Use of fly ash in construction

India produces about 70 million tons of coal ash per year from burning about 200 million tons of coal per year for electric power generation. Coal-ash management poses a serious environmental problem for India and requires a mission-mode approach. Considerable research and development work have been undertaken across the country towards confidence building and developing suitable technologies for disposal and utilization of fly ash in construction industries. At present about 10% ash is utilized in ash dyke construction and land filling and only about 3% of ash is utilized in other construction industries. This is very much in contrast with 80% or more fly ash used in developed countries for the manufacture of bricks, cellular concrete blocks, road construction, land fill application, ceramics, agriculture, insulating bricks, recovery of metals and cenospheres and dam constructions. Currently, about one acre per MW of land is needed for ash disposal. Several pilot projects were undertaken in recent years to demonstrate the bulk utilization of fly ash specifically for Indian conditions. Also, it has been successfully demonstrated that fly ash can be utilized in major construction projects such as dams, ash dyke, landfills, roads and pavements, soil stabilization and for other purposes such as brick manufacture, cement industry, tiles, and paint industry. Realizing the large scale generation of flyash and its very low utilization, the Government of India set up the Flyash Mission under the Department of Science & Technology at New Delhi for coordinating all such efforts. A law has also been enacted in 1999 projecting 100 per cent utilization of flyash within a stipulated period and making it mandatory to use flyash for the purpose of road construction, bricks etc. within a radius of 50 km from coal based thermal power plants. In spite of an all-out effort, the flyash utilization in the country is still very low. There are several factors responsible for this namely, lack of awareness and confidence, higher production cost, non availability of dry ash, and most important of all, easy availability of land with top soil at cheap rates. Here Im going to discuss about the Methodologies for low cost housing by highlighting the different prefabrication components and techniques, and the economical advantages achieved by adoption Physical Properties Fly ash particles are typically spherical ranging in diameter from 1 to 150 microns. Fly ash consists of the large part of solid or hollow spherical particles of siliceous and aluminous gas with small proportions of thin walled, multifaceted polyhedrousiron content and are irregularly shaped, relatively porous carbon or carbon coated particles. The fineness of fly ash in many a case is to the same extent as that of Portland cement.The color varies from light to dark grey depending upon its carbon contents

Chemical Properties Indian fly ashes, contents of SiO2, Al2O3 are relatively higher than Fe2O3,SO3. The crystalline phases were identified as mullite, magnetite, hematite and quartz. The chemical composition of fly ash and its particle size differ widely for different power plants. This is due to different types of coal used, their various treatment and different types

adopted for combustion. Generally, fly ash is differentiated on the basis of degree of fineness and their carbon contents CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF INDIAN FLY ASH 1. SiO2 44-58 2. Al2O3 21-27 3. Fe2O3 4-18 4. CaO 3-6 5. MgO 1-25 6. SO3 0.3-1.7 FLY ASH PRODUCTS Following fly ash based innovative and commonly produced building products are available in India: Cellular Light Weight Concrete (CLC) blocks. Fly Ash Based Polymer Composites as Wood substitute. Fly ash based Portland Pozzolana Cement. Ready mixed fly ash concrete. Fly ash Sand Lime Gypsum (Cement) Bricks/Blocks. Clay Fly Ash Bricks.

Fly Ash sand lime bricks: By mixing of lime and fly ash in the presence of moisture, fly ash sand lime bricks are made. Fly Ash reacts with lime at ordinary temperature and forms a compound possessing cementitious properties. After reactions between lime and fly ash, calcium silicate hydrates are produced which are responsible for the high strength of the compound.

