CEMENT and CONCRETE RESEARCH. Vol. 15, pp. 694-702, 1985. Printed in the USA.

0008-8846/85 $3.00+00. Copyright (c) 1985 Pergamon Press, Ltd.

DESIGN OF FLYASH CONCRETE

M.K. Gopalan and M.N. Haque

Department of Civil Engineering, Royal Military College,
Duntroon, ACT, Australia.

(Communicated by F.H. Wittmann)

(Received March 4, 1985)

ABSTRACT
A method for the design of flyash concrete to achieve a specified
compressive strength at 7 and 28 days is presented. The method
is simple and easy to use. The validity of this method has been
tested by comparing the actual and the predicted strength for a
number of mixes.

Abrams' law is used in this method to develop design charts; the

law is found to hold good for flyash concrete when the water cement
ratio is replaced by the water cementitious ratio. The constants
of the equations are found to vary according to a cubic polynomial
of the flyash cement ratio. The reduction in the water demand with
the increase in the flyash cement ratio is also included. It is
shown that the contribution to the compressive strength due to the
pozzolanic reaction is related to both the curing period and the
flyash cement ratio. The paper also includes a typical design
example.

Introduction

The heterogeneous nature of concrete and the concrete making

materials create numerous variables which influence the properties of both
fresh and hardened concrete. Accordingly, it is a difficult task to prepare
design charts for a normal portland cement concrete. The addition of flyash
to the normal concrete further complicates the design process.

The rational approach to mix proportioning is to produce the most

economical concrete with the desired characteristics. More often than not,
this is not a practical reality and the approach is very much one of
compromise. Besides, an economical mix design will have to take into account
the locality and the nature of work etc. Hence a mix design chart should
aim at providing a number of alternatives of proportioning a specified mix.

694
Vol. 15, No. 4 695
FLYASH, CONCRETE, DESIGN, STRENGTH, ABRAMS LAW

Proportioning Flyash Concrete

Various researchers have come up with different methods for the

design of flyash concrete. According to Smith (i), a concrete containing
flyash should be regarded as a new material and designed for accordingly.
The strength of the hardened flyash concrete was found to obey Abrams' law.
The water cement ratio for the flyash concrete was calculated on the basis
of the "cementing efficiency factor" for flyash. This factor, however, is
found to vary significantly depending upon curing period, strength of the
mix and the type of flyash (Gopalan and Haque - 2). The method is complex
and difficult for the design of mixes. Cannon (3) suggested that the
difference in the yield due to a larger volume of cementitious material in
the flyash mix should be balanced by the reduction in sand content. This,
however, changes the gradation of the original mix. The demand for water
in such mixes depended on the mix itself ; it increased in certain cases and
decreased in others.

Lovewell and Washa (4) found that the flyash added had to exceed
the amount of cement removed in order to achieve the same strength. Add-
itional quantity of flyash needed depended on the strength of the mix. Work-
ing on the concept of Abrams' law, Ghosh (5) prepared design charts suitable
for the design of flyash concrete. He found that the constants in Abrams'
equation changed with the ratio of flyash and cement. However, these
variations are not quantified. The design charts were prepared for various
flyash cement and water cementitious ratios.

The Proposed Method

The method presented is based on Abrams' law. The variation of

the constants K 1 and K 2 in Abrams' equation has been quantified so that the
design can be accurately extended to any desired values. A regression
equation for evaluating these constants depending on the ratio of flyash to
cement, by volume, is given. The proportioning of aggregates is done either
by using the Unit Water (6) or the ACI method (7). The ratio of flyash to
cement is maintained on the volume basis so that the basic design criterion
is not changed due to the addition of flyash. The design charts can be used
for a wide range of strength and flyash cement ratios ; thus, the charts are
applicable to most design needs likely to be encountered in practice.

Experimental Design

An extensive series of concrete were cast using classified Munmorah

Flyash and the compressive strengths at 7 and 28 days were measured. The
details of aggregate grading, specimen size and curing procedure have been
described elsewhere (Gopalan and Haque - 8). Some of the chemical and
physical properties of the flyash used are given in Table i. The concrete
was designed for a nominal slump of 40 mm.

