Lecture-7

High Volume Fly Ash Concrete

Dr. R.V. Ranganath

Professor & Head
Dept. Of Civil Engineering
BMS College of Engineering
Bangalore-560 019

Lecture-7
Normal Concrete
IS-456: 2000 Provisions.

Cement: 300-450Kg /m3

Max.W/C Ratio: 0.55-0.4

Grade of Concrete: M20 - M40

Permits the use of :

o

Mineral Admixtures (Fly Ash, Silica Fume, GGBS, Rice Husk Ash, Metakaoline)

Chemical Admixtures

Eco-Smart Concrete (HVFC)

EcoSmart or Green concrete uses large volumes of

by-products to reduce green house

emissions for preservation of ecology

Concrete optimally uses industrial and agriculture wastes in form of cementitious, pozzolanic
and or inert as its ingredients without scarifying its structural properties and imparting
improved performance and life.

Eco-Smart Concrete(HVFC)

EcoSmart or Green concrete uses large volumes of

by-products to reduce green house

emissions for preservation of ecology

Concrete optimally uses industrial and agriculture wastes in form of cementitious, pozzolanic
and or inert as its ingredients without scarifying its structural properties and imparting
improved performance and life.
WHY HVFC
Annually, more than 90 million tonnes of Fly Ash is being generated in India.
Requires 65,000 acres of land for disposal
By 2015, 1000 square Km of land required.
Current production of Cement is about 70 million tonnes

HVFA Concrete
High volume fly ash concrete is designated as EcoSmart or Green concrete and have following
properties:
1. Structural capability
2. Durability
3. Cost efficiency
4. Aesthetics
5. Schedule of construction

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6. Better utilisation of large volume of co-product
7. Sustainability of depleting resources

Why use EcoSmart Concrete (HVFC)

Adequate structural strength

Improved flexural and tensile strengths

Results in less bleeding

Cohesive flow able concrete

Improves resistance to sulphate and other chemicals

Gives a superior appearance

Costs less

Is environmentally sound

HVFA Concrete
High volume fly ash concrete is defined as concrete with following attributes
1. Fly ash replacing cement by 30 60%
2. W/B < 0.40
3. Very low water, Chloride & oxygen penetrability
4. Almost double design life with least maintenance
5. Better fresh concrete properties
6. Better finishes and hence Aesthetics
7. Does not affects the schedule of construction
8. Economical than conventional concrete
9. Offers sustainability of depleting resources

HVFC
Disadvantages
1. All fly ashes can not be used in structural concrete
2. Replacement level depends on fly ash properties
3. Requires a good knowledge of mix proportioning
4. If not handled properly, may be dangerous
5. Requires better quality control at site
6. Slower rate of hardening and hence behaves differently to steam curing
7. Requires good curing for minimum 7 days

Lecture-7
E.A. Abdun- Nur, 1984.
In the world of modern concrete, fly ash is as essential an ingredient of the mixture as are Portland
cement, aggregates, water and chemical admixtures. In most concretes, I use it in larger amounts ( by
volume) than Portland cement, and therefore it is not an admixture, i.e. an addition to the mixture.
Concrete without fly ash and chemical admixtures should only be found in museum showcases.
Fly Ash
What is Fly ash?

Fly ash is a fine powder, produced as a by-product of the combustion of coal in thermoelectric
power plants.

Types of fly ash

Low-lime fly ash (CaO < 10% )

o

Exhibit Pozzolanic properties produces cementitious properties with the help of an activator
(cement or lime).

High-lime fly ash (CaO > 10% )

o

Exhibit Cementitious properties itself.

Chemical Composition

Major constituents of most fly ashes are

SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3 ,CaO and Loss on Ignition (LOI).

Other elements are MgO, Na2O, K2O, SO3, MnO, TiO2.

Morphology
Smooth, glassy surface

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Properties of HVFC
FA absorptions, %

40

50

60

Total Binder, kg

435

Cement, kg

260

215

175

W/B

0.42

0.42

0.42

Slump, mm

75

85

95

Air content, %

3.5

3.8

4.0

Bleeding, ml/cm2

0.020

0.024

0.025

Density, kg/m3

2500

2495

2490

Hardened concrete properties

Compressive strength, MPa

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

40
0

50

50

60
150

100

200

Age, days

MOR, MPa

Hardened concrete properties

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

40
0

50

50
100

Age, days

60
150

200

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Hardened concrete properties

Water penetration ,mm

Water Permeability
50
40
30
20
40

10

50

60

0
28

60

90

180

Age, days

Change passed, Coulomb

Chloride Permeability

1000
40

800

50

60

600
400
200
0
0

50

100
Age, days

150

200

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Variety in HVFAC mixes
Fly ash %
Compressive strength, MPa

25

40

56

1 day

27.8

26.2

18.1

10.0

3 day

41.4

33.5

30.1

26.9

7 day

46.1

43.5

42.6

41.6

28 day

61.6

59.2

60.4

57.7

182 day

62.6

60.9

62.1

64.5

Sky Trains

Work of Fast + Epp structural Engineers and Busby Architectural Associates in Vancouver.

