Introduction of Dissertation

Optimizing usage of fly ash in porous concrete

Introduction
Pervious concrete, which is also known as porous concrete, is a high-performance pavement
concrete, which has high water permeability and porosity. This high water permeability of
pervious concrete captures storm water and allows it to seep into the ground. Pervious concrete is
very influential in recharging groundwater and reducing storm water runoff. Other advantages of
pervious concrete are reducing puddles on the road, improving water quality through percolation
and heat absorption (Park & Tia, 2004).

Pervious Concrete pavement is an effective ways to minimize this issue. Pervious concrete is an
open graded structure with interconnected voids through which rain and storm water is permitted
to percolate into the aquifer. It consists of cement, coarse aggregate, some percentage of fine
aggregate and water. Pervious concrete is an environmental friendly building material and EPA
(Environmental Protection agency) has identified it as a Best Management Practice (BMP) for
storm water Management. It can be used for lower traffic roads, shoulders, sidewalks and
parking lots. This will add points to a project with a sustainable material managing storm water,
reducing ground water pollution. Cement paste in permeable concrete is very thin layer which
binds coarse aggregate. Porous concrete tends to fail at the binder interface between the
aggregate and its results in the low compressive strength (Yang and Jiang, 2003).

Research Question

Cement is not environmental friendly, so in order to maximize this fly ash can be used as a
substitute. Fly ash is of low cost and produces a higher strength in concrete mixtures. This
research focuses on increasing the amount of fly ash and lowering the amount of cement used.

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What will be the proportion of cement to fly ash which will yield the most effective porous
concrete mixture?

Aims and objectives

To determine the effect of material proportions on the engineering properties by using fly ash.
The main objective is to investigate the performance characteristics of the porous concrete such
as porosity, compressive strength. How the effects of varying the aggregate size affect the
strength of the concrete.

The study covers the simple use of pervious concrete as pavement material in the construction of
pedestrian walkways and parking lots

Methodology

To investigate the main properties of pervious concrete having fly ash used as a partial
replacement for Portland cement, experimental research is to be conducted to determine the
density, the porosity, the compressive strength, the water permeability.

 Constituent used will be Ordinary portland cement, crushed gravel and water.

 Initially different sizes of aggregate will be obtained by sieve analysis. Fly ash will aslo
be sieved. Samples are made by using different ratios of cement and fly ash .Cubes of
150x150x150mm will be casted for each mix. These cubes will then be cured for 7days,
14days and 28days respectively.

 Testing will be carried out including-

Compression test- To determine the compressive strength of the sample.

Permeability test- To determine the amount of water absorbed by the sample.

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 Slump test

The results of the tests will be analysed and the most suitable mix proportion will be elected.

Reference

Yang, J., & Jiang, G. (2003). Experimental study on properties of pervious concrete pavement
materials.Cement and Concrete Research,33, 381–386.

Park, S.-B., & Tia, M. (2004). An experimental study on the water-purification properties of
porous concrete.Cement and Concrete Research,34, 177–184.

Chopra, M.M., Kakuturu, S., Ballock, C., Spence, S. and Wanielista, M.M. (2010): “Effect of
rejuvenation methods on the infiltration rates of pervious concrete pavements”, J. ASCE, 15(6),
pp. 426-433.1