2.

1 OVERVIEW: CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Malaysia has recognized the importance of the construction sector since its
independence in 1957 when the industry was a low-tech, labor-intensive skill-based industry
(Kamal, 2012). In February 1990, former prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad
launched Malaysia vision 2020 which Malaysia is heading towards a developed nation-status
from a developing nation. The goal of Vision 2020 is to turn Malaysia into a stable,
competitive, diverse, robust, and resilient nation by 2020.

Today, Malaysia's construction industry is more developed, modernized, and well

designed. By using highly sophisticated mechanized technologies, it has the potential to deliver
complicated heavy infrastructure and skyscraper designs. This has resulted in the rapid
development of many projects, such as high-rise commercial and industrial buildings,
highways, expressways, etc.

Construction activities are closely linked to the different phases of a country's economic
growth. This has been raised at the macro-economic level for several years. Historically,
construction practices have been related to the economic and community development process
since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (Rostow, 1963). It is reported that there is a
direct relationship between building production and national performance. It is also found out
that building production grows faster than national output when the economy grows, and vice
versa (Hua, 1995; Turin, 1969; Wells, 1986). Therefore, the variation in the construction sector
and its operations have a major impact on all aspects of human life (Jorge, 2008; Khan, 2008;
Rameezdeen, 2008; Chen, 1998; Ofori, 1988; Hillebrand, 1985; Wells, 1985; World Bank,
1984; Turin, 1978).

2.2 CHALLENGES IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES

It is hard to tell what the top problems the construction industry faces year after year
will be. There are patterns that are expected to persist until 2020 by the end of 2019, but things
change year on year. According to the conference by Datuk Ir. Hamzah Hasan (2008), since a
decade ago, the construction industry in Malaysia has seen an upward trend due to an enormous
increase in the number of projects undertaken by this brick and mortar industry, as well as the
advanced technology and measures adopted.

The massive development of building projects has enriched the humankind by

addressing basic needs such as housing, building, etc. At the same time, it leads significantly
to the production of high levels of construction waste, unnecessary use of energy and harmful
environmental effects, delays in scheduling, and unnecessary expenditure. These challenges
have forced professionals in the construction to follow sustainable development concepts, as
conventional design and construction focus mainly on the expense, time, and efficiency and
pay very little attention to the environmental impacts.

On the contrary, sustainable development integrates sound environmentally friendly

practices with a single discipline that looks at the natural, economic, and social impact of a
building or design project as a whole. Azis, Memon, Rahman, Nagapan, and Imran Latif (2012)
conducted a study by analysing sustainable construction gains by using less building and
operational materials, decreasing negative environmental effects, reducing building waste and
lowering planning risk, increased building life and viability. Due to the high consumption of
concrete all over the world to meet the demands of the construction industry, this has led the
engineers and academicians to find a replacement for engineering concrete. To answer this
problem, unfired brick with a high volume of fly ash is one of the best ideas to save the cost of
construction while saving the environment.

2.3 UNFIRED BRICK IN CONSTRUCTION

Brick is the oldest fabricated construction material. It is stated that the first brick made
of mud (sometimes with additional straw) was invented about ten thousand years ago. Clay
brick started to appear around 5,000 years ago when the builders used pottery manufacturing
methods to enhance its strength and durability (Fiala, Jan & Mikolas, Milan & Krejsova,
Katerina, 2019). Including some of the oldest known structures to new construction, clay brick
has a legacy of offering long-lasting, convenient, stable, and attractive housing.

The main raw materials for modern clay bricks include clays, fire clays, shales, or
variations thereof. Units are produced by extrusion, moulding or dry-pressing and are fired at
high temperatures in a kiln to manufacture units with a wide variety of colours, textures, sizes,
and physical properties (Campbell & Pryce, 2003). For its aesthetic and long-term durability,
clay and shale masonry units are most commonly used as a building material. Although brick
and concrete clay tiles are both visually appealing and robust, they are also well suited for many
concrete uses. It is due largely to their range of sizes and very high compressive strength.

