Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Investigation of coal bottom ash and fly ash in concrete as replacement

for sand and cement
Mahdi Rafieizonooz a, Jahangir Mirza b, Mohd Razman Salim c,⇑, Mohd Warid Hussin b, Elnaz Khankhaje a
a
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
b
UTM Construction Research Centre (UTM CRC), Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
c
Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Security, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

h i g h l i g h t s

Concrete with bottom ash and fly ash added as replacement for sand and cement, respectively.

Compressive, flexural and tensile strengths of the concrete are determined.

Pulse velocity, drying shrinkage and micro-structural tests are performed.

Relationship between mechanical properties and pulse velocity is discussed.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Malaysia produces about 8.5 million tons of coal ash as waste which comprises of bottom ash and fly ash.
Received 26 January 2016 Reusing such waste which is otherwise sent to landfills is an environment-friendly option. Hence, the
Received in revised form 5 April 2016 major aim of this research study was to investigate their use in concrete to replace sand with bottom
Accepted 20 April 2016
ash waste and cement with fly ash. Concrete specimens were prepared incorporating 0, 20, 50, 75 and
Available online 30 April 2016
100% of bottom ash replacing sand and 20% of coal fly ash by mass, as a substitute for Ordinary
Portland cement. Fresh and hardened state properties of the experimental specimens were determined.
Keywords:
Results revealed that concrete workability reduced when bottom ash content increased replacing sand.
Coal ash
Concrete
On the other hand, at the early age of 28 d, no significant effect was observed in compressive, flexural
Mechanical properties and tensile strengths of all concrete samples. After curing at 91 and 180 d ages, compressive strength
UPV of both the experimental and control concrete samples increased significantly but remained almost sim-
SEM ilar. However, flexural and splitting tensile strengths of the experimental mix containing 75% bottom ash
Drying shrinkage and 20% fly ash exceeded much more than the control sample. Moreover, drying-shrinkage of experimen-
tal concrete mixtures containing 50%, 75% and 100% bottom ash and 20% fly ash was lower than the con-
trol mix. It is concluded that those experimental concrete mixes can be used in several structures
(foundations, sub-bases, pavements, etc.) which will minimize the cost, energy and environmental prob-
lems to a great extent.
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction enormous utilization of concrete calls for higher use of natural

Concrete is one of the most important materials in building con-
struction and other infrastructure works. About 2.7 billion m3 of
concrete was generated in 2002 worldwide, which is more than
0.4 m3 of concrete generated per person once a year [1]. It is antic-
ipated that the need for concrete will increase further to almost
7.5 billion m3 (about 18 billion tons) a year by 2050 [2] . Such an
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mohdrazman@utm.my (M.R. Salim).
aggregates and cement, thus taking toll on the environment. At
least three-quarters of the total volume of concrete consists of
coarse and fine aggregates. Obviously, natural resources such as
river sand are getting depleted [3]. The prohibition on mining in
some areas and the growing need for natural environment conser-
vation further exacerbate the problem of river sand availability.
Finding new alternative materials for sustainable development
so as to substantially decrease the consumption of natural
resources became imperative to safeguard the interests of future
generations. High consumption of natural resources led to greater
amount of industrial wastes and environmental degradation [4].