Advantage of these bricks over burnt clay bricks Lower requirement of mortar in construction Plastering over brick can be avoided Controlled dimensions, edges, smooth and fine finish & can be in different colours using pigments Cost effective, energy-efficient & environment friendly (as avoids the use of fertile clay)

Cellular Light Weight Concrete (CLC) Blocks Cellular Light Weight Concrete (CLC) blocks are substitute to bricks and conventional concrete blocks in building with density varying from 800 kg/m3 to 1800 kg/m3. The normal constituents of this Foaming Agent based technology from Germany are cement, Fly Ash (to the extent 1/4th to 1/3rd of total materials constituent), sand, water and foam (generated

from biodegradable foaming agent). Using CLC walling & roofing panels can also be produced. Foaming agent and the Foam generator, if used for production of CLC with over 25% fly ash content invites concession on import duty by Govt. of India. Advantages of cellular Light Weight Concrete: Better strength to weight ratio Reduction of dead load resulting in saving of steel & cement and reduction in foundation size Better Acoustics and thermal insulation (Air conditioning requirement is considerably reduced) Saving in consumption of mortar and Higher Fire Rating

FAL-G (fly ash-lime-gypsum) Fal-G bricks and blocks are manufactured without using thermal energy, in contrast to the sintering involved in the production of clay bricks. Fal-G bricks are made of a mixture of fly ash-limegypsum or fly ash-cement-gypsum.

In either combination, Fal-G is a hydraulic cement, which means it sets and hardens in the presence of moisture, on the lines of ordinary portland cement,gaining strength progressively over ageing FlexCrete FlexCrete block is suitable for load bearing and non-load bearing walls in all types of commercial, industrial and residential applications In contrast with other forms of aerated concrete, because of the unique physical properties of fly ash, FlexCrete is cured at low temperatures and ambient pressure, thus eliminating the use of energy intensive autoclaves FlexCrete fiber-reinforced aerated concrete is a product of FlexCrete Building Systems, LC. Building with FlexCrete provides many advantages over other traditional concrete construction alternatives. All FlexCrete materials are formulated using high volumes of fly ash, . FlexCrete is typically provided in rectangular blocks or as Thin Cladding Boards (TCBs). . Flexural strengths can be enhanced with the addition of polypropylene fibers, making FlexCrete an excellent choice of building materials for areas that are prone to earthquakes and hurricanes or other extreme winds. Durability. Because FlexCrete contains no organic material, it is not susceptible to pests

Uses of Fly Ash Concrete in Pre-cast

Fly ash may be used to advantage in both architectural and structural Pre-cast concrete. Fly Ash is ideal in applications where the concrete will be exposed to sulphates. Concrete which will be buried in sulphate soils or be in contact with sulphate bearing liquids are ideal applications for Pre-cast Fly Ash concrete. Power utility products, such as street light bases, utility vaults, barriers, etc. are also ideal Pre-cast applications as they are typically inventoried products. Fly Ash in machine extruded concrete products, such as hollow core, is advantageous because it improves the lubricity of the concrete, allowing for easier extrusion. Benefits of Fly Ash in Pre-cast Concrete When used in correct proportions and under the right technical conditions, the use of Fly Ash offers significant benefits: Sulphate resistance without the use of Type 50, (sulphate resistant cement) Improved resistance to chloride ion penetration Reduced instances and severity of AAR Reduced thermal cracking Improved long term abrasion resistance Improved resistance to aggressive chemicals Improved form surface finishes Ease of concrete placement Reduced concrete water bleed Technical Considerations Fly Ash reduces the heat of hydration as concrete sets, resulting in delayed set times, low early strengths and prolonged form cycle times. Accelerating the curing cycle offsets the prolonged form cycle times when Fly Ash is used in a concrete mix. Accelerated curing is achieved through one, or a combination of the following: Heating Lower water cement ratios Increased cement content Cost and Environmental Factors Concrete utilizing Fly Ash produces a superior final product. Life cycle costs are lower, the concrete lasts longer, has greater strength and may have an initial lower cost than concrete using only Portland Cement. As Fly Ash use in concrete increases, it leads to greater environmental sustainability through both the avoidance of landfill and the reduction of natural resource consumption, saving precious resources for future use. Incorporating Fly Ash in a concrete mix design also enables cement and concrete producers to reduce GHG emissions. The methodology for low cost housing has to be of intermediate type less sophisticated involving less capital investment. The Govt. of India has to popularize these components and the implement them at least for low cost Govt. houses. People should be more aware about these products and save the environment by using the thermal waste in a better manner. Use the Thermal Waste in proper way and gets the Economical Construction