1

INTRODUCTION
In the current scenario there is a wide range of demand and use for the cement as the
density of people is increasing day by day and there is a necessity to provide place for
living for all of them, as the land available on the earth is limited, we need to use some
other technique to make habitat on earth using limited space. Mostly preferred one is
multi-storied buildings, which use tons of concrete for construction activity. As production
of concrete involves use of large quantities of clay, lime stone which are limited natural
resources on the earth in a due period of time these resources may get exhausted and also
at the same point of time large quantities of carbon dioxide is also released. Keeping all
these effects in view, we need to search for an alternate which can replace cement and
which is more environmental friendly and cause less damage to natural resources. So the
possible material I have observed is fly ash which have some engineering properties same
as that of cement, such that it can be used as a substitute to cement in some way or the
other. At the same time Fly ash has many advantages when used in concrete, unlike only
cement. It helps in increasing the durability of concrete. As now a days durability has
become a major criteria for structures.

ASH PRODUCTION AND AVAILABILITY

Coming to Fly ash it can be defined as follows, Fly ash is one among the different
byproducts obtained during burning of coal, usually obtained from coal based power
plants, which is collected from flue gas by electrostatic precipitation. Due to its various
chemical properties it can also be termed as Pozzolanic material.
As in our India the major source for production of electricity is coal, i.e., nearly 60% of the
electricity is produced from coal based thermal power plants. about 112 million tons of
ash has been generated in 125 such power stations. With the present growth in power
sector, it is expected that ash generation will reach to 205 million tons per Annum by 2016.
There are different kinds of ash that are obtained as by products from thermal power plants
they are as follows:
1. Fly ash: This kind of ash is extracted from flue gases through Electrostatic Precipitator
in dry form. This ash is fine material & possesses good pozzolanic property.
2. Bottom ash: This kind of ash is collected in the bottom of boiler furnace. It is
comparatively coarse material and contains higher unburnt carbon. It possesses zero or
little pozzolanic property.

Figure 1 Fly ash and bottom ash

3. Pound ash: When fly ash and bottom ash or both mixed together in any proportion
with the large quantity of water to make it in slurry form and deposited in ponds
wherein water gets drained away. The deposited ash is called as pond ash.
4. Mound ash: Fly ash and bottom ash or both mixed in any proportion and deposited in
dry form in the shape of a mound is termed as mound ash.
Among the above discussed various types of ashes produced as by product form thermal
industries only Fly ash possesses pozzolanic property which is helpful in construction
activity replacing cement in concrete. So our discussion deals only with Fly ash and its
effects in concrete.
As per the Bureau of Indian Standard IS: 3812 (Part-1) all these types of ash is termed as
Pulverized Fuel Ash (PFA).

PROPERTIES OF FLY ASH

Fly ash produced in modern power stations of India is of good quality as it contains low
Sulphur & very low unburnt carbon i.e. less loss on ignition. In order to make fly ash
available for various applications, most of the new thermal power stations have set up dry
fly ash evacuation & storage system. In this system fly ash from Electrostatic Precipitators
(ESP) is evacuated through pneumatic system and stored in silos.
3.1

Physical Properties of Fly Ash

The fly ash particles are generally glassy, solid or hollow and spherical in shape. The
hollow spherical particles are called as chemosphere. The fineness of individual fly ash
particle rage from 1 micron to 1 mm size. The fineness of fly ash particles has a significant
influence on its performance in cement concrete. The fineness of particles is measured by
measuring specific surface area of fly ash by Blaine's specific area technique. Greater the
surface area more will be the fineness of fly ash. The other method used for measuring
fineness of fly ash is dry and wet sieving. The specific gravity of fly ash varies over a wide
range of 1.9 to 2.55.
Color

Black, yellowish brown, pale

white

Specific gravity

1.9 to 2.55

Shape

Circular

Size

1 micron to 1 mm

However it has to satisfy IS: 3812-2003 (part-1) to be used as a pozzolanic material in

cement. Which is shown in the below table. Color varies depending on the extent of
unburnt carbon, siliceous content and Ferric content which depends on grade of coal.