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.04.080
0950-0618/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
16 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24
Such factors have driven researchers to come up with solutions
leading to much needed sustainable development.
Coal fired thermal power plants have created tremendous vol-
umes of coal bottom ash (CBA) and coal fly ash (CFA) (20–80%
respectively) for years. CBA and CFA are by-products of pulverized
coal combustion. Using them together, increase the use of disposal
wastes which can reduce the environmental impact.
The projected forecast for electricity usage in peninsular Malay-
sia will be produced from coal and gas (58% and 25%) by the year
2024. Even though some difference exists between these figures
and those of 2014, it appears that dependence on fossil fuels may
be reduced but won’t be eliminated altogether. In fact coal con-
sumption will likely mount from 43% to 58% [5]. As mentioned ear-
lier, electricity production in Malaysia leads to a whopping amount
of coal fly ash (CFA) some 6.8 million tons and coal bottom ash
(CBA) roughly 1.7 million tons. While CFA is being used to manufac-
ture pozzolanic Portland cement, CBA is not commonly used at all.
The coal ash content depends upon the non-combustible matter
present in coal. Rock detritus filled in the fissures of coal becomes
separated from the coal during pulverization. In the furnace, car-
bon and other combustible matter burn, whereas the non-
combustible matter results in coal ash. Swirling air carries ash par-
ticles out of hot zone where it cools down. CBA displaced from
under the furnace accounts for nearly 20% which is directed to sus-
pension ponds that take over several acres of countryside land.
The particle size distribution and appearance of CBA is compa-
rable to that of river sand. CBA is comprised of mostly silica, iron
and alumina, trace amount of sulphate, magnesium, and calcium,
etc. These chemical constituents in and grading of CBA make it
more feasible for the production of concrete. It has been substanti-
ated by previous researchers who came up with quite reassuring
results when CBA was used partially or totally replacing sand in
concrete because of its fine aggregate quality.
The flue gases carry away the finer and lighter ash particles. In
the electrostatic precipitators installed prior to the stack, the ash
particles are extracted from the flue gases. The coal ash obtained
from the electrostatic precipitators is termed as CFA. It is used in
construction industry worldwide as cement substitute in concrete
and in the generation of cement as additive mineral in huge quan-
tity. Using different sources of supplementary cementing materials
(SCMs), especially CFA could lead to sharp reduction in overall CO2
footprint related to the final concrete production [6]. The use of
CFA in concrete has proven to improve long term strength and
workability.
There have been a substantial number of studies on concrete
production incorporating coal ash either as cement replacements,
fine and coarse aggregate. Cheriaf et al. [7] studied the pozzolanic
property of CBA and found that strength activity indexes of CBA
with Ordinary Portland cement at 28 d and 90 d of hydration were
higher than that specified in European code EN 450 for pozzolanic
material to be used in concrete. Their findings confirm that CBA has
pozzolanic property and is suitable for use in concrete manufactur-
ing. It was also reported that [8] CBA can be used as aggregates
(fine and coarse) in high-strength concrete. They studied the work-
ability and mechanical properties of high-strength concrete and
found that CBA had more effect on the flexural strength than com-
pressive strength. Singh and Siddique [9] in their review reported
that CBA is a potential substitute material for sand in concrete.
Singh and Siddique [10] also investigated the properties of con-
crete incorporating high volume of CBA as sand replacement. They
found that at 28 d of curing, pulse velocity and compressive
strength were not affected by CBA used in concrete. Aggarwal
and Siddique [11] investigated the microstructure and properties
of concrete containing CBA and waste foundry sand as replacement
of natural sand in concrete. Singh and Siddique [12] studied the
drying shrinkage and compressive strength of concrete containing
CBA as total or partial replacement of fine aggregate. They reported
that after 90 d of curing period, the compressive strength of CBA
concrete outstripped that of normal concrete. Moreover, they
found that drying shrinkage of CBA concrete mixtures reduced
with increase in CBA content in concrete.
Concrete made with low calcium CBA as a replacement of river
sand displayed strength properties comparable to that of conven-
tional concrete [13]. The major gain from CBA as fine aggregate
in concrete is reduced dead weight of structure as well as allevia-
tion of environmental hazards. Due to low specific gravity of CBA,
concrete made with it has low density as compared to control con-
crete. Sua-iam and Makul [14] have reported that the use of waste
materials either as cement supplementary material or as sand
replacement in concrete can result in cost savings and help in
reducing the environmental problems. Topçu et al. [15] observed
that CBA can be used in production of durable geopolymer con-
crete without cement.
Limited research studies have been reported on mechanical
properties, microstructure, drying shrinkage and pulse velocity of
concrete containing both CBA as fine aggregate and CFA as cement
replacement.
The objective of current research work was to investigate the
effects of using CBA and CFA as replacement of sand and cement,
respectively, on the compressive, tensile and flexural strength
properties of concrete. They were then compared with those of
normal concrete. The materials chosen were carefully studied with
respect to their properties such as fineness modulus, specific grav-
ity, particle size distribution and chemical composition. Moreover,
the effect of using CBA and CFA on microstructure, drying shrink-
age and pulse velocity properties of fly ash-bottom ash concrete
mixtures were also investigated in this study. The long-term dura-
bility properties of fly ash-bottom ash concrete may be analysed in
future study.
2. Experimental program
2.1. Materials
Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) used in this research achieved the require-
ments of ASTM C150-07 [16]. The chemical compositions of OPC, CFA and CBA
are given in Table 1. OPC used had a blain surface area, specific gravity, soundness,
initial and final setting times of 3990 cm2/g, 3.15, 1.0 mm, 125 min and 210 min,
respectively. A single source of CFA conforming to ASTM C618-15 [17] was obtained
from Tanjung Bin coal power plant located in Johor, Malaysia. CFA was used as 20%
replacement of OPC in all fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures with specific grav-
ity, blain fineness and soundness of 2.45, 3450 cm2/g and 1.0 mm, respectively.
The FESEM image shows that CFA has spherical and regular shape and smaller
particles compared to CBA (Fig. 1). Chemical analysis showed that CFA is mostly
composed of Silica, Iron, and Alumina. The percentage sum of SiO2, Al2O3 and
Fe2O3 in CFA is about 78.82% showing that it is a Class F according to ASTM
C618-15 [17].
Sand was collected from Sungai Sayong River quarry near Johor, Malaysia. The
sand used in this research was as per the specification of ASTM C778-13 [18] and
was graded in accordance with the specification of ASTM C33/C33M-13 [19]. The
results of fineness modulus, water absorption and specific gravity of this River sand
are presented in Table 2.
Coal bottom ash (CBA) was collected from Tanjung Bin coal power thermal plant
Johor, Malaysia. Particle size distribution of CBA and river sand are shown in Fig. 2.
CBA was graded in accordance with the specification of ASTM C33/C33M-13 [19]. In
this research, CBA was sieved through 4.75 mm sieve before use as replacement of
sand. The chemical properties of CBA are presented in Table 1. The chemical anal-
ysis of CBA was carried out using XRF. The chemical analysis shows that CBA is
mostly comprised of Silica, Iron and Alumina with small quantities of Sulphate,
Magnesium and Calcium etc. Summation of the percentage of SiO2, Al2O3 and
Fe2O3 present in CBA was 83.24%. Loss on Ignition (LOI) of CBA was less than
0.1%. The physical properties of CBA are shown in Table 2.
Fig. 3 shows the FESEM image of CBA. The FESEM image shows that CBA has
irregular and spherical shaped, porous particles and complicated texture. Fig. 4 pre-
sents three different sizes of CBA; coarse, fine and ultrafine CBA.
The crushed stone aggregate was obtained from Bukit Namu quarry. The phys-
ical properties of coarse aggregate are mentioned in Table 2 below. The maximum
size of coarse aggregate was 20 mm.
 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24 17

