15-10-2020

MAKING DURABLE
CONCRETE WITH FLY ASH

Civil Engineering Department, NIT Raipur

1 By
Dr S. V. Deo
Associate professor
Civil Engg Deptt. NIT, Raipur
OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION

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 About Fly Ash and its reaction in
concrete

Civil Engineering Department, NIT Raipur

 Advantages of Fly Ash in Concrete

 Composition of Fly Ash

 Effect of Fly Ash on fresh and

hardened properties of Concrete
 Durability of Concrete

 Causes of Inadequate Durability

 Concrete as three phase system

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 Conclusions
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FLY ASH COLLECTION
ABOUT FLY ASH
 It is finely divided residue of Pulverized
coal combustion in thermal power plant.
 Fineness = 4000 to 8000 sq. cm/gm.
 Composition: (SiO2+Al2O3+Fe2O3)
occupies about 70% in Fly Ash.
 Reacts with free lime to form CSH and
CAH gel
Ca(OH)2 = Ca++ + 2(OH)-
Ca++ +2(OH)- + SiO2 =CaO - SiO2 - H2O
Ca++ + 2(OH)- +Al2O3 = CaO- Al2O3-H2O
FLY ASH SEM IMAGE

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Scanning Electron picture of fly ash (Papadakis )

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RELATIVE SIZE AND SHAPE
ADVANTAGES OF UTILIZING FLY ASH IN
CONCRETE
 Improved Durability
 Improved Workability
 Reduced Water/Cement Ratio for
Same Slump
 Reduced Permeability
 Increased Sulfate Resistance
 Better Alkali Silica Resistance
 Reduced Segregation & Bleeding
 Long Term Gain in Compressive
Strength
 Reduced Thermal Cracking
COMPOSITION OF OPC AND FLY ASH
(A. M. NEVILLE)

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Typical Percentage Percentage

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Oxides in OPC in FLY ASH

CaO 63 1-5
SiO2 20 45-55
Al2O3 6 25-30

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CHEMICAL REACTION FOR FLY ASH

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 Advantages of pozzolanic reaction
i) The reaction is slow; hence the

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rate of heat liberation is slow.
This is particularly useful in hot
weather conditions like Raipur,
since it reduces initial heat of
hydration and associated
shrinkage cracks due to it
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CHEMICAL REACTION OF FLY ASH

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ii) The reaction is lime consuming
instead of lime producing. Lime

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produced in hydration reaction of OPC
is water soluble. Hence create voids
after it comes in contact with water
iii) It reduces the voids in concrete due
to higher workability and pore filling
ability of finer Fly Ash. This reduces
the permeability of concrete,
increasing its durability 10
 EFFECT OF FLY ASH ON WORKABILITY
OF CONCRETE

 The presence of Fly Ash increases

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workability of concrete due to:
1. Better dispersion of cement particles

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EFFECT OF FLY ASH ON
WORKABILITY OF CONCRETE

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2. Smooth surface of FA particles
3. Ball bearing effect due to

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spherical shape of FA particles
3. Little absorption of water during
mixing
4. Lower loss of water from mix
due to lower heat of hydration
5. Lower tendency of bleeding
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 EFFECT OF FLY ASH ON STRENGTH
OF CONCRETE

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 Fly Ash has more silica and less lime,
resulting in dense microstructure.

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However initial hydration of Fly Ash is
slow.
 Greater fineness of Fly Ash leads to
higher strength.

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EFFECT OF FLY ASH ON STRENGTH OF
CONCRETE

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 Pozzolanic reaction accelerates with
an increase in temperature.
Consequently, the reactivity of Fly

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Ash at local hot conditions is
considerably increased.
 In actual structures, the temperature
inside fresh concrete is more than
outside temperature due to initial
hydration of OPC, so the strength
development of Fly Ash is faster. 14
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STRENGTH
ON
FLY ASH
OF
(A. M. NEVILLE)
EFFECT
EFFECT OF W/C ON STRENGTH OF
CONCRETE (IS: 10262:2019)

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(MEHTA & MONTEIRO)
OF CURING
EFFECT
 EFFECT OF FLY ASH ON DURABILITY OF
CONCRETE

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 Addition of Fly Ash has shown reduced
water permeability, increased durability of
concrete

Civil Engineering Department, NIT Raipur

 Lower permeability is also effective in
controlling alkali-silica reaction
 Addition of Fly Ash has shown reduced
chloride ion ingress
 Addition of Fly Ash has shown improvement
in concrete performance to sulphate attach
 There is no increased risk for carbonation of
concrete due to addition of Fly Ash to 18

concrete
MAKING DURABLE CONCRETE

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 What should be the focus of
concrete technologist?