Mix Designation
Each mix is designated by the ratio of the cementing materials
and the aggregate cementitious ratio by weight. The plain mixes are denoted
as CM-K, where 'K' represents the aggregate cement ratio by weight. The
flyash mixes are designated as L-K where 'L' represents the flyash cement
ratio by volume. Mix details and the relevant properties of the concrete
are given in Table II.
696 Vol. 15, No. 4
M.K. Gopalan and M.N. Haque

TABLE I
Physical and Chemical Properties of Munmorah Flyash

CHEMICAL
COMPOUND PERCENT

Silica 61.40
Alumina 25.50
Calcium Oxide 1.44
Iron Oxide 4.20
Magnesium Oxide 1.08
Sodium and Potassium Oxide 3.31
Sulphur Trioxide 0.16
Loss on ignition 1.35
Others 1.57

PHYSICAL
Density 2.10 t/m 3
Bulk density 1.02 t/m 3
Residue on 150L~nsieve 0.60%
Residue on 4 5 ~ m s i e v e 22.60%
Specific Surface 370 m2/kg

TABLE II

Details of Concrete Mixes

Mix Cement Flyash Water Compressive Strength

Designation (kg/m 3 ) (kg/m 3 ) (e/m 3) (MPa)
7 day 28 day
F/c a/c

CM - 7.06 272 - 194 17.8 25.8

0.66 - 8.10 168 74 173 12.2 20.3
1.86 - 9.04 I00 123 159 4.8 9.5
CM - 5.27 353 - 194 41.2 49.5
0.25 - 5.65 295 49 158 40.9 52.9
0.66 - 6.09 221 98 160 27.3 38.5
1.50 - 6.28 147 147 162 13.4 19.9
4.00 - 7.20 74 198 150 4.5 6.6
CM - 4.16 430 - 194 44.7 56.6
0.66 - 4.80 258 115 178 28.2 41.3
1.86 - 5.3] 157 194 159 16.8 29.2
CM - 3.22 531 - 194 55.5 69.4
0.25 - 3.45 426 71 192 51.1 61.3
0.66 - 3.71 323 144 183 38.2 51.5
1.50 - 4.02 218 218 ]72 23.6 34.2
4.00 - 4.39 109 291 172 9.2 14.9
 Vol. 15, No. 4 697
FLYASH, CONCRETE, DESIGN, STRENGTH, ABRAMS LAW

FIc :FLYaSHC[MENTRATI0
F/C
~o °F / ° C• FLVASHCEMENTRATIO

?/C ! 0
3O O ?/C" 0 23
0 ~C- o
20

>~O

o~ o!~ o!6 o~7 o8 3 O4 O~ 06 O7 OB

WATER CEMENT~TIOUS RATIO WAr£R ¢EMCNT~TIOUS
RATIO
FIG. l FIG. 2
Variation of 28 Day Compressive Variation of 7 Day Compressive
Strength with Water Cementitious Strength with Water Cementitious
Ratio. Ratio.

Analysis of Results

Figs. 1 and 2 show the variation of compressive strength with

differing values of water cementitious and flyash cement ratios. Using these
figures the constants K 1 and K 2 in Abrams' equation are evaluated for various
flyash cement ratios and are given in Table III.

Figs. 3 and 4 show the plot of these constants against the flyash
cement ratio (F/c). The regression analysis of these curves using a cubic
polynomial in F/c is found to correlate very well. The coefficient of deter-

TABLE III

Constants in Abrams' Equation

F/c (Vol) 7 day 28 day

K1 K2 K1 K2

0.00 192.0 26.2 201.6 16.7

0.25 173.0 28.4 186.9 17.1
0.66 154.1 34.2 176.8 21.3
1.50 122.3 59.8 154.8 39.7
4.00 87.5 178.5 127.4 158.5
 698 Vol. 15, No. 4
M.K. Gopalan and M.N. Haque

200
200

28 OAY

200
2OO T - DAY

N
150
150

m ~
w

~ °
m
w
D
.J IO0
I00 '~

K2 I00
IOO

[ I I I I 50 1 I I I I
0 I 2 3 4 0 I 2 3 4
FLYASH CEMENT RATIO FLYASH CEMENT RATIO

FIG. 3 FIG. 4
V a r i a t i o n of Constants K] and K2. V a r i a t i o n of Constants KI and K2.

mination was over 99% and the residual standard deviation expressed as a
percentage of the response mean was less than 0.01. The regression equations
for the two ages are given below:

