Strength and resistance to sulfate and sulfuric acid of ground fluidized bed combustion fly ash–silica fume alkali-activated composite

Fluidized bed combustion (FBC) is an environmentally friendly process for burning of coal and is used in many small factories located in urban area. The FBC fly ash is an environmental problem and needs good disposal or utilization. This research studied the strength and resistance to sulfate and acid of alkali-activated FBC fly ash–silica fume composite. The FBC fly ash was interground with silica fume (at the dosage levels of 1.5%, 3.75% and 5.0%) to make the source material homogenous with increased reactivity. Addition of silica fume enabled the adjustment of SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios (6.55-7.54) of composite and improved the strength and resistance to sulfate and acid of composite. The composite with 3.75% silica fume showed the optimum strength with 28-day compressive strength of 17.0 MPa. The compressive strengths of composite with 3.75% silica fume immersed in 5% magnesium sulfate solution and 3% sulfuric acid solutions were substantially higher than the control. The strength loss was from the high calcium content of FBC fly ash and incorporation of silica fume thus increased the durability of the composite.     

Hydration of high-volume fly ash cement pastes

The hydration processes of high-volume fly ash cement paste were investigated by examining the non-evaporable water content, the CH content, the pH of pore solution and the fraction of reacted fly ash, curing at either 20°C or elevated temperatures after an initial curing at 20°C. The replacement percentage levels of fly ash were 40%, 50% and 60% by weight, respectively. The results revealed that the non-evaporable water content in high-volume fly ash cement pastes does not develop as plain cement pastes does, so it may be improper to apply the non-evaporable water content to evaluate the hydration process in high-volume fly ash cement matrix. The reduction in CH content increases with the progressing of hydration process and varies linearly with the logarithm of curing age. The addition of 3.0% of Na₂SO₄ could accelerate the pozzolanic reaction of fly ash at early ages. At 20°C, the pH of pore solution of high-volume fly ash cement paste was reduced to a great extent at early ages and it continued to decline at later ages due to the inclusion of large amount of fly ashes. At elevated temperatures, however, this trend was not found. The fraction of reacted fly ash directly reflects the pozzolanic reactivity of fly ash both at normal and elevated temperatures. There is some inherent correlation between the reduction in CH content, the pH of pore solution and the fraction of reacted fly ash. For specified matrix, the consumption of CH and the pH of pore solutions change linearly with the increase of the fraction of reacted fly ash.     

Plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete incorporating mineral admixtures and its mitigation

In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the use of mineral admixtures for high performance and durable concrete. Plastic shrinkage cracking in such concretes is a serious concern in large surface area/volume applications. The present study has two objectives: firstly, to investigate the influence of incorporating fly ash and granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) on the susceptibility to such cracking; and secondly, to assess the techniques, such as fibre and shrinkage reducing admixture (SRA) addition, and spraying of curing compounds, to mitigate the cracking. The results indicate that replacement of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with fly ash and GGBS increases the possibility of plastic shrinkage cracking significantly, with higher severity as the replacement level increases; 30% replacement of OPC with fly ash and GGBS doubled and quadrupled the crack area, respectively, mainly due to higher binder finesses, and the delay of setting and strength gain. Among the fibres tested, polypropylene and polyester fibres, at the recommended dosages of about 0.9 kg/m³, completely eliminated cracking in the most affected concrete (i.e., with 30% GGBS) while the dosages of the polyacrylonitrile and glass fibres had to be increased to provide a higher volume fraction. Two glycol-based SRAs, and two curing compounds based on acrylic resin and methacrylate mitigated cracking by significantly reducing evaporation from the surface of concrete.     