Figure 2 Microscopic images showing Shape

S.No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Characteristics
Fineness- Specific surface in m2 /kg by
Blaines permeability method, min
Particles retained on 45 micron IS sieve
(wet sieving) in percent, max
Lime reactivity- Average compressive
strength in N/mm2 , min

Requirements
320
34
4.5

Compressive strength at 28 days in N/mm2

Not less than 80% of the plain

, min

cement mortar cubes

Soundness by autoclave test- expansion of

specimen in percent, max

0.8

3.2

Chemical Properties of Fly ash

The major constituents of most of the fly ashes are Silica (SiO 2), alumina ((Al2 O3 ), ferric
oxide (Fe2 O3 ) and calcium oxide (CaO). The other minor constituent of the fly ash are
MgO, Na O, K2 O, SO3, MnO, TiO2 and unburnt carbon. There is wide range of variation in
the principal constituents - Silica (25-60%), Alumina (10-30%) and ferric oxide (5-25%).
3.2.1

Types of Fly Ash

There are two types of Fly ash which are classified based on their chemical composition
they are as follows:
1. Class F (or) Siliceous Fly ash: When the sum of these three principal constituents is
70% or more and reactive calcium oxide is less than 10% - technically the fly ash is
considered as or class F fly ash. Such type of fly ash is produced by burning of
anthracite or bituminous coal and possess pozzolanic properties.
2. Class C (or) Calcareous Fly ash: If the sum of these three constituent is equal or more
than 50% and reactive calcium oxide is not less than 10%, fly ash will be considered as
also called as class C fly ash. This type of fly ash is commonly produced by burning of
lignite or sub-bituminous coal and possess both pozzolanic and hydraulic properties.
Siliceous fly ash characteristically contains a large part of silicate glass of high silica
content and crystalline phases of low reactivity mullite, magnetite and quartz. The active
constituents of class F fly ash is siliceous or alumino-silicate glass. In calcareous or class C
fly ash the active constituents are calcium alumino-silicate glass, free lime (CaO), nhydrate
(CaSO4), tricalcium aluminate and rarely, calcium silicate. The glassy materials of fly ash
are reactive with the calcium and alkali hydroxides released from cement fly ash system
and forms cementitious gel, which provide additional strength. However when the above
both types of Fly ash are compared from cementitious point of view and compressive
strength, Class F fly ash have better properties, so it is used in construction activity with
cement.
As per BIS it Fly ash has to satisfy the following chemical properties to use as a pozzolanic
material in cement concrete.

S.No

Characteristic

Requirements
Siliceous Fly
Calcareous
ash
70

Fly ash
50

2.
3.
4.

by mass, Min
Silicon dioxide in percent by mass, Min
Reactive silica in percent by mass, Min
Magnesium oxide (MgO), in percent by

35
20
5.0

25
20
5.0

5.

mass, Max
Total Sulphur as Sulphur trioxide(SO3), in

3.0

3.0

6.

percent by mass, Max

Available alkalis as sodium oxide (Na2O),

7.
8.

percent by mass, Max

Total chlorides in percent by mass, Max
Loss on ignition, in percent by mass, Max

1.

Silicon dioxide(Sio2) + Aluminum oxide

(Al2 O3) + Iron oxide (Fe2 O3) in percent

3.3

1.5
0.05
5.0

1.5
0.05
5.0

Pozzolanic Properties

Fly Ash is a pozzolanic material which is defined as siliceous or siliceous and aluminous
material which in itself possesses little or no cementitious value, chemically react with
Calcium Hydroxide (lime) in presence of water at ordinary temperature and form soluble
compound comprises cementitious property similar to cement. The pozzolana term came
from Roman. About 2,000 years ago, Roman used volcanic ash along with lime and sand
to produce mortars, which possesses superior strength characteristics & resistances to
corrosive water. The best variety of this volcanic ash was obtained from the locality of
pozzoli and thus the volcanic ash had acquired the name of Pozzolana.
Pozzolanic activity of fly ash is an indication of the lime fly ash reaction. It is mostly
related to the reaction between reactive silica of the fly ash and calcium hydroxide which
produce calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel which has binding properties. The alumina in
the pozzolana may also react in the fly ash lime or fly ash cement system and produce
calcium aluminate hydrate, ettringite, gehlenite and calcium monosulpho-aluminate

hydrate. Thus the sum of reactive silica and alumina in the fly ash indicate the pozzolanic
activity of the fly ash.