Table 1
Chemical composition of cement, CFA and CBA.

Material SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO Na2O K2O TiO2 P2O5 MnO SO3 BaO LOI
Cement 20.4 5.20 4.19 62.39 1.55 – 0.005 – – – 2.11 – 2.36
CFA 47.6 23.8 7.42 10.7 1.50 2.16 1.68 2.92 1.16 0.120 0.759 0.154 –
CBA 45.3 18.1 19.84 8.70 0.969 – 2.48 3.27 0.351 0.248 0.352 0.311 –

Fig. 1. FESEM image of CFA.

Table 2 strength and 75 mm  285 mm prism specimen for drying shrinkage of concrete
Physical properties of CBA, river sand and coarse aggregate. mixtures. 100 mm  100 mm  500 mm size beams were cast to determine the
flexural strength of concrete. The specimens were demoulded after 24 ± 1 h of add-
Material Specific gravity Water absorption Fineness modulus ing water to concrete mixture and were water cured at room temperature up to a
CBA 1.88 11.61 3.44 specified age of the test. The casting and curing of samples were performed in
River sand 2.62 7.4 2.67 accordance with the specification of BS EN 12390-02 [21].
Coarse aggregate 2.69 0.61 6.48

2.4. Testing procedure

CBA Sand Compressive strength of concrete samples was determined at 7 d, 28 d, 91 d and

100 180 d curing age as per BS EN 12390-03 [22]. The dry cubes with well saturated sur-
90 face were subjected to 3000 kN compression testing machine. A consistent load was
then applied to all the experimental specimens without any shock, thereby adding
80
Percent passing (%)

more at the rate of 5.0 kN/s till the samples couldn’t take it. Flexural strength under
70 four point loading was assessed at 7 d, 28 d, 91 d and 180 d curing as per BS EN
60 12390-05 [23] using beams of 100 mm  100 mm  500 mm.
50 Splitting tensile strength of cylinders (100 mm  200 mm), at the age of 7 d,
40 28 d, 91 d, and 180 d was determined as per ASTM C496-11 [24]. Pulse velocity
through concrete was determined at 7 d, 28 d, 91 d and 180 d of curing age as
30
per procedure ASTM C597-09 [25]. Battery operated Portable Ultrasonic Non-
20 destructive Digital Indicating Tester was used to measure the pulse velocity
10 through concrete. The pulse velocity (V) is calculated by dividing the length of
0 the specimen (L) by transit time (T). Shrinkage due to drying of concrete mixtures
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 was evaluated as per ASTM: C157/C157M-08 [26]. It was measured on
75 mm  285 mm prism specimen in one direction; using stainless steel pins fixed
Particle size (mm)
over 100 mm gauge length on two opposite long sides. Test specimens were kept in
upright position in the drying storage room. The comparator readings were
Fig. 2. Grading curve of CBA and sand.
acquired after curing of 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, 28 d, 60 d, 91 d, 120 d, 150 d and 180 d of
air storage.
2.2. Mix proportions

