Engineering Properties of High Volume Fly Ash Concrete

The development of a high performance, high volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete incorporating a small amount of silica fume, and part replacement of both cement and sand with fly ash (FA) is reported. This paper presents the results on the engineering properties such as strength, dynamic modulus and swelling/shrinkage of such high volume fly ash concrete. The mixtures were proportioned to give 30 to 40 MPa cube strength at 28 days. Two basic mixtures with total binder contents of 350 kg/m3 and 450 kg/m3, and, with a minimum portland cement content of 150 and 200 kg/m3 respectively, were investigated. In each mixture, about 60% of the cement was replaced by fly ash. In addition, in some mixtures, a nominal amoung of silica fume was incorporated, and in some others, additional FA was incorporated as replacement for sand. The results show that the total binder content had little effect on strength, swelling strain and drying shrinkage, but had a significant effect on the dynamic modulus of elasticity implying a clear densification of the microstructure by fly ash and silica fume. On the whole, HVFA concrete with a nominal amount of silica fume and FA as part replacement of both cement and sand showed better overall performance. The engineering properties of the HVFA concretes investigated show good potential for use in structural and mass concrete applications.