Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384

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Construction and Building Materials

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Review

Utilization of fly ash cenosphere as lightweight filler in cement-based

composites – A review
Asad Hanif a, Zeyu Lu a, Zongjin Li a,b,⇑
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
b
Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau (UM), Taipa, Macau, China

h i g h l i g h t s

Researches on fly ash cenosphere (FAC) containing cement-based composites (FACC), from 1984 till to date, have been reviewed.

The mechanical, structural, durability-related, time-dependent, and functional properties of FACC are summarized.

Various properties of FACC are compared with concretes containing conventionally used lightweight aggregates.

Developing trends and future prospects for the use of FAC are discussed.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Fly ash cenospheres (FACs) are the hollow spherical particles obtained during coal burning process in coal
Received 9 December 2016 fired power plants. FAC has been used as a lightweight filler (LWF) material in producing lightweight
Received in revised form 8 March 2017 cementitious composites (LWC) since 1984 and currently many researchers are widening the knowledge
Accepted 25 March 2017
in this area. In this paper, the research activities and outputs regarding the application of FAC in civil
Available online 2 April 2017
engineering are reviewed systematically. The influences of FAC on the mechanical, functional and struc-
tural properties as well as on the durability of FAC incorporated cement-based composites (FACC) are
Keywords:
summarized. The higher specific strength of the composites modified by FAC can be attributed to the
Fly ash cenosphere
Lightweight
thicker and tougher FAC shell as well as the partial pozzolanic activity of FAC particles in cementitious
Microsphere systems. Future prospects for its use are also suggested in this paper.
Cement-based composites Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sustainable development
Durability

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
2. Physical and chemical properties of FAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
2.1. Size and morphology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
2.2. Bulk density and specific gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
2.3. Chemical and phase-mineral composition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
2.4. Pozzolanic activity and degree of reactivity of FAC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
3. Mechanical properties of FAC bearing cementitious composites (FACC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
3.1. Density and compressive strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
3.2. Elastic modulus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
3.3. Flexural and tensile strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
3.4. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
4. Structural performance of FACC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
4.1. Flexural behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
4.2. Shear behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
4.3. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378

⇑ Corresponding author at: Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau (UM), Taipa, Macau, China.
E-mail addresses: ahanif@ust.hk (A. Hanif), zluaa@connect.ust.hk (Z. Lu), zongjin@ust.hk (Z. Li).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.03.188
0950-0618/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
374 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384

5. Microstructural characteristics of FAC bearing composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

6. Durability – related, time – dependent, and functional properties of FACC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
6.1. Alkali-silica reactivity and permeability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
6.2. Creep and shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
6.3. Thermal conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
6.4. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
7. Prospects and future trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
7.1. Use of nano silica in FAC incorporated composites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
7.2. Micro-encapsulation of FAC particles to use as phase change material (PCM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
7.3. Incorporation of FACs with other LWAs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
7.4. Utilization of FACs in thermal insulating coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
7.5. FAC utilization in reinforced concrete structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
8. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