Initially, sixteen batches of concrete with different percentages of CBA as fine

aggregate and CFA as cement were prepared. As a result of initial samples’ compres-
sive strength and workability, concrete with 20% of CFA as cement replacement and
different percentage of CBA as fine aggregate were selected for further analysis. Sat-
urated Surface Dry (SSD) CBA and river sand was used and fixed quantity of water to
cement ratio (w/c) was added in all of the concrete mixtures. The CBA was used by
mass in concrete as river sand replacement. The effective w/c was 0.55 for all cases.
The amount of cement (375 kg/m3) and the range of slump (6–18 cm) were the
same for all manufactured concretes. The British (DOE) [20] method was used to
calculate the mixture proportions shown in Table 3.
2.3. Casting and curing of specimens
Concrete cubes of 100 mm  100 mm  100 mm sizes were cast to determine
the compressive strength, water absorption, density and pulse velocity. Cylindrical
specimens of size 100 mm  200 mm were cast to determine the split tensile
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Workability
The workability of fresh concrete is a multiple issue which
includes the diverse requirements of compatibility, stability, and
mobility. Using industrial by-products in concrete as total or par-
tial substitute of sand by CBA mixed with a partial substitute of
cement paste by CFA could affect the fresh concrete properties of
the mix. Slump is a measure indicating the consistency or worka-
bility of concrete. The effect of CFA as cement replacement and
CBA as replacement of sand in concrete mixtures on slump values
with similar w/c, are tabulated in Table 3.
18 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24

Fig. 3. FESEM image of CBA.

Fig. 4. Different size of CBA.

Table 3
Mix proportion.

Codes Mix proportions (Kg/m3) Slump (mm)

Cement Fine aggregate W (w/c = 0.55) Coarse aggregate
% of CFA CFA Cement % of CBA CBA Sand
Control 0 0 375 0 0 780 205 1035 73
FBC1 20 75 300 25 141 585 205 1035 92
FBC2 20 75 300 50 281 390 205 1035 76
FBC3 20 75 300 75 422 195 205 1035 53
FBC4 20 75 300 100 562 0 205 1035 37