28 day

K 1 = 199.4 - 40.8 x (F/c) + 9.1 x (F/c)2 - 0.8 x (F/c)3 (i)

K 2 = 18.3 - 8.7 x (F/c) + 18.2 x (F/c)~ - 1.8 x (F/c)3 (ii)

7 day

K 1 = 190.5 - 64.5 x (F/c) + 15.2 x (F/c)2 - 1.4 x (F/c)3 (iii)

K 2 = 25.6 + 8.5 x (F/c) + 10.6 x (F/c)~ - 0.8 x (F/c)3 (iv)

Discussion
The main feature of these curves is that the constant K I is more
sensitive to the changes in srength at low flyash cement ratios than at high
ratios. The constant K2, on the contrary, affects the strength significantly
at higher flyash cement ratios. This characteristic behaviour of KI and
K2 gives an insight into the likely changes in the strength of a flyash
concrete mix when the flyash cement ratios are altered. In rich mixes, where
Vol. 15, No. 4 699
FLYASH, CONCRETE, DESIGN, STRENGTH, ABRAMS LAW

the water cementitious ratio is low, the change in strength of a mix depends
primarily on the K 1 values. In this case a high flyash cement ratio is likely
to be more economical, as regards strength. However, for mixes whose water
cement ratio is high, the change in strength is influenced mainly by the
values of K 2. For such mixes, it is preferable to design a mix with low
flyash cement ratio.
Design Charts
Using the regression equations (i) to (iv), mix design charts
suitable for the specified 7 and 28 day strengths are drawn as shown in Figs.
5 and 6. These charts are easy to use; besides, they also give an option
to design a mix in a number of ways. For example, to design a mix of 30 MPa
strength at 28 days, the water cementitious ratio can be varied from 0.35
to 0.60 and the flyash cement ratio from 0.48 to 2.54. Thus, depending on
site conditions, the designer has the flexibility to choose the most suitable
mix. It can be easily seen, however, that only a marginal saving in cement
is achieved at the expense of a large amount of flyash. In addition, mixes
with lower water cementitious ratio have higher flyash content in them.
The curves for the 28 day strength also indicate that the strength variation
is more pronounced at flyash cement ratio of less than 2. The abrupt change
in the gradient of the curves at the flyash cement ratio of 2 is evident for

u.i w
>
~ -
m

v
v
0 I 2 3 4 0 I 2 3 4
FLYASH CEMENT RATIO FLYASH CEMENT RATIO

FIG. 5 FIG. 6
Design Chart f o r 28 Day S t r e n g t h . Design Chart f o r 7 Day S t r e n g t h .
700 Vol. 15, No. 4
M.K. Gopalan and M.N. Haque

all the water cementitious ratios. This indicates that, for mixes at low
flyash cement ratios, good supervision and quality control are essential for
achieving best results. At 7 day, however, the rate of loss of strength is
rather uniform and does not show a marked difference in behaviour at the ratio
of 2. It may be argued that the 28 day strength of the concrete is improved
due to the pozzolanic reactions when flyash cement ratio is less than 2.
However, this improvement in strength is not evident for flyash cement ratio
greater than 2.

Change in Water Content with Flyash Cement Ratio

Table II depicts that the water required for the same consistency
decreases as the flyash cement ratio increases. To use this design method,
it is essential to quantify this decrease in water. Berry and Malhotra (9)
stated that, at constant slump, 30% flyash substitution for cement reduced
the water requirement by about 7%. Fig. 7 shows the least squares approx-
imation for the percentage reduction in water for this test scheme. The best
fit regression equation for this curve is also a cubic polynomial in flyash
cement ratio as given below:

P = 10.2 x (F/c) - 2.6 x (F/c)2 + 0.23 x (F/c)3, (v)

where P = the percentage reduction in water.

Comparison of Results
Table IV gives comparison of the strength predicted by the design
charts and that actually measured. It can be concluded, from the comparison,

20

I-

z io

I I I
0 I 2 3 4
FLYASH CEMENT RATIO.
FIG. 7
Reduction in Water Content with Flyash Cement Ratio.
Vo]. 15, No. 4 701
FLYASH, CONCRETE, DESIGN, STRENGTH, ABRAMS LAW

that the predicted values are in close agreement with those measured. Mixes
covering a wide range of water cementitious and flyash cement ratios have
been used in this comparison. These curves, however, are more suitable to
the design of low to medium strength than high strength concrete.