1. Introduction thermogravimetric tests, they concluded that EP delays the hydra-

Lightweight concrete (LWC) has gained considerable attention
from researchers in the last few decades, though its use can be
traced back to 3000 BC [1]. The reasons for such augmented curios-
ity are its distinctive advantages over normal weight concrete: the
reduced dead loads leading to smaller cross – sections of structural
members as well as foundations, convenient fabrication, shipping,
transportation, and installation in the case of precast structural
members, and reduced overall construction cost. Moreover, LWC
offers exceptional durability to chemical and frost attack with
lower permeability [2], greater fire resistance [3] and improved
thermal insulation [4]. The unit weight of LWC ranges from 1200
to 1800 kg/m3 [2] while for structural LWC, the ACI Committee
213 recommends the range as 1120–1920 kg/m3 [4]. To be able
to attain the desired unit weight with satisfactory mechanical
and structural characteristics, cautious selection and efficient
application of lightweight filler (LWF) materials is of paramount
importance.
Conventionally, various fillers are used as lightweight aggregate
(LWA) in cementitious composites to attain reduced unit weight
with better mechanical and functional properties. These include
natural materials e.g. pumice [5,6] and palm oil shells [7,8] as well
as synthetic or processed materials employing treatment of the
parent rock (heat treatment of naturally occurring or waste mate-
rials) like expanded perlite (EP) [9–13], waste glass [14–16], vol-
canic ash [17,18], expanded shale [19,20], expanded polystyrene
beads (EPS) [21–24], glass microspheres [25,26], and some other
materials [5,8,27–31]. These materials could be successfully
employed in developing LWC, however a number of issues associ-
ated with their use in cementitious composites has hindered their
use as a structurally sound and viable option, which are due to low
mechanical strength, porous nature, and higher water absorption
of these aggregates. Some of these issues are:
1. Lower mechanical strength of the resulting concrete
2. Brittle behavior of the resulting concrete
3. Greater porosity and more air voids in the microstructure
4. Greater CO2 emissions associated with the production aspects
(mechanical and heat treatment)
5. Consumption of natural resources compromising sustainability
EP was used in an attempt to produce LWC and the resulting
concretes had density in the range 1112–1756 kg/m3 with
corresponding compressive and flexural strength values of
1.77–12.21 MPa and 0.71–3.73 MPa, respectively [32]. Su et al.
[33] studied the hydration heat effect of cement incorporated with
EP and based on the isothermal calorimetry measurements and
tion rate in LWC. Also, expanded glass was used for producing ther-
mal insulating LWC with density ranging from 1280 to 1490 kg/m3,
depending on the amount of LWA used, and the compressive
strengths obtained were 22–31 MPa [34]. Further, Lo et al. [35]
explained that the reason for the low strengths of LWC was the
inferior strength properties of LWAs used in the production. More-
over, the higher porosity of LWAs was also pointed out to be one of
the reasons of low strength of LWC.
The first study that particularly focused on FAC dates back to
1984 by Montgomery and Diamond [36] and since then research-
ers have been investigating fly ash cenospheres (FACs) to produce
LWC which may potentially address the aforementioned points to
a significant extent. This is so, because FACs are hollow alumino-
silicate particles obtained as residue from coal fired power plants
[36–39]. Along with bottom ash and fly ash, a significant propor-
tion of residue waste consists of thin-walled and spherical particles
which are relatively larger in size (10–400 mm) than fly ash [40];
termed as cenospheres. The color of FACs is greyish white and
the chemical composition is almost similar to that of fly ash [41].
It is considered as a valued industrial waste byproduct because
of the chemical composition [42] and as such its beneficial use pro-
motes sustainable development.
China produced more than 600 million tons of coal fly ash in
2015 [43], double than in 2005. This clearly shows that rapid
urbanization and utilization of coal for power production has dras-
tically increased the per annum waste generation. Although fly ash
has already been used as a supplementary cementing material
(SCM) as a means to substitute cement in concrete, the amount
used is small, leaving a great portion behind to be wasted in land-
fills. Utilizing FACs as LWA not only minimizes the waste to a
greater degree but also the mechanical and durability related prop-
erties of the resulting composites may possibly be improved, (due
to its chemical composition) with the added incentive of reduced
unit weight. This may potentially enhance the functional proper-
ties such as thermal insulation, as well.
Although, much research has been done on FAC containing
cement composites (FACC), but surprisingly no review papers on
the subject area have been published yet. This indicates the need
for a comprehensive review encompassing not only the develop-
ments to date, but also critically evaluating the properties of FACs
in regard to its effects in FACC and proposing the potential future
applications.
This paper reviews and critically analyzes the latest advance-
ments in FAC utilization in cement-based composites. The proper-
ties of FAC are presented and evaluated at length while the
rheological, mechanical, structural, microstructural, durability-
related, time-dependent, and functional properties of FACC have
 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384 375