Slump values of control mix C0, FBC1, FBC2, FBC3 and FBC4
were 73 mm, 92 mm, 76 mm, 53 mm and 37 mm, respectively.
Since the CBA is known to possess much higher water absorption
ratio in comparison to river sand particles, some water is absorbed
internally by the porous CBA particles. Up to 50% replacement level
of CBA, fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures FBC1 and FBC2 dis-
played more increase in slump values as compared to that of con-
trol mix C0. It may be because of existence of CFA with low
percentage of CBA (less than 50%) in these concrete mixtures. On
the other hand, by increasing CBA content in fly ash-bottom ash
concrete mixtures FBC3 and FBC4, considerable decrease occurred
in slump values as compared to C0 mix control concrete. Moreover,
Fig. 2 shows that particles of CBA carry rough texture and irregular
shape. Use of CBA as fine aggregate actually enhances the con-
crete’s texture with many more irregular and fine-shaped, porous
particles that are usually very rough. Hence, it enhances the inter
particle friction which is responsible for obstructing the flow of
fresh concrete. Therefore, for fixed w/c, the workability of concrete
reduces with increasing use of CBA as replacement of river sand.
These results are comparable to those reported by Singh and Sid-
dique [13]. Bong et al. [27] also obtained similar trend showing
reduced workability of concrete containing CBA.
3.2. Compressive strength
Compressive strength test results are illustrated in Fig. 5. It is
evident that compressive strength development pattern for fly
ash-bottom ash concrete after curing, is almost the same as that
of control concrete. At curing period of 7 d, compressive strength
of FBC mixtures reduced with increase in CBA content as substitute
of sand. At curing period of 7 d, fly ash-bottom ash mixture FBC1
(25% CBA – 20% CFA) achieved 90.1%, FBC2 (50% CBA – 20% CFA)
achieved 81.4%, FBC3 (75% CBA – 20% CFA) achieved 77.2% and
FBC4 (100% CBA – 20% CFA) achieved 74.2% compressive strength
of control concrete mix C0. With increase in curing age, compres-
sive strength of control concrete increased at a slower rate than
the experimental mixtures. At 28 d curing age, compressive
strength of the experimental mixtures namely, FBC1, FBC2, FBC3
 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24
Control
40
35
Compressive strength (MPa)
30
25
20
15
10
0
7 28
Fig. 5. Variation of compressive strength with age for C0 and FBC mixes.
and FBC4 was lower than that of control concrete. Compressive
strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures FBC1, FBC2,
FBC3 and FBC4 was 26.49 MPa, 26.33 MPa, 25.01 MPa and
24.59 MPa respectively, as compared to 31.03 MPa of control con-
crete mixture. At curing period of 91 d, fly ash-bottom ash concrete
mixture FBC1 gained 96.98%, FBC2 gained 100.2%, FBC3 gained
99.18%, and FBC4 gained 98.17% compressive strength of the con-
trol specimen. It can be easily deduced that significant compression
strength of the experimental mixtures at 28 d maturity was attribu-
table to pozzolanic activity of CBA and CFA. Cheriaf et al. [7] and
Singh and Siddique (2015) observed that the consumption of port-
landite by pozzolanic action of CBA between 28 d and 91 d was
notable. At curing age of 91 d, the Scanning Electron Micrographs
(SEM) of concrete mixtures FBC1, FBC2, FBC 3 and FBC4 (Fig. 6) con-
firm increase in number and size of voids when CBA is used in con-
crete. The encircled portions in micrographs represent the voids
and the rest is calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel, calcium hydrox-
ide crystals (CH), ettringite (E) and aggregate. Low portlandite crys-
tals are seen in SEM images of fly ash-bottom ash concrete
mixtures. Both the SEM images of control and fly ash-bottom ash
concrete mixtures show C-S-H gel formation.
As shown in Fig. 6, fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures FBC1,
FBC2, FBC 3 and FBC4, C-S-H gel is not as monolithic and compact
as in control concrete mixture. Formation of an imprecise C-S-H gel
and higher percentage of voids in fly ash-bottom ash concrete mix-
tures might have affected their compressive strength at early cur-
ing age. At curing period of 91 d and 180 d, the fine spread of C-S-H
gel and formation of extra C-S-H gel due to consumption of port-
landite by pozzolanic action of CBA and CFA resulted in higher
compressive strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures. At
180 d curing age, fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures FBC1,
FBC2, FBC 3 and FBC4 gained compressive strength 99.73%,
100.27%, 101.92% and 100.49% respectively of control concrete.
At curing period of 180 d, all the experimental concrete mixtures
with the exception of FBC3, exhibited the compressive strength
much like the control concrete mix C0.
The outcomes of present research work are comparable to that
reported by Singh and Siddique [12], Kim and Lee [8] and Ghafoori
and Bucholc [28] who also found no significant change in compres-
sive strength with the utilization of CBA as replacement of sand in
concrete.
3.3. Flexural strength
Flexural strength test data showed that all fly ash-bottom ash
concrete mixtures showed almost similar strength as compared
19
FBC1 FBC2 FBC3 FBC4
91 180
Age (days)
to that of reference control mix C0. The values obtained for flexural
strength are shown in Fig. 7. Similar to splitting tensile strength,
flexural strength of concrete mixes varied slightly with the
increase in CBA content. At 7 d curing age, fly ash-bottom ash con-
crete mixtures FBC1, FBC2, FBC 3 and FBC4 gained flexural strength
99.43%, 99.81%, 98.11% and 94.75% respectively of control mix C0.
The 28-day flexural strength of control mix C0 was observed as
3.98 MPa, whereas mixes FBC1, FBC2, FBC3 and FBC4 achieved
92.11%, 94.58%, 103.06% and 96.33% of control mix C0 respectively.
At curing period of 91 d, flexural strength of fly ash-bottom ash
concrete mixtures FBC1 and FBC2 was slightly lower than that of
control concrete mix C0. On the other hand, flexural strength of
mixtures FBC3 and FBC4 was slightly higher than that of control
concrete at same age of curing time. The same trend was observed
at the age of 180 d with FBC1, FBC2, FBC3 and FBC4 and achieved
94.83%, 99.07%, 105.51% and 103.05% of control concrete
respectively.
From the results given in Fig. 7, it is also evident that flexural
strength of fly ash-bottom ash mixes increased with age. The delay
in hydration and slow pozzolanic activity of CFA and CBA at early
curing period may be the possible explanation for decrease in flex-
ural strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete at earlier ages. At cur-
ing period of 91 d and 180 d, the fine spread of C-S-H gel and
formation of extra C-S-H gel due to consumption of portlandite
by pozzolanic action of CBA and CFA resulted in higher flexural
strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures with high
amount of CBA as fine aggregate. The outcomes of present research
work are comparable to that reported by Singh et al. [29].
3.4. Tensile strength
The results of splitting tensile strength of fly ash-bottom ash
mixes are summarized in Fig. 8. The decrease of 3.55%, 8.87%,
and 5.32% in tensile strength was observed for the mixes FBC1,
FBC2 and FBC4 and increase of 1.99% was observed for the mix
FBC3 at 7 d age curing time with regards to control mix C0. Simi-
larly, at age of 28 d curing period, the decrease of 9.76%, 14.88%
and 2.48% for mixes FBC1, FBC2 and FBC4 was observed with
increase of 4.96% for the mix FBC3 in comparison to the control
mix C0. The decrease of 2.88% and 4.09% for FBC1 and FBC2 mixes
was observed at age of 91 d curing period, with increase of 23.67%
and 11.21% for the FBC3 and FBC4 mixes in comparison to the con-
trol mix C0. Similarly, at age of 180 d curing time, the decrease of
1.29% and 2.51% for mixes FBC1 and FBC2 was observed with
increase of 24.07% and 12.68% for the mixes FBC3 and FBC4 in com-
parison to the control mix C0.
20 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24

FBC1

FBC2

FBC3

FBC4
Fig. 6. Scanning Electron Micrographs (SEM) of concrete mixtures FBC1, FBC2, FBC3 and FBC4 at 90 d of curing age.
 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24 21

Control FBC1 FBC2 FBC3 FBC4

6

Flexural strength (MPa)

4

0
7 28 91 180
Age (days)

Fig. 7. Variation of flexural strength with age for C0 and FBC mixes.