Concrete brick is a really great way to get a good first impression. As people walk up
or drive by a concrete brick house, a second look are common reactions. Magicrete (2015)
mentioned that concrete brick has more advantages than impressive visuals. They help lessen
the noise from the outside, providing a barrier from traffic noise, overhead aircraft, and other
different disruptions. Another advantage is fire safety, as will be reduced maintenance. Finally,
concrete brick walls can increase the thermal mass efficiency of exterior walls, thereby
reducing energy bills.

2.4 COMPONENTS OF THE UNFIRED BRICK

Concrete consists of three main components which are water, aggregate, and cement
(Sonebi, Ammar & Diederich, 2009). Cement generally in the form of powder, when combined
with water and aggregates, serves as a binding agent. The characteristics of the concrete differ
depending on the materials used and their proportions in the mixture. The hydration where the
heat release occurs when cement and water are mixed. Concrete strength begins with hydration
and improves as long as the hydration continues. The relative strength increases rates off after
28 days (Kondraivendhan & Bhattacharjee, 2016). Thus, a better understanding is needed to
produce good quality concrete. The behaviour of the basic components of concrete will be
discussed.

2.4.1 Water

Water is the main ingredient which when mixed with cement, forms a paste that binds
together the aggregate (Sonebi, Ammar & Diederich, 2019). Hydration occurs as chemical
reactions in major cement compounds form chemical bonds with water molecules and become
hydrates. Normally, water quality for building works is similar to drinking water. The authors
(Reddy Babu, Madhusudana Reddy & Venkata Ramana, 2018 ) stated that water must be clean
from impurities in order to prevent side effects from occurring which may weaken the concrete
or otherwise interfere with the hydration process and may adversely affect the concrete’s
properties especially the setting, hardening, strength, and durability. The permissible limits for
solid in cement concrete shall follow Table 1 (Quality of Water for Concrete Construction and
its Specification, 2017). The function of water is significant because the water-to-cement ratio
is the most crucial component of good concrete production. Excessive water decreases concrete
strength, while too little will make the concrete unworkable (Basham, 2019). Concrete needs
to be workable so that it can be easily mixed and shaped into different forms. Since concrete
needs to be strong and workable, a careful balance between cement and water is needed when
concreting.

Type of Solid in water Permissible Limits for Construction

 Organic matter 200 mg/l

Inorganic matter 3000 mg/l

Sulphates (SO4) 500 mg/l

Chlorides (Cl) a) 1000 mg/l for RCC work and, b) 2000 mg/l for PCC work

Suspended matter 2000 mg/l

Table 1

2.4.2 Aggregate

The authors (Jadhav & Kulkarni, 2012) mentioned that inert granular materials such as
sand, gravel, or crushed stone are aggregates. Three-quarters of the concrete volume is covered
by aggregates, and hence its grading must comply with the standard grading outlined in BS
882:1992 (Abhyuday, Saleem & Malewar, 2018). Aggregates come in a variety of shapes, sizes
and materials, ranging from fine sand particles to large, rough rocks. The aggregate grading
determines the proportions of particles of various sizes in the aggregate that are normally fine
(size<5 mm) and coarse (size>5 mm) within the range. As shown in Figure 1, there are three
typical range categories (Abhyuday et al., 2018). Previous studies (Saikia & De Brito, 2014;
Nevile & Brooks, 2010) revealed that:-

1. The well-graded aggregate has a gradation of particle sizes that fairly evenly spans the
size from the finest to the coarse. Well-graded aggregates are tricky to proportion. The
goal of aggregate proportioning and sizing is to maximize the quantity of aggregate
within the concrete and thus minimize the quantity of cement paste while preserving
strength, workability, and aesthetics.
2. Poorly graded aggregate is classified by small size variations which means the particles
lock together, leaving relatively large voids in the concrete. Poorly graded concretes
typically need large quantities of cement paste to fill the voids, causing them
unsustainable.
3. Gap-graded aggregate consists of coarse aggregate particles that are similar in size but
vary in size from the fine aggregate. In terms of efficiency and economy, gap-graded
aggregates fall in between well-graded and poorly graded. Gap graded concrete is a
practical but not optimum gradation.
 The choosing of an aggregate is determined by the desired concrete characteristics
(Sonebi et al., 2009). For example, the concrete density is calculated by the aggregate density.
Medium, porous aggregates can produce weak concrete with low wear resistance, whereas the
use of hard aggregates can build durable concrete with high abrasion resistance. The aggregates
should be clean, strong, and effective. The aggregate is usually cleaned to remove any mud,
silt, clay, organic matter, or other impurities that may interact with the cement paste bonding
reaction. The content is then divided into various sizes by going through a series of filters with
gaps of varying sizes.