Compressive and ultrasonic properties of polyester/fly ash composites

The addition of hollow fillers having appropriate mechanical properties can decrease the density of the resulting composite, called syntactic foams, while concurrently improving its mechanical properties. In this study, hollow fly ash particles, called cenospheres, are used as fillers in polyester matrix material. Cenospheres are a waste by-product of coal combustion and, as such, are available at very low cost. In this study, the composites were synthesized by settling cenospheres in a glass tube filled with liquid polyester resin and subsequently curing the resin. This process resulted in a functionally graded structure containing a gradient in the cenosphere volume fraction along the sample height. Uniform radial sections were cut from each composite and were characterized to observe the relationship between cenosphere volume fraction and compressive properties of the composite. The composite was also tested using ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation method. Results show that the modulus of the composites increases with increasing cenosphere volume fraction. The modulus of composites containing more than 4.9 vol% cenosphere was found to be higher than the matrix resin. In general, the modulus of composites increased from 1.33 to 2.1 GPa for composites containing from 4.9–29.5 vol% cenospheres. The specific strength of the composite was found to be as high as 2.03 MPa/(kg/m³) compared to 0.96 MPa/(kg/m³) for the neat resin. Numerous defects present in fly ash particles caused a reduction in the strength of the composite. However, the reduction in the strength was found to be only up to 22%. Increase of over 110% in the specific modulus and only a slight decrease in the strength indicates the possibility of significant saving of weight in the structures using polyester/fly ash syntactic foams.     

Microstructure and mechanical behavior of die casting AZ91D-Fly ash cenosphere composites

The feasibility of incorporating fly ash cenospheres in die cast magnesium alloy has been demonstrated. The effects of fly ash cenosphere additions on the microstructure and some of the salient physical and mechanical properties of magnesium alloy (AZ91D) metal matrix composites were investigated. The control AZ91D alloy and associated composites, containing 5, 10, and 15 wt.% of fly ash cenospheres (added), were synthesized using a die casting technique. A microstructural comparison showed that microstructural refinement – occurred due to the fly ash additions and became more pronounced with an increase in the percentage of the fly ash added. The metal matrix areas nearer to the fly ash particles exhibited a greater degree of refinement than was observed in the areas further away from these particles. Both filled and unfilled fly ash cenospheres, and porosity were observed in the composite microstructures. The composite specimen densities decreased and the coefficient of thermal expansion did not change significantly as the volume percent of fly ash was increased within the range investigated. The hardness values of the composite specimens exhibited an increase in proportion to the increase in percentage of added fly ash. The tensile strength of the composites also increased as the concentration of fly ash cenospheres was increased. In contrast, the Young’s modulus of these composite samples, as measured by non-destructive pulse-echo method, decreased as the percentage of fly ash in the composite was increased. SEM micrographs of the tensile fracture surfaces showed broken cenospheres on the fracture surface and evidence of ‘pull outs’, where fly ash particles were previously embedded in the matrix. Compression testing results showed that the presence of 5 wt.% cenospheres decreased the compressive strength and compressive yield strength of the composite relative to that of the AZ91D matrix alloy. Surprisingly, a significant change in compression strength was not observed for the composites with 10 and 15 wt.% cenospheres in comparison to the AZ91D matrix alloy. In contrast to the tensile tests, no cenosphere remnants were observed on the compressive test fracture surface of the composites. This observation suggests that the fracture of the composite was initiated within the AZ91D matrix by normal void nucleation and growth, followed by crack propagation through the matrix, avoiding any of the cenospheres, leading to composite fracture of the matrix.     

Influence of fibre type on flexural behaviour of self-compacting fibre reinforced cementitious composites

This paper investigates the flexural properties of self-compacting fibre reinforced cementitious composites that contain high fly ash volume. Seven types of fibres were compared at the same volume fraction and in similar matrices containing high-volume fly ash and having a high compressive strength of around 85 MPa at 28 days. Third-point bending test was conducted on beam specimens to obtain their load–deflection curves, and investigate their fracture behaviour, flexural strength, deflection and toughness. The results showed that using straight steel and micro-polyvinyl alcohol fibres produced composites demonstrating stable deflection-hardening with multiple-cracking phenomenon. This behaviour resulted in high flexural strength, along with large maximum deflection and toughness values, which are important for applications in cementitious composites. This study indicates that fibres with both sufficiently high aspect ratio and high tensile strength are necessary for achieving deflection-hardening in self-compacting cementitious composites with high-strength matrices containing high-volume fly ash.     

Utilization of ceramic waste as fine aggregate within Portland cement and fly ash concretes

The aim of this research work was to investigate the feasibility of using ceramic waste and fly ash to produce mortar and concrete. Ceramic waste fragments obtained from local industry were crushed and sieved to produce fine aggregates. The measured concrete properties demonstrate that while workability was reduced with increasing ceramic waste content for Portland cement concrete and fly ash concrete, the workability of the fly ash concrete with 100% ceramic waste as fine aggregate remained sufficient, in contrast to the Portland cement control concrete with 100% ceramic waste where close to zero slump was measured. The compressive strength of ceramic waste concrete was found to increase with ceramic waste content and was optimum at 50% for the control concrete, dropping when the ceramic waste content was increased beyond 50%. This was a direct consequence of having a less workable concrete. However, the compressive strength in the fly ash concrete increased with increasing ceramic waste content up to 100%. The benefits of using ceramic waste as fine aggregate in concrete containing fly ash were therefore verified.     