Control FBC1 FBC2 FBC3 FBC4

4.5
4.0
3.5
Tensile strength (MPa)

3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
7 28 91 180
Age (days)

Fig. 8. Variation of tensile strength with age for C0 and FBC mixes.

curing period of 7 d, the pulse velocity values of all experimental

Table 4
Pulse velocity through concrete mixtures.
concrete mixtures were surely found to be lower than that of con-
trol concrete mix. The pulse velocity values through the concrete
Mix Pulse velocity (m/s) Concrete quality grading as per
mixtures FBC1, FBC2 FBC3 and FBC4 were lower by 1.19%, 1.34%,
Neville 2012
0.15% and 0.62% respectively in comparison to the control mix
7d 28 d 91 d 180 d Pulse velocity Concrete quality C0. At 28 d of curing age, the pulse velocity of mixtures FBC1 and
C0 4021 4209 4313 4387 Less than 3000 Doubtful FBC2 when compared to the control mix C0, decreased by 3.61%
FBC1 3973 4057 4218 4326 3000–3500 Medium and 3.16% respectively. Whereas, the pulse velocity through the
FBC2 3967 4076 4263 4354 3500–4500 Good
FBC3 4015 4204 4339 4412 Above 4500 Excellent
concrete mixtures FBC3 and FBC4 over that of control mix C0 were
FBC4 3996 4186 4301 4389 0.12% and 0.55% respectively. Pulse velocity of bottom ash concrete
mixtures increased with age as well as with the increase in CBA
content.
At 7 d and 28 d, all fly ash-bottom ash mixes showed the tensile Comparing pulse velocity values obtained in this study with
strength lower than C0 mix except FBC3. However, as the age pulse velocity values given in Neville [30], the quality of concrete
increased to 91 d and 180 d, all mixes showed almost comparable made with CBA and CFA can be graded as good. The difference in
tensile strengths to that of control mix C0. It could have been a pulse velocity values for all ages of maturing were less than
result of fine spread of C-S-H gel and extra C-S-H gel due to con- 3.61%. Higher values of pulse velocities obtained in this study indi-
sumption of portlandite by pozzolanic action of CFA and CBA in cated that the quality of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures was
concrete with high amount of CBA as sand replacement. The out- good in terms of density, homogeneity and uniformity. At curing
come of present study corroborated with Aggarwal and Siddique period of 91 d, the pulse velocity values for concrete mixtures
[11] and Singh and Siddique [13]. FBC1, FBC2 and FBC4 were lower by 2.20%, 1.16% and 0.28% respec-
tively when compared to the control mix C0. On the other hand,
the pulse velocity values for FBC3 were higher by 0.60% compared
3.5. Pulse velocity
to that of control mix C0. Significant decrease in permeable pore
space in fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures resulted in higher
Table 4 illustrates the effect of CFA and CBA on pulse velocity
values of pulse velocities. At curing period of 180 d, the pulse
through fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures evaluated on the
velocity values for fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixture FBC1,
basis of percentage decrease/increase over that of control mix. At
22 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24

FBC2 and FBC3 increased by 6.63%, 6.82% and 5.09% respectively. In 5.5
case of FBC4 the values increased by 4.85% over pulse velocity val-
5.0
ues at curing period of 28 d as compared to 4.22% increase seen for

Flexural strength (MPa)

y = 0.0525e1.0297x
control mix C0. 4.5 R² = 0.953
Fig. 9 shows the relationship between compressive strength and
4.0
ultrasonic pulse velocity of concrete obtained in the study. The
equation showing the relationships between compressive strength 3.5
(fcu) and the ultrasonic pulse velocity (V), together with the coeffi- 3.0
cients of determination (R2) derived is given below. The empirical
parameters of the equation obtained from the present research 2.5
work are almost similar to that reported by Singh and Siddique 2.0
[10] for CBA concrete and P. Turgut [31] for normal concrete. How- 3.9 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5
ever, the coefficient of determination R2 is higher than the one Pulse velocity (km/s)
reported by them. Higher value of coefficient of determination
indicates good relevance between the regression curve and data Fig. 10. Relationship between flexural strength and pulse velocity.
points.

