphere. Based on this it may be concluded that high volume fly ash
concrete will obviously reduce releases of CO2 substantially. The price of OPC and fly ash is based
on local price at Kolkata, India; the economical benefit of high volume fly ash concrete is
established.

Table 6. Environmental benefit (CO2 emission) of HVFA concrete

Total Cement
CO2 Emission
Production, Million Total CO2 Emission,
Sl. No. Utilization Reduced, Million
Tonnes (2010) (Gjørv Million Tonnes
of Fly ash Tonnes
and Sakai, 2009)
%
Total Total Total
East Asia East Asia East Asia
World World World
1 0 0 0
2 40 337.2 778.44
3 844.3 1946.1 844.3 1946.1 50 422.15 973.05
4 60 506.58 1167.66
5 70 591.01 1362.27

Table 7. Economical benefit of HVFA concrete.

Actual Price of
Price of Fly used to OPC used to
Price of Fly the Binder
Sl. No. OPC/ make the make the
ash/ Tonnes (Cementitious
Tonnes binder (%) binder (%)
Materials)
1. 0 100 $ 140
2. 40 60 $ 92
3. $ 140 $ 20 50 50 $ 80
4. 60 40 $ 68
5. 70 30 $ 56

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the present experimental investigation, it may be concluded that, increasing fly ash in
concrete decreases the compressive strength at all ages and early strength gain is also reduced.
The apparent porosity and water absorption is also increased with fly ash addition. The UPV results
confirms that both in high slump and zero slump fly ash concrete, the overall quality of the concrete
is gradually reduced with increase of fly ash content. Zero slump concrete shows higher
compressive strength compare to workable concrete with superplasticizer up to 60% replacement
with fly ash. The strength gain with time is higher compared to the OPC concrete at all replacement
level of cement by fly ash and the optimum strength gain was noted at 70% replacement at 28 days.
Although the experiment confirm the deterioration of concrete with higher OPC replacement by fly
ash, It can be concluded that, the value of the mechanical and physical properties are well
acceptable according to Indian standard as well as economical for general construction.
 584 MUKHERJEE et al.

ACKNOWLEGEMENT
The financial assistance to this experimental study received from Department of Science and Technology
(DST PURSE SCHEME), Govt. of India, New Delhi is gratefully acknowledged.

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