Compressive strength and chloride resistance of self-compacting concrete containing high level fly ash and silica fume

The influence of high-calcium fly ash and silica fume as a binary and ternary blended cement on compressive strength and chloride resistance of self-compacting concrete (SCC) were investigated in this study. High-calcium fly ash (40–70%) and silica fume (0–10%) were used to replace part of cement at 50, 60 and 70 wt.%. Compressive strength, density, volume of permeable pore space (voids) and water absorption of SCC were investigated. The total charge passed in coulombs was assessed in order to determine chloride resistance of SCC. The results show that binary blended cement with high level fly ash generally reduced the compressive strength of SCC at all test ages (3, 7, 28 and 90 days). However, ternary blended cement with fly ash and silica fume gained higher compressive strength after 7 days when compared to binary blended fly ash cement at the same replacement level. The compressive strength more than 60 MPa (high strength concrete) can be obtained when using high-calcium fly ash and silica fume as ternary blended cement. Fly ash decreased the charge passed of SCC and tends to decrease with increasing fly ash content, although the volume of permeable pore space (voids) and water absorption of SCC were increased. In addition when compared to binary blended cement at the same replacement level, the charge passed of SCC that containing ternary blended cement was lower than binary blended cement with fly ash only. This indicated that fly ash and silica fume can improve chloride resistance of SCC at high volume content of Portland cement replacement.     

Synthesis of fly ash particle reinforced A356 Al composites and their characterization

A356 Al–fly ash particle composites were fabricated using stir-cast technique and hot extrusion. Composites containing 6 and 12 vol.% fly ash particles were processed. Narrow size range (53–106 μm) and wide size range (0.5–400 μm) fly ash particles were used. Hardness, tensile strength, compressive strength and damping characteristics of the unreinforced alloy and composites have been measured. Bulk hardness, matrix microhardness, 0.2% proof stress of A356 Al–fly ash composites are higher compared to that of the unreinforced alloy. Additions of fly ash lead to increase in hardness, elastic modulus and 0.2% proof stress. Composites reinforced with narrow size range fly ash particle exhibit superior mechanical properties compared to composites with wide size range particles. A356 Al–fly ash MMCs were found to exhibit improved damping capacity when compared to unreinforced alloy at ambient temperature.     

垃圾焚烧炉渣-粉煤灰复合水泥的性能研究

研究了垃圾焚烧炉渣及粉煤灰单掺和复掺时硬化水泥浆体的力学性能和水化机理,比较了两者的活性,探讨了两者作为辅助性胶凝材料利用的可行性.研究表明:掺有垃圾焚烧炉渣及粉煤友的复合水泥,其强度均有不同程度的下降,它们的掺入在一定程度上延缓了水泥的水化过程,且垃圾焚烧炉渣的水化反应活性稍高于粉煤灰;掺垃圾焚烧炉渣及粉煤灰的复合水泥中重金属离子浸出量小,在等掺20%的条件下,浸出量远低于国家标准,说明在一定的情况下,焚烧炉渣及粉煤灰作为辅助性胶凝材料使用是安全的.     

Abrasion resistance and mechanical properties of high-volume fly ash concrete

The abrasion resistance and mechanical properties of concrete containing high-volume fly ash (HVFA) were investigated. Sand (fine aggregate) was replaced with 35, 45, and 55% of Class F fly ash by mass. The water to cement ratio and the workability of mixtures were maintained constant at 0.46 and 55 ± 5 mm respectively. Properties examined were compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance expressed as depth of wear. Test results indicated that replacement of sand with fly ash enhanced the 28-day compressive strength by 25–41%, splitting tensile strength by 12–21%, flexural strength by 14–17%, and modulus of elasticity by 18–23% depending upon the fly ash content, and showed continuous improvement in mechanical properties up to the ages of 365 days. Replacing fly ash with sand significantly improved the abrasion resistance of concrete at all ages. Strong correlation exists between the abrasion resistance and each of the mechanical properties investigated.     