f cu ¼ 0:0111e1:8593V R2 ¼ 0:8556 ðAuthorÞ 4.0

f cu ¼ 1:0741e0:8102V R2 ¼ 0:9493 ½10 3.5

Tensile strength (MPa)

y = 0.0048e1.4882x
R² = 0.9331
3.0
f cu ¼ 1:146e0:77V R2 ¼ 0:80 ½31
where 2.5
V = Pulse velocity in km/s.
2.0
fcu = Compressive strength of cube in MPa.
1.5
Fig. 10 shows the relationship between flexural strength and
ultrasonic pulse velocity of concrete. The equation showing the 1.0
relationships between flexural strength (ff) and the ultrasonic 3.9 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5
pulse velocity (V), together with the coefficients of determination Pulse velocity (km/s)
(R2) derived is given below.
Fig. 11. Relationship between tensile strength and pulse velocity.
f f ¼ 0:0525e1:0297V R2 ¼ 0:953
where
V = Pulse velocity in km/s. Control F G H I
600
ff = Flexural strength of concrete in MPa.
Drying shrinkage (×10 -6 )

500
Fig. 11 shows the relationship between tensile strength and
ultrasonic pulse velocity of concrete. The equation showing the 400
relationships between tensile strength (ft) and the ultrasonic pulse
velocity (V), together with the coefficients of determination (R2) 300
derived is given below.
200
f t ¼ 0:0048e1:4882V R2 ¼ 0:9331
100
where
V = Pulse velocity in km/s. 0
0 50 100 150 200
ft = Tensile strength of concrete in MPa.
Age (days)

Fig. 12. Variation of drying shrinkage with age for C0 and FBC mixes.

45
3.6. Drying shrinkage
Compressive strength (MPa)

40
y = 0.0111e1.8593x The result of drying shrinkage performance of control concrete
35 R² = 0.8556
and fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures are shown in Fig. 12. At
30 constant w/c, the amount of porous particles in concrete increases
25 with the increase of CBA quantity, that gradually allows the water
content to flow during the drying process of concrete and there-
20 fore, cause decreased drying shrinkage. It has been surmised that
15 the porosity of CBA results in decreased drying shrinkage of con-
crete. Hence it exerted reduced shrinkage strain on the drying pro-
10
3.9 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 cess of experimental mixtures. The shrinkage strains of concrete
mixtures FBC1, FBC2, FBC3 and FBC4 were 361.38  106,
Pulse velocity (km/s)
324.77  106, 334.32  106 and 222.88  106 respectively at
Fig. 9. Relationship between compressive strength and pulse velocity. 28 d of maturity. Nevertheless, shrinkage strain of control mix C0
 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24 23

was 369.97  106 at the same curing age. At 91 d drying age, the 4.0
shrinkage strains of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures FBC1,

Tensile strength (MPa)

3.5
FBC2, FBC3 and FBC4 were 469.64  106, 450.54  106, y = 1.1231e0.0283x
394.02  106 and 296.11  106 respectively. On the other hand, 3.0 R² = 0.8579
the control mix C0’s shrinkage was 462.75  106. At 180 d of dry-
2.5
ing period, fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures FBC2, FBC3 and
FBC4 experienced 4.26%, 15.77%, and 37.89% respectively lower 2.0
shrinkage strain as compared to control mix C0. Moreover, the
1.5
experimental mixture FBC1 containing 25% CBA as replacement
of sand and 20% CFA as cement replacement experienced 1.54% 1.0
more shrinkage than that of control mix C0. In fact, the drying 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
shrinkage of all experimental mixtures, with the exception of Compressive strength (MPa)
FBC1 mixture, were recorded lower than the control concrete
Fig. 14. Relationship between compressive and tensile strength.
mix C0 during all the tests’ drying age. These results are compara-
ble to Singh and Siddique [12], Ghafoori and Bucholc [28,32] and
Kou and Poon’s [33] work. All of them have reported that in the 4.0
given slump range, drying shrinkage standards of all the experi- y = 0.5662e0.3708x
3.5
mental mixes were lower than the control concrete. R² = 0.9573

Tensile strength (MPa)