been reviewed comprehensively. Finally, based on the available
research output, possible future applications of FAC are pointed
out.
2. Physical and chemical properties of FAC
The key physical properties of LWA for use in concrete are
specific gravity, shape, bulk density, surface texture, moisture con-
tent, water absorption, and porosity [2,7,44,45]. As the FACs are
obtained in a dry state [46] therefore, moisture content and water
absorption are irrelevant and not applicable. Further, the proper-
ties of FACs may vary from batch-to-batch even from the same
power plant [47].
2.1. Size and morphology
FAC particles are spherical and smooth textured [46]. The
micro-morphological features are shown in the scanning electron
microscopic (SEM) imagery given in Fig. 1. It can be seen that these
are well rounded and hollow from the inside with a shell thickness
of several microns. The size range may vary in different batches
and has been reported as 1–100 mm [46], 1–400 [48–50],
1–300 mm [51], and 1–600 mm [52]. The specific surface area has
been found by Blaine air permeability testing and Braunauer-
Emmet-Teller (BET) analysis as 2.50–4.57 m2/g [53,54] and
6.02 m2/g [48], respectively. Particle size has an inverse correlation
with the specific surface area [55,56], meaning that a FAC batch
with a higher percentage of finer particles would lead to a higher
apparent surface area.
2.2. Bulk density and specific gravity
The bulk density of FAC may lie within 400–800 kg/m3
[39,50,52,57,58] whereas the specific gravity (measured by helium
pycnometer) is about 2.48 [51]. The bulk density of FAC along with
various conventionally used LWAs is tabulated in Table 1. Compar-
ing the bulk density of FAC with these LWAs, it can be ascertained
that FACs can be used in producing structural lightweight concrete
with unit weight less than 1900 kg/m3 [2,4,59].
2.3. Chemical and phase-mineral composition
The chemical composition of FAC (done by X-ray Fluorescence
Spectroscopy (XRF)) resembles closely that of typical fly ash, pri-
marily due to the same origin of both. Typical oxide compositions
of FACs, as reported by different researchers, are given in Table 2. It

Fig. 1. SEM images of FAC at different magnifications; (a) 100 mm [50,71], and (b) 500 mm [72].

Table 1
Different kinds of conventionally used lightweight fillers [1,32,49,50,59,67–71].

S. No Lightweight Filler Manufacturing Process Shape and Texture Bulk Density (kg/m3)
1 Foamed Slag Foaming Bed Angular/Vesicular 750
2 Expanded Perlite Rotary Kiln Rounded/Smooth 30–240
3 Expanded Glass (hollow spheres) Rotary Kiln Rounded/Smooth 350–600
4 Sintered Pulverized Fuel Ash Sinter Strand Rounded/Fine 825
5 Expanded Polystyrene (beads) Rotary Kiln – <33
6 Expanded Slate Rotary Kiln Irregular/Rough 700
7 Expanded Shale Rotary Kiln Rounded/Smooth 650
8 Expanded Clay Rotary Kiln Rounded/Smooth 425
9 Blast Furnace Slag Palletisation Irregular Smooth 900
10 Expanded Vermiculite Rotary Kiln – 60–190
11 Fly Ash Cenosphere Waste byproduct from coal fired power plant Spherical 400–800

Table 2
Oxide composition (weight%) of FAC from XRF.