Figure 1

2.4.3 Cement

A mixture of compounds made by burning limestone and clay together at high

temperatures is called cement (Basham, 2019). Cement is typically the bonding agent or glue
of the concrete which keeps all the different elements of concrete together. This study would
only concentrate on Portland cement and its properties. To make Portland cement, clay, shale,
and limestone are ground to a powder and baked during a kiln. The baked mixture forms
clinkers, which are then ground up and mixed with gypsum (Ban, Sern & Ramli, 2019). The
flow diagram for the production of Portland cement can be seen from Figure 2. In addition to
this cement, it also helps to give the strength to mix. Higher grade cement gives more strength
(Refer to Table 2).
 Table 2

Figure 2: A flow diagram of Portland Cement production.

2.5 FLY ASH

Fly ash is a fine substance that is a by-product of power plants burning pulverized waste
(Juan, 2019). Fly ash is a pozzolan that forms cement in the presence of water because it
contains aluminous and siliceous material. The fly ash forms a compound similar to Portland
cement when mixed with lime and water. This makes fly ash suitable as a prime material in
concrete and cost-effective substitutes for Portland cement in the construction industry. Other
than that, fly ash improves the strength and segregation of the concrete and makes it easier to
pump. The author (Juan, 2019) mentioned usually a specified rate of fly ash replacement for
Portland cement is 1 to 1 ½ kilogram of fly ash per 1 kilogram of cement. The amount of fine
aggregate in the concrete mix, therefore, has to be reduced to accommodate the increased
volume of the fly ash.

Fly ash is often known as an environmentally sustainable substance because it is a by-

product that has low energy usage, the measure of how much energy is used in the manufacture
and shipping of building material. By contrast, Portland cement has a very high energy value
as its processing requires a lot of heat (Ashby, 1990). Fly ash needs less water than Portland
cement which is easier to use in cold weather.

2.5.1 Types of fly ash

ASTM C618 describes two types of fly ash: Class F fly ash and Class C fly ash.
Gamage, Nirdosha & Liyanage, Kasuni & Fragomeni (2011) explained the major difference
between these groups is the amount of calcium, silica, alumina, and iron in the ash. Class F fly
ash comprises particles that are formed by molten glass. This dramatically decreases the risk
of expansion due to a sulphate attack, which may occur in fertilized soils or near coastal areas.
Class F is typically low calcium and has a carbon content of less than 5% but often as high as
10%. Class C fly ash is likewise resistant to chemical attack. It has a higher concentration of
calcium oxide than Class F and is used most generally for structural concrete. Class C fly ash
usually consists of high-calcium fly ash with a carbon level below 2 percent.