HYDRATION OF CEMENT AND FLY ASH

The main objective of using fly ash in most of the cement concrete applications is to get
durable concrete at reduced cost.

As we know that concrete is a heterogeneous mixture of cement aggregate and water which
when mixed thoroughly form a rock like structure capable of withstanding heavy loads.
When cement gets reacted with water it tends to form a cementitious gel which is capable of
binding different materials together. This process of reaction between cement and water is
named as hydration and it is an exothermic process i.e., heat gets evolved during this
process, at the same time some quantity of calcium hydroxide is also formed which doesnt
have any impact on the strength point of view on concrete in that state.

Cement + water

Cementitious gel + calcium hydroxide

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is a product of four principal mineralogical phases. These
phases areTricalcium Silicate-C S (3CaO.SiO2 ), Dicalcium Silicate -C S (2CaO.SiO2 ),
Tricalcium Aluminate- C A (3CaO.Al2 O3 ) and Tetracalcium alumino-ferrite - C AF(4CaO.
Al2 O3 Fe2 O3 ). The setting and hardening of the OPC takes place as a result of reaction
between these principal compounds and water. The reaction between these compounds and
water are shown as under:
2C3S

6H

Tricalcium silicate

water

2C2 S

4H

dicalcium silicate

water

C2 S 2 H 3

3CH

C-S-H gel

Calcium hydroxide

C2 S 2 H 3

C-S-H gel

Calcium hydroxide

CH

The above shows the chemical reaction that occurs between cement and other constituents
when water is added to it, such that a cementitious gel is formed named C-S-H gel as shown
in the above chemical reaction leaving calcium hydroxide as residue. As discussed earlier
Fly ash has the pozzolanic property to react with the calcium hydroxide released during the

hydration process of cement so that some extra amount of C-S-H gel is formed resulting in
the formation of extra strength to concrete.
Fly ash

Calcium Hydroxide

C-S-H gel

If Fly ash is added to cement then calcium hydroxide remains as the residue resulting in
various effects as discussed in below they are:

4.1

Effects of Calcium Hydroxide in Concrete

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Carbonation
Sulphate attack
Chloride attack
Shrinkage
Corrosion of Reinforcement
Distress

The above mentioned are the various effects that occur in concrete due to the formation of
calcium hydroxide in concrete. Let me discuss in brief about those effects.
1. Carbonation: Carbonation is defined as leaching away of Calcium hydroxide when
exposed to Carbon dioxide and water under unfavorable environmental conditions
leading to formation of voids in concrete.
2. Sulphate attack: Sulphate attack is due to the reaction of calcium hydroxide (surplus
lime) in concrete with the Sulphate present in atmosphere which results in volume
destabilization of concrete and also results in very high shrinkage, which finally leads
to distress in concrete.
3. Chloride attack: When Sulphate attack takes place in concrete, the various chemical
reactions takes place in concrete thus braking some chloride elements also resulting in
formation of chloride environment in concrete ions, which results in increasing the
moisture holding capacity of the concrete such that corrosion and other distress are
caused in concrete.

5.1

ADVANTAGES OF FLY ASH IN CONCRETE

Effect on Heat of Hydration

Initially heat of hydration is defined as the amount of heat released during the

process of reaction between cement and water.

Due to the excess amount of heat that is liberated which is usually named as
exothermic process results in formation of thermal cracks which cause distress in

concrete.
Due to the addition of Fly ash in concrete, it replaces some amount of cement in
concrete, so that the amount of heat liberated gets decreased due to the decreased

amount of cement in concrete.

A slower reaction rate of fly ash, when compared to hydraulic cement, limits the
amount of early heat generation and the detrimental early temperature rise in
massive structures.

5.2

Effect on Carbonation

As discussed earlier carbonation is the chemical process in which the carbon

dioxide present in the atmosphere reacts with calcium hydroxide resulting in the
leaching away of hydroxides formed so that voids get developed in concrete, which
indirectly increases permeability of concrete.

Figure 3 Carbonation

So due to the addition of Fly ash in concrete the resulting calcium hydroxide gets
reacted with fly ash so that no amount is available for reacting with carbon dioxide
so that no leaching away of concrete takes place and no permeability occurs.