Utilization of chitosan biopolymer to enhance fly ash-based geopolymer

This paper investigates the enhancement of fly ash-based geopolymer with chitosan biopolymer. Unconfined compression and split tensile tests were carried out to investigate the effect of addition of small amount of N-carboxymethyl chitosan (0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 wt% of fly ash) on the mechanical performance of fly ash-based geopolymer. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging was also conducted to study the microstructure of the chitosan enhanced fly ash-based geopolymer. The results indicated that the inclusion of N-carboxymethyl chitosan led to slight increase of the unconfined compressive strength and substantial increase of the tensile strength, the displacement at the peak tensile load and the pre-peak toughness, with the maximum increases at 0.1 wt% chitosan content. The SEM imaging indicated that the added N-carboxymethyl chitosan biopolymer coated and bridged the (geopolymerized) fly ash particles and led to the formation of a more condensed geopolymer network structure, thus enhancing the mechanical behavior of the geopolymer–biopolymer composite. However, when too much N-carboxymethyl chitosan was used, the excessive coating and encapsulation of un-reacted and partially hydrolyzed fly ash particles hindered their geopolymerization and adversely affected the mechanical behavior of the geopolymer–biopolymer composite.     

Compressive properties of sandwiches with functionally graded rubber core and jute–epoxy skins

The compressive behaviour of a new class of sandwich composite made up of jute fiber reinforced epoxy skins and piece-wise linear fly ash reinforced functionally graded (FG) rubber core is investigated in flat-wise mode. FG samples are prepared using conventional casting technique. Presence of gradation is quantified physically by weight method. This paper addresses the effect of weight fraction of fly ash, core to thickness ratio (C/H) and orientation of jute on specific compressive modulus and strength. In each trial five replicates are tested with lower amount of fly ash below the upper skin of sandwich (rubber-up). Results of experimentation are subjected to statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) to find the influential factor governing the compressive behaviour. Furthermore piece-wise linear gradation is modeled in finite element and strength values are compared with experimental results. Sandwich sample with fly ash content of 40%, C/H of 0·4 and orientations of 30°/60° registered better performance. Specific strength is observed to increase upto 30% filler content followed by stabilization. Finite element results for strength match very well with experimental ones.     

Fly ash characterization and application in Al–based Mg alloys

Continuing study in metallurgical field calls for growing reinforcements of which fly ash plays an important role. In this study, Al alloys were reinforced with different solid fly ash particles. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses were used to identify the fly ash particles, and they were also applied to the composite alloys. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that the crystalline phase of the fly ash was an effective reinforced phase. Meanwhile, the SEM and optical micrographs of the composite samples indicated that fly ash could be reacted or settled in the matrix of the aluminium. The physical, tribological and microhardness analyses were also used to study the Al–fly ash composites. The best wear resistance corresponding to the lowest loss was obtained in the samples with as-received fly ash which were mostly in accordance with the results in the samples containing treated fly ash. Meanwhile, the proportion of the wear results to the hardness of the samples was observed. Finally, the light weight Al alloys was realized, and increasing the strength is a likeness.     

矿物掺合料早期水化活性的测试和分析

本文采用环境扫描电子显微镜(ESEM)和热重-差热(TG-DTA)分析仪对磨细矿渣微粉、高钙粉煤灰、低钙粉煤灰的早期水化活性进行了系统测试和分析.理论和试验结果分析表明,掺合料取代水泥时,浆体早期抗压强度的提高取决于掺合料自身参与水化反应的速度和水化产物的数量.水化产物在掺合料颗粒表面沉积的速度和浆体中硅酸盐、铝酸盐水化产物的非蒸发水量随掺合料活性的提高而提高.掺合料活性按磨细矿渣微粉、高钙粉煤灰、低钙粉煤灰的顺序降低,将磨细矿渣微粉或高钙粉煤灰与低钙粉煤灰复合,可以克服低钙粉煤灰大掺量取代水泥时混凝土早期强度降低的缺陷,这是提高低钙粉煤灰在高强高性能混凝土中掺量的一个有效措施.     