Description Al2O3 CaO SiO2 SO4 Fe2O3 Na2O K2O TiO2 MnO MgO
Hanif et al. [48,50,71] 16.70 1.06 73.10 0.42 1.96 2.42 3.94 0.35 0.05 –
Wang et al. [51] 28.40 0.80 60.10 0.03 4.80 0.90 3.50 – – 1.50
Xu et al. [73] 32.07 0.71 61.01 – 3.11 3.11 1.65 1.31 – –
Kolay and singh [53] 30.01 1.15 52.53 0.02 7.53 0.02 1.98 1.79 – 0.32
Blanco et al. [41] 24 4.3 57 – 6.8 0.37 3.3 1.2 – 2.2
376 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384
can be seen from Table 2 that silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide
collectively form the majority portion; approximately 90%,
whereas calcium oxide and other elemental oxides are present in
small amounts.
The phase-mineral compositions of FAC acquired by X-ray
diffraction (XRD) are given in Fig. 2. Amorphous silica minerals
in different forms like quartz and cristobalite have been identified
in the patterns. Further, alumina and mullite are also noticed
whereas alumina is a predominant mineral present in FACs.
Fig. 2. XRD diffractograms of FAC; (a) for different sized FAC particles [51], (b) at
different temperatures [72] (c) a typical small sample of FAC [53].
2.4. Pozzolanic activity and degree of reactivity of FAC
The presence of amorphous silica and a small amount of lime
could be helpful in pozzolanic reactions in the cement-based sys-
tem. Wang et al. [51] studied the possible pozzolanic activity of
FAC by thermogravimetric methods. Two cement pastes, one with
FAC and one without FACs, were prepared with the same water to
cementitious materials ratio and tested for Calcium Hydroxide
(CH) and non-evaporable water content (Wc). Testing ages were
selected at 7, 28, 91, 182, and 365 days. The CH and Wc quantities
were obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) where the
weight loss was determined in dehydroxylation (decomposition
of CH) and decarbonation (decomposition of Calcium Carbonate)
processes in the cement hydration products while subjected to
high temperature [60–65]. Reduction in the amounts of CH and
Wc for pastes with FACs indicated their degree of reactivity, how-
ever the particle sizes selected by Wang et al. [51] were less than
106 mm, hence the pozzolanic activity results were not indicative
of all the FAC particle range. Such results resemble the ones
obtained for fly ash by Lam et al. [66]. In another study, Hanif
et al. [50] determined the pozzolanic activity of FACs for the com-
plete range of particle sizes and corroborated the partial reactivity
of FACs in cementitious systems by quantifying the degree of reac-
tivity. This is an important result as it justifies the better mechan-
ical properties of FAC incorporated composites, even at lower
density levels.
3. Mechanical properties of FAC bearing cementitious
composites (FACC)
The mechanical properties of FACC are the compressive
strength, flexural strength, tensile strength, elastic modulus and
specific strength (strength to density ratio) as reported in the liter-
ature, are summarized in the subsequent sections.
3.1. Density and compressive strength
Compressive strength is the most commonly and widely
researched property of cement-based materials because various
other mechanical properties of cement based composites like elas-
tic modulus, abrasion resistance, fatigue, flexural strength, splitting
tensile strength, etc. are related to this property [74]. FACC has
been found to have desirably low density with adequately higher
strength as compared to contemporary concretes with conven-
tional LWAs. The density and mechanical properties of FACC as
reported by various researchers are tabulated in Table 3. Depend-
ing on the mixture proportioning, the water to binder ratio, the
use of SCMs and admixtures, various grades of strength of FACC
have been achieved.
Although Montgomery and Diamond [36] were the pioneers in
using FACs in cementitious composites, its use as LWA emerged in
late 20th century with the work of Losiewicz et al. [54], who used
FAC as LWA and lower density composites were successfully devel-
oped, however the corresponding compressive strength was too
low because of the larger amounts of FACs incorporated, and the
unconventional mix design approach where the FACs to water ratio
was fixed at 1.2. Afterwards, Blanco et al. [41] developed FACC with
density of 1510 kg/m3 and corresponding compressive strength as
33.03 MPa. This triggered increased interest from researchers
working on LWC with different LWAs because even though the
conventional LWAs could help to produce LWC, but the lower
strength levels associated, discouraged their use.
It can be understood that the density of FACC drops directly
through the addition of FACs as filler material and the resulting
composites conform with the specifications of structural light-
 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384
Table 3