2.5.2 Effects due to fly Ash

Class F fly ash contains only a small amount of lime. Thus, compressive strength is
reduced with the increment of fly ash content in concrete. However, due to the pozzolanic
activity of fly ash, the compressive strength increased in later stages of curing (Sumer, 2012;
Siddique, 2004). The amorphous silica present in fly ash undergoes a chemical reaction with
the calcium hydroxide and generates calcium silicate hydrate (Nonavinakere & Reed, 1995).
This pozzolanic reaction of fly ash increases its significance not only in concrete but also in
various construction uses (Gonzalez, Navia & Moreno, 2009). Due to the pozzolanic reaction,
the strength increment continues for a longer period of time comparing to the conventional
concrete (Saha & Sarker, 2017). In addition, fly ash also decreases concrete bleeding and
increases its workability (Yao, Ji, Sarker, Tang, Ge, Xia, et al, 2015). The strength of a fly ash
depends on its chemical and physical properties. Atis (2003) pointed out the application of
high-volume fly ash in concrete, particularly 50% replacement of cement by fly ash led to the
shrinkage reduction by 30% compared to the conventional concrete. The effect of fly ash on
shrinkage depends on its fineness and water requirements. Comparably less reduction of drying
shrinkage was observed for samples with coarse fly ash. In addition, fly ash with high water
demand exhibits higher shrinkage comparing to their counterparts (Chindaprasirt,
Homwuttiwong & Sirivivatnanon, 2004). Supit and Shaikh (2015) showed that the inclusion
of fly ash in concrete reduces the volume of the permeable void by 6-11% compared to
conventional concrete. In addition, Shaikh and Supit (2015) observed the impact on permeable
voids of the different contents of fly ash in concrete. It was found that at 40% replacement level
of fly ash, the permeable void of concrete decreases, however, 60% substitution level exhibited
higher permeable void comparing to control specimens. Chindaprasirt, Chotithanorm, Cao, and
Sirivivatnanon (2007) investigated the effects of various replacement levels of fly ash on the
chloride permeability of concrete were examined by three separate test setups. It was found
that with the increment of fly ash volume in concrete the chloride permeability was
significantly reduced in all three test conditions because the spherical and smooth composition
of the fly ash reduced the average pore size of the paste. Even though fly ash has been
comprehensively studied in the past few decades by researchers, there have been some
contradictory results observed in the permeability of the concrete. It has been well established
that porosity reduces by the application of fly ash as supplementary cement (Wang, Llamazos,
Baxter & Fonseca, 2008). However, the application of fly ash demonstrated by researchers
increased the porosity of the concrete (Chindaprasirt, Jaturapitakkul & Sinsiri, 2005). The
chemical and physical properties of fly ash influence the mechanical and durability test results
significantly. Furthermore, the properties of fly ash can be different depending on the source.
High calcium fly ash exhibited high early compressive strength compared to low calcium fly
ash (Naik, Singh & Ramme, 1998).

The applications of F Class fly ash as a partial substitution against the cement particles
in concrete decreased its 28-day strengths in compression, tension as well as in flexural, its
elastic modulus, and concrete resistance against abrasion (Siddique, 2004). A significant value
of compressive strength and elastic modulus can be achieved in high volume fly ash (HVFA)
concrete if superplasticizer is added in the concrete mix (Malhotra, 1986). For the purpose of
proportioning fly ash concrete, the author (Ghosh, 1976) proposed a method for gaining similar
strengths in compression as that for normal Portland cement mix concrete. The method is based
on the Abrams' law which correlates compressive strength and water-cement ratio. Horiguchi,
Okumura, and Saeki (2001) have prepared concrete by mixing a combination of clinker ash
and fly ash while testing its flowability and bleeding characteristic along with analysing short
and long-term strengths under compression (progress analysed for age till 91-day). The strength
magnitude boosted upon raising the clinker ash’s replacement rate up to 50 percent. Maiti,
Agarwal, and Kumar (2006) developed the relationship of 28 days compressive strength using
mix proportioning of Portland cement, fly ash & ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS)
with different W/C ratios. The mineral admixtures such as GGBFS and fly ash contribute to
the strength development process at the age and beyond 28 days. Gutierrez and Canovas (1996)
established a mix proportioning method to proportion cement, aggregates, admixtures, W/C
ratio for HPC to gain strength up to 110 MPa. Berry and Malhotra (1980) did a critical review
on fly ash concrete and found that the mix has shown improvised workability, cohesiveness,
finish, ultimate strength limits, as well as durability under certain circumstances. Fly ash
particles also improved the performance of concretes when exposed against deterioration due
to sulphate or by alkali-aggregate interactions. Cannon (1968) prepared a method for
optimizing cement and fly ash. By using this method, the strength of resulting fly ash concrete
produced the same strength as that of plain concrete at the end of 90 days. Mehta (2004) had
presented a paper targeting different HVFA concrete properties such as workability, drying
shrinkage, corrosion reinforcement, and alkali-silica expansion. He found that the utilization
of fly ash in concrete is sustainable development. Ahmad and Alghamdi (2014) had given a
statistical approach that is helpful in obtaining the optimum proportion of concrete mix. The
full factorial experimental technique was used taking three parameters i.e. water/cement ratio,
cement content, and fine aggregate/total aggregate ratio for optimization. Optimization of
concrete is a process of obtaining such a concrete mix which is economical and satisfying the
necessary characteristics of concrete such as strength, durability, and workability. Water binder
ratio, coarse aggregate to total aggregate ratio, and different percentages of fly ash are the
important factor which influences the strength of concrete. Higher W/C ratio resulted in the
low strength of concrete whereas low W/C ratio generally gives good strength. Various
approaches have been used in the past for concrete optimization using the experimental,
analytical, or statistical methods. In full factorial experimental technique, one factor can vary
at a time against other factors, keeping all other factors constant. This process is repeated by
varying other factors one by one until all the factors have been treated. This methodology leads
to many trials. So, in this way, the response is observed at all factor level combinations of
independent variables and the effects of factor level combinations are investigated
simultaneously.

