Advantages of Pozzolana as fly ash

Class F
1. Most effectively moderates heat gain during concrete curing and is therefore
considered an ideal cementitious material in mass concrete and high strength
mixes. For the same reason, Class F is the solution to a wide range of summer
concreting problems.
2. Provides sulfide and sulfate resistance equal or superior to Type V cement. Class
F is often recommended for use where concrete may be exposed to sulfate ions in
soil and ground water.

Class C
1. Most useful in performance mixes, prestressed applications, and other
situations where higher early strengths are important.
2. Especially useful in soil stabilization since Class C may not require the addition of
lime.

Concrete manufacturers, engineers, architects, developers and contractors all have

an interest in specifying or using fly ash on a routine basis to improve the quality of
their project and to increase their cost effectiveness.
Advantages in Ready Mix Producers.
A ready mix producer has several reasons for using fly ash in concrete.
1.Fly ash can compensate for fines not found in some sands and thereby enhance
pumpability and concrete finishing.
2. Fly ash will result in a more predictable and consistent finished product that will
ensure customer acceptance.
3. Fly ash offers flexibility in mix design providing a greater range of mixes from
liquid soil at 100 psi to high strength (8,000 plus psi concrete) produced by the
same batch plant without exotic equipment.
4. Fly ash improves the flowability of the concrete, which translates into less wear
and tear on all the producers equipment, from batching facilities to trucks.
5. Fly ash enables the producer to customize designs to each customers needs,
thus providing the producer a competitive advantage.

Advantages for Engineers and Architects.

Engineers and architects will find that fly ash provides the following benefits:
1. It enables engineers and architects to provide the client with a superior and
more durable finished concrete.
2. Fly ash produces a high strength concrete that accommodates the design of
thinner sections.
3. Fly ash permits design flexibility accommodating curves, arches and other
pleasing architectural effects.
4. The addition of fly ash to the mix is a built-in insurance for later-age strength
gain in concrete.
5. Fly ash ensures that the concrete will qualify as a durable building material.
6. Fly ash contributes to the aesthetic appearance of the concrete.
Developers, Contractors, Owners.
Fly ash concrete provides the following advantages to developers, contractors and
owners:
1. The workability of fly ash concrete generally ensures that the speed of
construction is faster, which translates into a quicker return on investment.
2. Fly ash in the mix accommodates more creative designs.
3. Since fly ash concrete is not as vulnerable to deterioration or disintegration as
rapidly as concrete without fly ash, it ensures low maintenance buildings that will
retain their value over the long-term.

As much as 20 pounds of free lime is released during hydration of 100 pounds of

cement. This liberated lime forms the necessary ingredient for reaction with fly ash
silicates to form strong and durable cementing compounds no different from those
formed during hydration of ordinary portland cement.

Through pozzolanic activity, fly ash combines with free lime to produce the same
cementious compounds formed by the hydration of portland cement.

Fly ash concrete can be designed to achieve any level of

strength obtainable by concrete containing only portland
cement.

Strength gain contributed by portland cement occurs very rapidly at early ages up
to about seven days, after which it slows markedly. Strength development
contributed by fly ash occurs through chemical combination of reactive fly ash glass
with calcium hydroxide generated by hydration of portland cement. This process is
called pozzolanic activity. Fly ash concrete designed for equivalent performance at
seven days or earlier will yield practically the same strength gain prior to the design
age. At all ages thereafter, fly ash concrete will exhibit much higher strength gain
than conventional concrete.
Uniformity.
Statistical analyses of compression tests have shown that the use of fly ash often
lowers the variability of strengths (lower coefficient of variation). This can result in a
reduction in overdesign, yielding a direct cost savings to the concrete producer.
Flexural Strength.
In general, a relationship exists between the compressive and flexural strengths of
concrete. Concrete which has a higher compressive strength will have a
correspondingly higher flexural strength. This holds true for fly ash concrete.
However, in many cases, fly ash concrete has demonstrated flexural strength
exceeding that of conventional concrete when compressive strengths were roughly
equal.
High Strength Concrete.

In instances where high strength concrete has been specified (above 7,000 psi), fly
ash has consistently proven its usefulness. After a certain amount of cement has
been added to a mix (usually about 700 pounds), the addition of fly ash usually
results in higher strengths than an equal amount of added cement. This is especially
true for 56 and 90 day strengths. Production of high strength concrete requires the
use of high quality fly ash at a minimum of 15 percent by weight of total
cementitious materials

Fly Ash Improves Workability

Reduced Water of Convenience.
Approximately 25 pounds (three gallons) of water are normally required to hydrate
100 pounds of cement1 . A normal concrete mix will generally contain twice the
required amount of water to hydrate the cement enough to facilitate handling and
placing of the concrete. This additional water, called water of convenience,
increases slump but at the cost of decreased cohesiveness. Water of convenience is
reduced when fly ash is added to the mix because the plasticizing action results in a
2% to 10% water reduction in the plastic concrete to produce the same level of
slump as plain concrete. Reduced water of convenience at the same level of slump
makes for more cohesive concrete and decreases the occurrence of costly
segregation.
Greater Consolidation.
Fly ash concrete is actually more workable than plain cement concrete at equivalent
slump. The VEBE test measures the time and energy necessary for consolidation of
concrete under vibration. Figure 1 shows the remarkable difference in time and
energy required for consolidation of plain and fly ash concretes. Great benefits can
be obtained when using more completely consolidating fly ash concrete in areas of
difficult placement where rock pockets and other placing defects often occur.
Engineers understand the effectiveness of using fly ash concrete in tall thin walls,
such as those used in water tanks. They know they have a better chance of getting
the dense, void free concrete they have specified when fly ash is included in the
mix.
Paste Volume Increases.
The specific gravity of fly ash is lighter than cement. When replacing fly ash on a
pound for pound basis, the result is a greater solid volume of cementitious fines.
Proportioning concrete mixtures with only water-reducing admixtures results in a
greatly diminished volume of cementitious fines. In effect, this amounts to taking
cement out of the mix and replacing it with sand and gravel. The strengths may be
acceptable, but the workability may not be. Proportioning performance concrete
with fly ash virtually guarantees a greater solid volume of cementitious materials,