To construct two sky train stations, on elevated platforms with HVFA concrete with the support
of CANMET

Brentwood Station

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Precast Prestressed Platform Beams

South Concrete Frame

Gilmore Station

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Indian Case studies

Hiranandani Builders, Mumbai
1. Frame structures with buildings up to 20 stories, both in Powai, Thane and other locations
2. Uses 30% fly ash in all structural concrete of grade M35
3. Uses 40% fly ash in non-structural concrete
4. Uses 50% Fly ash in Masonry

Hiranandani Builders, Mumbai

Typical concrete mix
Cement

= 300 kg

FA

= 130 kg

Water

= 165 kg

W/B

= 0.40

Aggregates

= 1975 kg

Grade

= M35

Other Builders

Almost every builder in Mumbai uses fly ash based concrete, varying between 15 to 35 %
for various structural applications.

Builders in Delhi have started using fly ash in structural concrete of residential and
commercial building

Masonry and plasters uses about 60% fly ash as cement replacement

Delhi metro rail

Delhi metro rail under construction have about 100 km of underground portion, subjected to aggressive
environment

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Delhi metro rail
Used 30% fly ash in all structural concrete & 70% slag in underground sections

Concrete road in Ropar

700 m long, 7 m wide demonstration project undertaken under the guidance of CIDA

Concrete road in Ropar

Details

Values

Grade of concrete

M40

Cement

280

Fly ash

200

Water

180

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SP

2.8

Aggregates

1830

Compressive strength, MPa

7 day

27.0

28 day

40.2

90 day

Flexural strength, MPa at 28 days

6.4

Water permeability, DIN test, mm

17

RCPT, ASTM 1202, Coulomb

551

Concluding Remarks

It is possible in our country to have HVFAC structures

It is economically required for our country

Cooperative Owner/Contractor/Architect critical

Be Balanced dont force it

Ideal Conditions:

warm weather

large pours

no schedule/form stripping constraints

Take higher strengths into consideration when designing

Concluding Remarks
Engineers of the future have to shoulder the additional responsibility of conserving the increasingly
depleting natural resources by adopting ECO-FRIENDLY technologies.

CONCRETE PUMPS
Pumps

Pumps are available in different sizes

Pipes diameter must be at least 3 times greater than max aggregate size

A slump of 40 to 100 mm is generally recommended

Direct acting concrete pump

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Direct acting concrete pump

Horizontal

Piston type with semi rotary valves

Concrete

is fed by gravity and partially sucked during suction stroke

Moved up

to 450m horizontally, 40 m vertically

60 cum of

concrete can be achieved per hour

Squeeze-type concrete pumps

Squeeze-type concrete pumps

Concrete is placed in collecting hopper

Used with small pipes (up to 100 mm dia)

The vacuum inside the chamber is about 660 mm of Hg.

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Two rotating rollers progressively squeeze the tube, thus pump the concrete in the suction
pipe towards delivery pipe.

Moved up to 90m horizontally, 30 m vertically

20 cum of concrete can be achieved per hour

Advantages

Concrete can be delivered to points over a wide area otherwise not easily accessible

Pumping delivers the concrete direct from the mixer to the form and so avoids double
handling

Placing can proceed at the rate of the out put of the mixer

It is not held back by the limitations of the transportation and placing equipment

Limitation/ problems faced

Unsatisfactory concrete cannot be pumped

Control of mix is affordable by the force required to stir it in the hopper and by the pressure
required to pump it

Blockage can occur

o

Water escapes through the mix so that pressure is not transmitted to the solids,
therefore cannot move

If the fines are very high, the friction resistance of the mix is so large that pressure
exerted by the piston is not sufficient to move the concrete, which becomes stuck

Moderon concrete pumps

The first type of concrete pump is attached to a truck.

It is known as a trailer-mounted boom concrete pump because it uses a remote- controlled

articulating robotic arm (called a boom) to place concrete with pinpoint accuracy.

Boom pumps are used on most of the larger construction projects as they are capable of
pumping at very high volumes and because of the labour saving nature of the placing boom.

They are a revolutionary alternative to truck-mounted concrete pumps.

Truck-mounted concrete pump

The second main type of concrete pump is either mounted on a truck or trailer and are
called as truck-mounted concrete pump

it is commonly referred to as a line pump or trailer-mounted concrete pump.

This pump requires steel or rubber concrete placing hoses to be manually attached to the
outlet of the machine.

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Line pumps normally pump concrete at lower volumes than boom pumps and are used for
smaller volume concrete placing applications

Under Water Concreting

In

the

tremie process, concrete is placed through a vertical steel pipe with an open, funnel-shaped
upper end. The lower end of the tremie is kept immersed in plastic concrete so that freshly
placed concrete doesnt come into contact with the water.

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