2.5.3 Compressive strength development

 In an experiment conducted by Fuzail et al (2019), the existence of fly ash in the mix
reduces the early compressive strength’s values of concrete. The strength in compression is
considerably reduced at 40% and 60% of fly ash. The initial strength of fly ash concrete is quite
low but gain considerable magnitude with time durations. During this experimental program,
the maximum strength in compression is 31 MPa that was procured at 0.45W-C ratio and 0%
of FA, and the least compressive strength of 14 MPa was obtained at 0.55W/C ratio and 60%
of fly ash. As the percentages of fly ash have upgraded, the compressive strength of concrete
decreases. For 0.45W-B ratios and 0.5 CA-TA ratios, the strength in compression was 26%,
22%, 16.5% for 25%, 40%, 60% cement replacement by fly ash respectively. For 0.55 CA-TA
ratio, the compressive strength was 25%, 23%, 17% for 25%, 40%, 60% cement replacement
by fly ash respectively. For 0.60 CA-TA ratio, the compressive strength was 27%, 24%, 18%
for 25%, 40%, 60% cement replacement by fly ash respectively. For 0.65 CA-TA ratio, the
compressive strength was 25.5%, 23.5%, 16.5% for 25%, 40%, 60% cement alteration by fly
ash respectively. In Figure 3, the strengths in compression versus Fly Ash/ Cement graphs, the
steep downfall of the graph indicates that the compressive strength reduces with the increase
in the quantity of fly ash at all CA-TA (coarse aggregate to total aggregate) ratios.
 Figure 3

In addition, Saha (2017) studied the mean compressive strength of five concrete
cylinders for different curing periods is presented in Figure 4. It can be seen that the control
samples without fly ash exhibit a high early compressive strength 45 MPa at 7 days of curing.
The growth of compressive strength increased sharply until 28 days of curing and reached 57
MPa. However, after 28 days of curing, the increment of compressive strength became steady.
At the end of one year of curing, the strength reached 62 MPa. On the other hand, the addition
of fly ash reduced the compressive strength of concrete. With the increment of class F fly ash
volume, the lack of lime content in the mix led to low compressive strength. Fly ash in concrete
reduces the rate of hydration thus low early compressive strength is observed. After 7 days of
curing the compressive strength was 39, 33, 29, 24 MPa for the samples with 10, 20, 30, and
40% fly ash, respectively. It is noticeable that with the increment of fly ash content the early
age compressive strength of concrete gradually decreases, which is consistent with the previous
findings from Saha and Sarker (2017) and Shaikh and Supit (2015). The 10% fly ash samples
showed a sharp improvement in compressive strength from day 7 to day 56 of curing,
afterwards, the strength improvement became steady. The samples with 20% fly ash exhibited
a rapid strength increment from day 7 to day 90 of curing, and for 30 and 40% fly ash, concrete
compressive strength was increased sharply from day 7 to 6 months of curing period following
that, strength increment was steady. It has been explained that the maximum size of fly ash was
4 mm and the specific surface area of the fly ash was 430 m2kg-1, the surface area was
determined by Blaine's air permeability method according to the ASTM C204-16. Thus, the
small size fly ash particles along with a high surface area and high amount of amorphous silica
content compared to the Portland cement impart the pozzolanic reaction and thus improvement
of strength over a longer period (Isaia, Gastaldini & Moraes, 2003; Saha & Sarker, 2016).
 Figure 4