which in itself helps promote cohesiveness and workability. Cementitious fines are
very important to the contractor who finishes flatwork. These fines are necessary to
allow proper leveling, sealing, and densification of the surface. Fly ash spheres help
ease the contractors job by lubricating the surface, making it much easier and
faster to finish the job. In lean mixes, or where aggregates are deficient in fines, an
increase in the volume of paste and an improvement in consistency will be
advantageous for workability and may also increase strength by allowing more
complete compaction.
Economical Mixture.
Pound for pound, no other solid material improves the workability, strength, and
other properties of a concrete mix like fly ash can, resulting in the most economical
of mixtures. Placing and finishing concrete becomes easier because of the improved
workability from the spherically shaped fly ash particles. Lower slump concrete can
be placed more easily (and at lower water content) because of the plasticity
provided by fly ash spheres. Segregation and bleeding are reduced because of to
the increased cohesiveness of fly ash concrete, so form finish and sharpness of
detail are enhanced. And coarse, clean sands can be used in concretes utilizing fly
ash and still have good workability

Fly Ash Decreases the Permeability of Concrete

FLY ASH HELPS FIVE WAYS
Using fly ash in the concrete mix greatly aids permeability and durability in five
ways:
1. Through pozzolanic activity, fly ash chemically combines with water and calcium
hydroxide forming additional cementitious compounds which result in denser,
higher strength concrete. The calcium hydroxide chemically combined with fly ash is
not subject to leaching, thereby helping to maintain high density.
2. The conversion of soluble calcium hydroxide to cementitious compounds
decreases bleed channels, capillary channels and void spaces and thereby reduces
permeability. 3. At the same time, the above chemical reaction reduces the amount
of calcium hydroxide susceptible to attack by weak acids, salts or other sulfates.
4. Concrete density is also increased by the small, finely divided particles of fly ash
which act like micro-aggregates to help fill in the tiniest voids in the concrete. 5. Fly
ash provides a dramatic lubricating effect which greatly reduces water demand (2%
to 10%). This water reduction reduces internal voids and bleed channels and keeps
harmful compounds out of the concrete.

Class F Fly Ash Increases Resistance to Sulfate

Attack
Fly ash effectively reduces this sulfate deterioration in three important ways:
1) Fly ash chemically binds free lime in cementitious compounds, rendering it
unavailable for sulfate reaction.

2) Fly ash activity reduces concrete permeability, keeping sulfates from penetrating
concrete.
3) Replacing a portion of portland cement with fly ash reduces the amount of
reactive aluminates (tricalcium aluminate) available for sulfate reaction.

Fly Ash Decreases Alkali/Silica Reaction

The use of low alkali (LA) cement (<0.6% alkalis) has become standard for
combating reactive aggregates, although it may by itself prove ineffective over
time. ASTM C-227 limits expansion at six months to 0.01%. While a mixture may
prove acceptable in the test, it may well undergo destructive
expansion later. Alkalis from other sources, including the aggregate, can fuel the
expansion reaction. Some aggregates may also be so reactive that they expand to
failure before six months with low alkali cement.
Including Class F fly ash in the mix design invariably reduces this reaction,
protecting the concrete (and the steel reinforcement) from the deterioration which
follows expansion. Larger quantities of Class C fly ash may be required to control
expansion. Dunstan notes that CaO content may be a useful parameter to indicate
the effectiveness of an ash to combat alkali/silica reaction. ASTM C-618 provides for
evaluation of pozzolans to be used where alkali/silica expansion is expected.
Supplementary optional physical requirements provide for expansion limits for the
C-441 expansion test with Pyrex glass aggregate.

The decrease in alkali/silica reaction comes from the fact that Class F fly ash reacts
chemically with and absorbs alkalis in the cement, thus making them unavailable
for reaction later with the reactive aggregate.

Fly Ash Increases Resistance to

Freezing and Thawing

FLY ASH VALUABLE AID High quality fly ash can be a concrete producers most
valuable asset in achieving all five objectives stated. High quality fly ash works as
follows:
1. Fly ash combines with calcium hydroxide to produce additional cementitious
materials, thereby reducing the amount of calcium hydroxide that may be leached
out of the concrete. Leaching of the calcium hydroxide increases concrete voids
which can accelerate freeze/thaw damage. As a result, permeability and porosity
are reduced.
2. Fly ash fills the minute voids that no other part of the mix can fill, thus creating a
more dense and less absorptive concrete.
3. Fly ash reduces the amount of water required in the mix by approximately 2% to
10%, because the spherical shape of the fly ash particles reduces bleed channels
and void spaces. Reducing bleed channels limits the entrance of water; fewer void
spaces mean less space for water to accumulate.
4. Fly ash helps maintain an even distribution of entrained air through the
plasticizing effect that fly ash particles have on the concrete mix. High quality fly
ash also produces more cohesive concrete which holds entrained air inside the
concrete.
5. Fly ash helps produce higher compressive strengths long term that provide a
strong concrete which resists the forces generated during the freezing of water in
the voids. Fly ash concrete is more stable, uniform, dense, less absorptive and less
permeableall factors which improve freeze/thaw durability