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 What is most important property
of hardened concrete?
 What is the easiest way of
making a durable concrete?

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 WHAT IS A DURABLE
STRUCTURE?

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A durable concrete structure should

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continue to perform its intended
functions, that is maintain its required
strength and serviceability, during the
specified service life.
 Strength and serviceability of RCC
may be reduced due to corrosion of
steel reinforcement. 20
 DURABILITY OF CONCRETE

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 Lifeof RCC was assumed to be
100yrs but in actual, RCC structures
hardly complete 50 yrs.

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 This also requires lot of maintenance
to keep building in service.
 Any treatment will not be as durable
as a durable concrete.

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WHY DURABILITY IS NOT OUR
FOCUS?

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 Until recently, the focus of engineers was
on developing higher strength concrete,

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as there was an assumption that ‘ strong
concrete is durable’.
 Also there are difficulties in durability
testing.
 Client is not aware of advantages of
durable structures and hence not ready
to pay for it.
 Now focus should change to strength and 22
durability.
PETRONAS TOWERS ARE DESIGNED FOR A
SERVICE LIFE OF 120 YRS

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Civil Engineering Department, NIT Raipur
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CAUSES OF INADEQUATE DURABILITY

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 Primarily water, carbon dioxide and
oxygen are most relevant to

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durability.
 Their movement in concrete depends
on permeability of concrete.
 Hydrated cement paste has some
inherent permeability which can be
reduced by use of lower W/C ratio.
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CAUSES OF INADEQUATE DURABILITY

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 Voids in concrete can be reduced
by use of Fly Ash, optimum

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proportioning of aggregates and
reducing W/C ratio.
 Properties of aggregate vary a
lot. This requires frequent
changes in mix design for making
voids free concrete.
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OF WELL GRADED AGGREGATE
ADVANTAGE
CONCRETE
 General definition: Concrete is a

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mixture of cement, water,
aggregates, and in some cases,

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admixtures.
 Advanced definition: Concrete is a
heterogeneous material and consists
of separate phases like hydrated
cement paste, transition zone and
aggregates.
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(MEHTA & MONTEIRO)
AS THREE PHASE SYSTEM
CONCRETE
INTERFACIAL TRANSITION ZONE(ITZ)

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 The plate like calcium hydroxide
crystals tend to form in oriented layers,

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perpendicular to the aggregate surface.
 With the progress of hydration and due
to addition of Fly Ash, poorly crystalline
C-S-H and calcium Hydroxide start
filling the empty space that exists
between the frame work created by the
large ettringite and calcium hydroxide
crystals. 29
INTERFACIAL TRANSITION ZONE (ITZ)
(MEHTA & MONTEIRO)

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Civil Engineering Department, NIT Raipur
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Addition of fine particles of Fly Ash reduces the bleeding

INTERFACIAL TRANSITION ZONE (ITZ)

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 At early ages, especially when a
considerable internal bleeding has
occurred, the volume and size of voids in

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transition zone are larger than the bulk
cement paste or mortar.
 The size and concentration of crystalline
compounds such as calcium hydroxide and
ettringite are also larger in ITZ.
 The cracks are formed easily in the
direction perpendicular to the aggregate
surface. Such effects account for the lower31
strength and durability of the ITZ.
 DURABILITY OF CONCRETE
(MEHTA & MONTEIRO)
Diagrammatic representation of
well-hydrated
cement pastes made with OPC
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Diagrammatic representation
of well-hydrated
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cement pastes made with FA
DURABILITY OF CONCRETE
(MEHTA & MONTEIRO)

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 On the basis of Scanning Electron
Microscope, it could be seen that, as a result
of pozzolanic reaction, the capillary voids are

Civil Engineering Department, NIT Raipur

either eliminated or reduced in size and
crystals of calcium hydroxide are replaced
with additional low density C-S-H gel.
 It could be further concluded that, chemical
reaction between pozzolanic particles and
calcium hydroxide results in
i) Pore size refinement
ii) Grain size refinement
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CONCLUSION

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 Good concrete always perform
better under all conditions.

Civil Engineering Department, NIT Raipur

 Fly ash with OPC improves the
durability of concrete as compared
to OPC under hot local conditions.
 For improvement of quality of
concrete most important step is to
use lowest possible W/C ratio with
required workability and good
grading of aggregates.
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Thank you for
your interest