2.5.3 Process of the water absorption rate

As established by (Sun, Zhang, Shen, Tan & Tanner, 2019), the water absorption of
HVFA concrete at 28 and 90 days was determined and presented in Figure 5 and Figure 6,
respectively. Up to 28 days in Figure 5, all HVFA concrete samples experienced a significant
increase in water absorption after a high volume of fly ash was added. As illustrated in Figure
6, an increase in the curing ages from 28 days to 90 days would decrease the amount of water
absorption, especially for the sample OPC60FA40. This rapid decrease in water absorption of
HVFA concrete can be attributed to the fact that the pozzolanic reaction of FA progressed
significantly at the later curing period. The limited water absorption test results showed that
HVFA concrete showed significantly higher water absorption than that of the control concrete
at 28 days. With 28 to 90 days of curing, the pozzolanic reaction of FA progresses significantly
and consumes large amounts of CH which produces additional secondary C-S-H gels, resulting
in denser and more compact microstructure, thus decreasing the amount of water absorption of
HVFA concrete (Sun, Shen, et al. 2018).
 Figure 5. Water absorption of HVFA concrete at 28 days

Figure 6. Water absorption of HVFA concrete at 90 days

In another study conducted by Aparna, Sathyan, and Anand (2017), variation in the rate
of water absorption in mortar mixes with different superplasticizer at different percentage fly
ash replacement are shown in Figure 7. The absorption mainly depends on the pore distribution
of the matrix. Therefore, fly ash and superplasticizer quantity in the mix also contribute to the
rate of water absorption value of mortar cubes. Fly ash, as it is of a finer size particle, it fills
the pores simultaneously densify the mortar mixes. From Figure 7 (b, c, d), it is clear that the
rate of water absorption decreases with an increase in fly ash percentage.
 Superplasticizer
Polycarboxylate ether
Lignosulphonate
Sulphonated Naphthalene Formaldehyde
Sulphonated Melamine Formaldehyde

Figure 7. The relation between the rate of water absorption and test duration for mortar
containing superplasticizer from a different family (a) OPC+0%FA (b) OPC+15%FA (c)
OPC+25%FA
(d) OPC+35%FA

From Figure 7. (a), it is observed that in the initial stage there is not much difference in
the rate of water absorption for mixes with superplasticizer (SP) from different family and at
the final stage Lignosulphonate (LS) family SP shows the greater absorption value compared
to all other mixes, this may be due to the air entrainment in the LS incorporated mortar mixes.
It is been found that the rate of water absorption value decrease with an increase in the amount
of fly ash as the pore size of the matrix gets reduced due to the incorporation of fly ash
simultaneously alters the rate of water penetration. Overall, their results showed that the rate
of water absorption decreases with an increase in fly ash level due to the reduction of pore size
with the incorporation of fly ash for polycarboxylate ether (PCE) based superplasticizer. Other
than that, LS-based superplasticizer shows a higher rate of water absorption with an increase
in fly ash content.

Thus, the property of water absorption is directly related to the durability or long-term
behaviour of concrete. The presence of pores and flaws in concrete will enhance the absorption
of water in concrete which consequently affects the mechanical as well as other durability
properties. Overall, an increase in water absorption with an increase in the amount of FA
specifies the rise in the volume of available pores.