Evaluation of blends of high and low calcium fly ashes for use as supplementary cementing materials

The present paper outlines the results of a research attempt aimed at developing and evaluating the performance of ternary blended cements, incorporating mixtures of two different types of fly ash (of high and low calcium content). The main target of this study was to investigate whether and by what means, the introduction of a certain type of fly ash into a fly ash–cement (FC) matrix containing a different type of ash, can improve the performance of the initial binary system. For achieving this, new pozzolans were prepared by mixing, in selected proportions, a high lime fly ash with an ash of lower calcium content. The efficiency of the new materials was examined in terms of active silica content, pozzolanic activity potential, strength development, k-values and progress of the pozzolanic action by means of fixed lime capabilities. The results obtained demonstrated that the mixtures containing equal amounts of each fly ash were the most effective for moderate cement substitution, whilst for higher replacements the intermixture possessing the highest active silica content shows supremacy at almost all hydration ages. The superior performance of the ternary fly ash blends was mainly attributed to synergistic effects detected for all the ashes utilized. These were quantified in each case and almost linear correlations were obtained with the k-values of the most efficient ternary mixes.     

Hydration of quaternary Portland cement blends containing blast-furnace slag,siliceous fly ash and limestone powder

In this study the hydration of quaternary Portland cements containing blast-furnace slag, type V fly ash and limestone and the relationship between the types and contents of supplementary cementitious materials and the hydrate assemblage were investigated at ages of up to 182 days using X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. In addition thermodynamic modeling was used to calculate the total volume of hydrates. Two blast-furnace slag contents of 20 and 30 wt.% were studied in blends containing fly ash and/or limestone at a cement replacement of 50 wt.%. In all cases the experiments showed the presence of C–S–H, portlandite and ettringite. In samples without limestone, monosulfate was formed; in the presence of limestone monocarbonate was present instead. The addition of 5 wt.% of limestone resulted in a higher compressive strength after 28 days than observed for cements with lower or higher limestone content. Overall the presence of fly ash exerts little influence on the hydrate assemblage. The strength development reveals that amounts of up to 30 wt.% fly ash can be used in quaternary cements without significant loss in compressive strength.     

Effect of fly ash fineness on compressive strength and pore size of blended cement paste

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the effect of fly ash fineness on compressive strength, porosity, and pore size distribution of hardened cement pastes. Class F fly ash with two fineness, an original fly ash and a classified fly ash, with median particle size of 19.1 and 6.4 μm respectively were used to partially replace portland cement at 0%, 20%, and 40% by weight. The water to binder ratio (w/b) of 0.35 was used for all the blended cement paste mixes.Test results indicated that the blended cement paste with classified fly ash produced paste with higher compressive strength than that with original fly ash. The porosity and pore size of blended cement paste was significantly affected by the replacement of fly ash and its fineness. The replacement of portland cement by original fly ash increased the porosity but decreased the average pore size of the paste. The measured gel porosity (5.7–10 nm) increased with an increase in the fly ash content. The incorporation of classified fly ash decreased the porosity and average pore size of the paste as compared to that with ordinary fly ash. The total porosity and capillary pores decreased while the gel pore increased as a result of the addition of finer fly ash at all replacement levels.     

The interfacial zone and bond strength between aggregates and cement pastes incorporating high volumes of fly ash

The weak transition zone between aggregate and cement paste controls many important properties of concrete. A number of studies dealing with interfacial zone are available in the literature for normal concrete and concrete containing silica fume. High-volume fly ash concrete for structural applications was developed at CANMET in the 1980s, but to date there has been no information available for interfacial zone in high-volume fly ash concrete.In this paper, the orientation index and mean size of Ca(OH)₂ crystals in the aggregate-paste interfacial zone were determined by the X-ray diffractometer. The bond strength between the aggregate and paste was also investigated. It was found that, at the age of 28 days, there was no obvious transition zone between the aggregate and cement paste incorporating high volumes of fly ash. The higher the paste strength, the higher is the bond strength.     

Effect of size of fly ash particle on enhancement of mullite content and glass formation

Quartz is widely replaced by fly ash in traditional porcelain composite. Increased strength and stability of the fly ash-mixed composite depends on the quantity and crystallinity of the mullite phase in the fly ash. Our aim in this investigation is to increase the formation of mullite in nanocrystalline form and study the effect of temperature. Quantitative estimation of mullite and residual quartz content were done by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nanostructure and crystallization were studied using differential thermal analysis (DTA), field effect scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), XRD and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results show that fly ash sieved through 250 holes/cm² mesh contain more mullite initially and growth of mullite as well as glass formation was faster in this sample compared to coarse fly ash. The maximum mullite in these samples was formed at 1600°C. Transformation of quartz and cristobalite phases into glassy phase was also faster for smaller particle sizes of fly ash.