5.3

Effect on Color

As Fly ash consumes the excess lime there is a reduced risk of efflorescence from
the concrete.

5.4

Effect on Workability

Fly ash improves the workability of the concrete. Workability refers to the ease of
handling, placing and finishing of fresh or plastic concrete. The fly ash concrete
is more workable than a plain cement concrete at equivalent slump. Less water is
needed for the same slump, the concrete gets more cohesive and the occurrence of
costly segregation decreases. The amount of fines will increase and make the
concrete more workable and a more complete compaction.

Concrete pumping is made easier. Form filling becomes easier. Fly ash concrete is
more responsive to vibration. Segregation, voids, rock pockets are reduced because
of increased cohesiveness and workability.

5.5

Effect on Environment

In the past the fly ash was generally released into the atmosphere, but today the fly
ash has to be placed in landfills or stored at the power plants. The use of fly ash as
partial replacement of clinker in cement or as direct addition to the concrete solves
an environment problem for the milieu and the power plant. The fly ash as a
substitute of the cement will also give a milieu profit by reducing CO2 emission in
the cement production process, and an energy saving when fly ash replaces some of
the energy-intensive produced cement. Production of 1 ton cement generally
produces 1 ton CO2 (Norcem Brevik: 0.7 ton CO2/ ton cement).

Another benefit is the reduction of toxic metals and radon in fly ash deposed into
ponds and landfills3. Fly ashes may contain very small amounts of toxic metals that
are leachable. Incorporation of fly ash in concrete solves this problem because
hydration products of both Portland cement and blended Portland cement can form
complexes that permanently tie up the toxic cations released by fly ash.

5.6

Effect on economy

There hopefully will be a lot of fly ash available in the future. Land fill and storing
of the fly ash are not environmentally friendly. The world production of fly ash is
approximately over 600 M tones annually, and only about 10 % of the fly ash is
used in concrete. According to Wikipedia 65 % of the fly ash produced from coal
power stations is disposed of in landfills.

5.7

Effect on Water Demand

The water demand and workability are controlled by particle size distribution,
particle packing effect, and smoothness of surface texture.

As mentioned above the fly ash replacing some of the cement will increase the
paste volume. The fly ash concrete is more workable and less water is needed for
the same slump.

Although increased fineness usually increases the water demand, the spherical
particle shape of the fly ash lowers particle friction and offsets such effects.

The use of fly ash as a partial replacement for Portland cement will usually reduce
water demand.

5.8

Effect on Bleeding & Segregation

The bleeding of high volume fly ash concrete ranges from negligible to very low
because of its low water content. It is important to cure the concrete as soon as
possible after placement. In flat work, the use of foggers at the job site is strongly
recommended in order to prevent plastic shrinkage cracking.

Less water is needed for the same slump, the concrete gets more cohesive and the
occurrence of costly segregation reduces.

Using fly ash in concrete mixtures usually reduces bleeding. The use of fly ash
compensate for a deficiency of fines in the mixture, at the same time, it acts as a
water-reducer to promote workability at lower water content. This results in
adequate cohesion and plasticity with less water available for bleeding.

Using fly ash concrete mixtures usually reduces bleeding by providing greater fines
volume and lower water content for a given workability. Increased fineness usually

increases the water demand, the spherical particle shape of fly ash lowers particle
friction and offsets such effects. Concrete with relatively high fly ash content will
require less water than non-fly ash concrete of equal slump.
5.9

Effect on Drying Shrinkage & Creep

The drying shrinkage of concrete is directly influenced by amount and by the

quality of the cement pasta present3. It increases with an increase in the cement
paste content of the concrete mixture, and with the water content of the paste. The
water-reducing property of fly ash can be advantageously used for achieving a
considerable reduction in drying shrinkage of concrete mixtures.

Drying shrinkage strain of high-volume fly ash concrete was comparable to, or
lower than ordinary concrete. Creep strain is lower for high-volume fly ash
concrete than ordinary concrete, probably due to unreacted fly ash particles acting
as fine aggregate, and thus providing increased restraint against creep. The very
low water content of the concrete makes some contribution to the low creep strains.

5.10 Effect on Permeability

Permeability is defined as the coefficient representing the rate at which water is

transmitted through a saturated specimen of concrete under externally maintained
hydraulic gradient.