3.0
4. Relationship between compressive, flexural and tensile
strength 2.5

2.0
Fig. 13 demonstrates the relation between flexural and com-
pressive strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures. The 1.5
equation showing the relationship between compressive and flex-
ural strength together with the coefficients of determination R2 1.0
2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5
obtained from the present research is given below.
Flexural strength (MPa)
f f ¼ 2:2335e0:0202f cu R2 ¼ 0:9337
Fig. 15. Relationship between tensile and flexural strength.
where
ff = Flexural strength in MPa. f t ¼ 0:5662e0:3708f f R2 ¼ 0:9573
fcu = Compressive strength of cube in MPa. where
2
ft = Splitting tensile strength in MPa
The elevated coefficient of determination R points to favour- ff = Flexural strength of cube in MPa
able relationship between regression curve and data points.
Fig. 14 demonstrates the association of compressive and split- 5. Conclusions
ting tensile strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures. The
equation showing the relationship between compressive and split The outcome of present experimental research work led to the
tensile strength together with the coefficients of determination R2 following conclusions:
derived from test results of the present research is given below.
1. CBA shows low density, high water absorption, irregular and
f t ¼ 1:1231e0:0283f cu R2 ¼ 0:8579
spherical shaped and complicated texture. On the other hand,
where due to suitable particle size distribution of CBA it can be con-
ft = Splitting tensile strength in MPa. cluded that it is possible to utilize CBA as a fine aggregate sub-
fcu = Compressive strength of cube in MPa. stitute for natural sand.
2. The workability of fly ash-bottom ash concrete was reduced due
Fig. 15 demonstrates the relation between flexural and splitting to the utilization of CBA as total or partial substitute of fine
tensile strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures. The equa- aggregate in concrete. The descending values of experimental
tion showing the relationship between spilt tensile and flexural concrete mix showed a downswing at fixed w/c, with increase
strength together with the coefficients of determination R2 is given in CBA content as substitute of sand in concrete. The CBA parti-
below. cles are found to have rough texture and irregular shape. Use of
CBA as fine aggregate actually enhances the concrete’s texture
5.5
with many more irregular and fine-shaped, porous particles
Flexural strength (MPa)

5.0 y = 2.2335e 0.0202x that are usually very rough. It, therefore, enhances the inter par-
R² = 0.9337 ticle friction which is responsible for obstructing the flow of
4.5
fresh concrete.
4.0
3. The phenomenon of compressive strength development of fly
3.5 ash-bottom ash concrete with curing period is almost similar
3.0 to that of control concrete. At curing age of 7 d there was con-
2.5 siderable reduction in compressive strength in all fly ash-
bottom ash concrete mixtures compared with that of control
2.0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 concrete. With progress in curing period, considerable increase
Compressive strength (MPa) in compressive strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mix-
tures was noticed. It can be concluded with some certainty that
Fig. 13. Relationship between compressive and flexural strength. notable increase in compressive strength of fly ash-bottom ash
24 M. Rafieizonooz et al. / Construction and Building Materials 116 (2016) 15–24
concrete mixtures after 28 d curing period, was because of poz-
zolanic activity of CBA and CFA. At curing period of 91 d, com-
pressive strength of fly ash-bottom ash concrete mixtures was
almost the same as the control concrete and after 180 d, it
exceeded compare to control concrete.
4. Increase in curing age resulted in flexural strength of fly ash-
bottom ash mixes to rise at a higher rate than of control con-
crete. The delay in hydration and slow pozzolanic activity of
CFA and CBA at early curing period may be the possible expla-
nation for decrease noted in flexural strength of fly ash-bottom
ash concrete at earlier ages. Flexural strength of these mixtures
got better at 91 d maturing and 180 d on use of CBA as partial or
total replacement of fine aggregate. At the age of 180 d mixtures
of FBC3 and FBC4 achieved 5.51% and 3.05% higher flexural
strength as compared to the control concrete respectively.
5. The same trend of flexural strength was observed for the split-
ting tensile durability of the experimental mixtures in all curing
ages. At 7 d and 28 d, all fly ash-bottom ash mixes showed the
tensile strength lower than C0 mix except FBC3, but as the age
increased to 91 d and 180 d, all mixes showed almost compara-
ble tensile strengths to that of control mix C0. At the age of
180 d, mixtures of FBC3 and FBC4 achieved 24.07% and 12.68%
higher split tensile strength than that of control concrete
respectively.
6. With increase in curing, pulse velocity through fly ash-bottom
ash mixes increased at a higher rate than control concrete.
The pulse velocity results of this study were in line with flexural
and split tensile strength results. The relationship derived from
this research work presents good agreement between flexural
and split tensile strength and pulse velocity. This can be used
to calculate approximately the flexural and split tensile
strength of concrete.
7. Concrete mixtures incorporating CBA as fine aggregate for par-
tial or total replacement of natural sand, displayed better
dimensional stability. It is, therefore, obvious that the porous
particle structure of CBA is beneficial for decreasing the drying
shrinkage of concrete. At 180 d of drying period, fly ash-bottom
ash concrete mixtures FBC2, FBC3 and FBC4 experienced
21.79%, 34.62%, and 37.17% respectively less drying shrinkage
as compared to control mix C0.
Acknowledgement
Thanks for the financial support provided by Universiti Tekno-
logi Malaysia through the Ministry of Education Malaysia under
OTR grant, Vot. R.J1300000.7301.4B145. Appreciation is also to
the support given by the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) under the scheme of SATREPS Program (Science and Tech-
nology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development) for
the project Development of Low Carbon Society Scenarios for Asian
Region.
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