TABLE IV
Comparison of the Actual and Predicted Strengths

Mix Designation Cement Flyash W Compressive Stength (MPa)

(kg/m 3 ) (kg/m 3 ) C+F 7 day 28 day
Actual Predicted Actual Predicted

1.00 - 7.06 161 107 0.71 7.4 9.5 12.6 16.5

2.78 - 7.06 95 176 0.62 4.3 5.2 9.3 8.2
1.00 - 4.16 251 167 0.45 24.2 25.5 37.6 38.5
2.78 - 4.16 144 267 0.45 8.5 11.7 19.8 17.8
0.38 - 3.22 418 105 0.36 48.7 49.2 57.4 66.0
1.00 - 3.22 309 206 0.36 35.2 35.8 46.0 51.6
2.26 - 3.22 199 300 0.38 17.9 19.3 27.0 28.5
0.38 - 5.27 290 72 0.45 42.7 36.2 54.3 51.1
1.00 - 5.27 213 142 0.46 25.3 24.5 36.1 37.3
2.26 - 5.27 141 211 0.46 11.2 13.4 18.8 20.3

Procedure for Mix Design

i. Specify the flyash cement ratio, workability and the target strength
at 7 or 28 days.

2. Find out the water cementitious ratio from the appropriate design
chart.

3. Find out the basic water requirement (of a plain mix) by referring
to any standard method of mix design i.e. the Unit Water Method
or the ACI Method.

4. Depending on the flyash cement ratio specified, caluclate the

percentage reduction of water using Fig. 7.

5. Knowing the amount of water, water cementitious ratio and flyash

cement ratio, compute the quantities of flyash and cement.

6. Calculate the quantities of aggregates using absolute volume or

otherwise.

Example
Suppose it is required to design a flyash concrete mix for 28 day
strength of 34 MPa at a flyash cement ratio of 1.5, by volume, and a slump
of 40 mm. The coarse aggregate consists of 20 and iOO mm crushed gravel at
a ratio of 1:0.7. The specific gravity of flyash and cement is 2.1 and 3.15
respectively.

Referring to the "Unit Water Method" (6) the basic requirement of

water is 194 ~/m 3, the reduction in water from Figure 7 is I0 percent. Hence,
the water required for the mix is 174.6 £/m 3. From Fig. 5 the water cement-
702 Vol. 15, No. 4
M.K. Gopalan and M.N. Haque

itious ratio is 0.42, thus, the total quantity of cement and flyash is 416
kg/m 3. For the flyash cement ratio of 1.5, the quantities of both cement
and flyash are 208 kg/m 3 of concrete.

References

I. Smith, I.A. "Design of flyash concrete". Proc. Inst. of Civil

Engineers, London, Vol. 36, pp 769-791. (1967)

2. Gopalan, M.K. and Haque, M.N. "Mix design procedure for flyash
concrete". Symp. on con. 1983. Inst. of Engrs.,Australia, pp 12-17.
(1983).
3. Cannon, R.W. "Proportioning flyash concrete mixes for strength
and economy". ACI Joul., Vol. 65 No. II, pp 969-979. (1968).

4. Lovewell, C.E. and Washa, G.W. "Proportioning concrete mixtures

using flyash". ACI Joul, Vol. 54, No. 12, pp 1093-1102.(1958).

5. Ghosh, R.S. "Proportioning of concrete mixes incorporating

flyash". Canadian Joul. of Civil Engineering, Vol. 3,
pp 68-82. (1976).

6. Welch, G.B. "Unit water method of concrete mix design".

Construction Review, Vol. 29, (Revised). (1976).

7. ACI Committee 211. "Standard practice for selecting proportions

for normal, heavy weight and mass concrete". Manual of Conc. Prac.
(1981).
8. Gopalan, M.K. and Haque, M.N. "Optimal use of flyash concrete
in pavements". Proc. Australian Road Res. Conf., Vol. 12,
Part ]2, pp 19-27. (1984).

9. Berry, E.E. and Malhotra, V.M. "Flyash for use in concrete -

A critical review". ACI Joul. Vol. 2, No. 3, pp 59-73. (1982).