Permeability is inversely linked to durability, the lower permeability the higher the
durability of concrete. Testing has shown that properly proportioned concretes
using a combination of fly ash, normal or high-range water reducing admixtures,
and air entraining admixtures have the ability to produce the same low levels of
permeability as latex modified and silica-fume concretes.

Permeability of concrete is governed by many factors such as amount of

cementitious material, water content, aggregate grading, consolidation and curing
efficiency. CH liberated by hydrating cement is water soluble and may leach out of
hardened concrete, leaving voids for ingress of water. Through its pozzolanic
properties, fly ash chemically combines CH with water to produce CSH, thus

reducing the risk of leaching CH. When fly ash concrete is properly cured, fly ash
reaction products partially fill in the spaces originally occupied by mixing water
that were not filled by the hydration products of the cement, thus lowering the
concrete permeability to water and aggressive chemicals.

Fly ash increases the cementitious compounds, minimizes water demand and
reduced bleed channels, all of which increase concrete density. By the reaction of
fly ash and CH to CSH, a reduction of bleed channels, capillary channels and void
spaces occurs. The small particles of fly ash will fill in the tiniest voids and
increase the density of the concrete. When the amount of CH decreases, the
resistance to weak acids, salts and sulphates increase.

5.11 Effect on Strength

In conventional concrete the flexural strength reaches a maximum value between

14 and 28 days3. In high volume fly ash concrete the strength keeps on increasing
with age because of the pozzolanic reaction of fly ash, and strengthening of the
interfacial bond between cement paste and aggregate.

Due to slow pozzolanic reaction, the compressive strength at later ages of high
volume fly ash concrete will be general good. The properties are strongly
dependent on the characteristics of the cement and fly ash used. The ratios of the
flexural and splitting-tensile strengths to compressive strength are comparable to
the conventional concrete.

6
6.1

DRAWBACKS OF FLY ASH IN CONCRETE

Air Content

% air can be routinely incorporated into high volume fly ash concrete mixtures.
However, occasionally one may run into difficulty when the carbon content of the
fly ash being used is high (> 4 %) or when activated carbon particles are present.

The carbon content affects the air entraining agents and reduces the entrained air
for a given amount of air-entraining agent. The carbon will absorb water. An
additional amount of air-entraining agent will need to be added to get the desired
air content.

Some fine fly ash results in a higher water demand due to increase in surface area.
But this is not always as mention above under the advantages. The finer fly ash
requires more air-entraining agent to give the mix the desired air content.
If a fly ash contains an appreciable amount of carbon, it may be difficult to control
the air content.

6.2

Slump

Because of the very low water content the slump of high volume fly ash concrete is
low, and therefore, it is essential to use a superplasticizer when a high slump is
needed for placement3. This does not need to be a disadvantage.

The main drawback with high volume fly ash is a slower strength development. This makes a
problem in concrete construction where rapid stripping and turnaround are essential 16. The reason is a
smaller amount of cement to hydrate. The pozzolanic reaction of the fly ash is slow, but contributes
to the later strength. To increase the strength of high volume fly ash more reactive cement or finer fly
ash may be used. Another possible solution is to change the demand for 28 days strength to 90 days.

CONCLUSION

From the above discussion we can observe that Fly ash has better durability
properties when compared with normal cement and we can observe that using
pozzolana especially Fly ash in cement increases the serviceability and long term
properties of concrete compared to the use of normal cement concrete.

At the same time it is more economical as Fly ash is only a byproduct reusing it in
concrete if quite eco-friendly.

However the strength also doesnt vary much as compared with the traditional
cement concrete, but in the initial stages conventional concrete has more strength
compared to fly ash concrete, but as time prolongs fly ash concrete keeps on
increasing strength where as normal cement concrete stops at certain stage.

REFERENCES

IS: 3812-2003, pulverized Fly ash specifications for use as Pozzolana in cement.
IS: 1489-1991(part-1), Pozzolana cement Fly ash based.
Fly ash in concrete Technical paper by V.M.Malhotra & AA.Ranezaniampour in
march 1994.
Fly ash for Sustainable development Technical paper by N.Bhanumathidas &
N.Kalidas 2002.
Fly ash in concrete (Properties & Performance)- Report of Technical committee.
Fly ash in concrete report by NTPC in may 2007