2.5.4 Ultrasonic pulse velocity test analysis

The ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test is a non-destructive test and is performed to
know the quality of concrete. This test also offers the idea of the various defects present inside
the concretes by the transfer of electronic waves (N. Singh & S.P. Singh, 2018). Table 2 shows
the range of UPV qualitative rating as per IS: 13311(Part 1): 1992. A value of more than 4.5
km/s shows a concrete of excellent quality. For good concrete, the UPV shall be varying
between 3.5- 4.5 Km/s and for medium quality concrete the UPV shall be between 3.0 – 3.5
Km/s. In general, UPV values decrease with the increase in the content of FA in Self
Compacting Concrete (SCC) mixes. However, with an increase in curing times the UPV values
were found to be enhanced as similar to that of compressive strength (Singh, Kumar, & Goyal,
2019). The pore refining quality of FA caused the reduction of permeable pores within SCC
which leads to the improvement of UPV values at higher curing ages (Liu, 2010; Sahmaran,
Keskin, Ozerkan & Yaman, 2008). The presence of pores, non-homogeneity, feeble particle
packing, and miscellaneous imperfections are the probable causes for the observed drops in
UPV values. Herein, the variation in UPV results of HVFA based SCC has been discussed in
the percentage increase or decrease in comparison to respective control SCC mix. The same is
shown in Figure 8. A steep rise in UPV values has been noticed from 7 days to 28 days of
curing, thereafter the UPV values increase gradually. Figure 8 presents the results of UPV tests
for some of the HVFA based SCC mixes at 7, 28, and 90 days of curing with FA range of 35%–
80%. At 28 days of curing, the UPV figures of SCC made with HVFA has been reduced to that
of base SCC mix around 4% only. Likewise, at 90 days of curing, the UPV values for SCC at
higher FA content (> 50% FA) has decreased marginally in comparison to that of the control
mix. This aspect has been confirmed with the findings of Teng, Lim, and Divsholi (2013) where
the pozzolanic activity of mineral admixture at low water-cement ratio is lesser at an early age.
 Figure 8. Ultrasonic pulse velocity of HVFA based SCC made with NCA (Natural Coarse
Aggregates)

No Pulse Velocity Cross Probing, Concrete Quality Grading

Km/Sec
1 > 4.5 Excellent
2 3.5 - 4.5 Good
3 3.0 - 3.5 Medium
4 < 3.0 Doubtful

Table 2. Quality of concrete as a function of UPV

On the other findings, the researchers (Nagrockienė & Rutkauskas, 2019) illustrate the
change of ultrasonic pulse velocity in concrete modified with fly ash after 7 and 28 days of
curing in Figure 9. In specimens modified with 15% and 25% of fly ash, the UPV after 7 days
of curing increases by 0.27% and 0.61% up to 4108 and 4122 m/s respectively. When the binder
is replaced with 35% of fly ash, UPV increases up to 4137 m/s, and this value is 0.98% higher
compared to UPV in control specimens. When fly ash content is increased to 45%, UPV
increases up to 4145 m/s. The highest UPV of 4151 m/s was recorded in specimens containing
55% of fly ash. When fly ash content is increased to 65%, UPV drops down to 4147 m/s.
Ultrasonic pulse velocity tests were done with concrete specimens modified with fly ash and
cured for 28. Control specimens not modified with mineral additives had the UPV 4244 m/s.
When 15% and 25% of fly ash is added into the concrete mix, the UPV increases to 4253 and
4268 m/s respectively. When the binder is replaced with 35% of fly ash, UPV increases up to
4277 m/s. The highest UPV of 4291 m/s was recorded in specimens containing 45% of fly ash,
and this value is 1.11% higher compared to UPV in control specimens. Further increase in fly
ash content in the concrete mix leads to UPV decrease.

Figure 9. Relationship between the ultrasonic pulse propagation velocity and fly ash content
after 7 and 28 days of curing

2.6 SUMMARY
In conclusion, the construction industries can use fly ash to imply the minimize waste
materials concept. The usage of fly ash in the engineering application of premixed concrete
helps the industry to save the environment. Researchers have proven that a high volume of fly
ash decreases the mechanical properties of concrete.

Table 3. Comparison between different tests

Tests Research paper Observation
Compressive strength Fuzail et al (2019) The existence of fly ash in
the mix reduces the early
 compressive strength’s
values of concrete
Saha & Sarker (2017) The increment of fly ash
Shaikh & Supit (2015) content the early age
compressive strength of
concrete gradually decreases
Water absorption rate Sun, Zhang, Shen, Tan & An increase in the curing
Tanner (2019) ages from 28 days to 90
days would decrease the
amount of water absorption
Aparna, Sathyan & Anand Rate of water absorption
(2017) decreases with increase in
fly ash percentage
Ultrasonic pulse velocity Liu (2010) The pore refining quality of
Sahmaran, Keskin, Ozerkan FA caused the reduction of
& Yaman (2008) permeable pores within SCC
which leads to improvement
of UPV values at higher
curing ages
Teng, Lim & Divsholi The pozzolanic activity of
(2013) mineral admixture at low
water-cement ratio is lesser
at early ages
Nagrockienė & Rutkauskas Further increase in fly ash
(2019) content in the concrete mix
leads to UPV decrease