Density and mechanical properties of various FACC reported in literature (28 – day age).
Reference Water/Binder Ratio Density (kg/m3)
Hanif et al. [50] – 1260–1612
Blanco et al. [41] 0.30 1090–1510
Huang et al. [52] 0.26 1649–2001
Hanif et al. [48] 0.70 1297
Wu et al. [75] 0.35–0.56 1196–1471
Liu et al. [78] 0.35 1460
Losiewicz et al. [54] 1.2* 760–867
Kannan et al. [88] 0.45 – 46–55
Wang et al. [77] 0.29–0.68 1043–1495
weight concrete [2,4,67]. Further, it has been observed that the
FACC incorporated with SCMs like fly ash, silica fume and iron
ore tailings have better mechanical strength and packing proper-
ties as elaborated by [75–77]. Some researchers also tried to fur-
ther reduce the density of FACC by incorporating other LWAs,
like aerogels, alongside FACs but the density reduction was not
substantial and corresponding strength decrease was quite consid-
erable [48]. Among the current research on FACC, Liu et al. [78], Wu
et al. [75] and Wang et al. [77] achieved the most promising and
encouraging results with specific strength (strength per unit
weight) values of 40.14, 47.18, and 41.03 kpa/kg m3, respectively.
The resulting cement composites were termed as ultra-lightweight
cement composites (ULCC).
Based on experimental research, Wang et al. [77] succeeded in
proposing a method to design the mix proportions of ULCC for
objective (desired) unit weight, compressive strength and worka-
bility. The proposed methodology was based on the correlation
between the spacing among spherical FAC particles (when packed
together) and the water to binder (cementitious materials includ-
ing cement and SCM, if any) ratio for attaining the aimed workabil-
ity. If the FAC particle size distribution and particle density is
known, the method can be successfully employed in achieving
the desired unit weight and strength for the FACC. This was a very
important step towards the development of FACC as it minimizes
the laboratory trials needed for achieving the target properties of
fresh and hardened FACC.
3.2. Elastic modulus
Other important mechanical properties for evaluating the over-
all mechanical behavior and aiding the structural design of FACC
are the elastic modulus. It was found that elastic modulus of FACC
is much inferior than normal weight concrete with the reasoning
being due to the lower density and compressive strength [76].
However, the major contribution in this area came from another
work [75], where the elastic modulus of ULCC (FACC) was experi-
mentally determined in accordance with ASTM C469 [79], and
compared the results with the calculated values of the moduli
obtained from the ACI static elastic modulus equation
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
0
(EC ¼ Wc1:5 ð0:043Þ kf c) [80]. It was established that the ACI
equation overvalues the elastic modulus of FACC when the density
377
Compressive Flexural Description
Strength (MPa) Strength
(MPa)
30.38–55.92 5.38–9.29 1.0 wt% PVA fibers were used.
Silica fume was used as SCM.
30–70% (by binder weight) of FAC was employed.
5.04–33.03 2.09–5.05 Various granulometric fractions of FAC were incorporated to
achieve a range of results.
No micro-reinforcement was used.
44.3–48.1 – Iron ore tailings and fly ash were used as SCM.
PVA fibers were used.
33.54 4.94 Silica fume was used to replace 10% of cement.
PVA fibers were used.
33.0–69.4 3.6–7.3 Silica fume was used to replace 8% of cement in binder.
38.3–51.6 vol% of FAC in the mixes were used.
Polyethylene fibers were used.
58.6 6.08 PVA fibers were used.
Silica fume was used as SCM.
Tests were conducted at various temperatures (values reported
here are pertaining to room temperature conditions).
0.55–2.88 – *
refers to FAC/water ratio.
– FACs were used as cement replacement from 5% to 30% by
weight.
22.2–61.3 – The results for density are for 1-day age.
is less than 1230 kg/m3 and compressive strength is up to 43 MPa
but underestimates the value for other scenarios. Further it was
pointed out that although the ACI-318 relation is pertinent to con-
crete, it may equally hold good in assessing the elastic modulus of
the FACC with rational correctness. The elastic modulus correlation
with the compressive strength of FACC was further corroborated in
another experimental study [77]. Liu et al. [78] conducted experi-
ments on the mechanical properties of FACC at various tempera-
tures and found that the elastic modulus of FACC increases by
12% at 60 °C in comparison with the corresponding value at
ambient temperature.
3.3. Flexural and tensile strength
It was already shown by Clarke [67] that LWC is more ‘‘brittle”
than normal concrete. The same is true for FACC as it is an
ultra-lightweight composite. Therefore, in order to improve its
performance and ductility, the use of discontinuous micro-
reinforcement is vital, which is why in the past many of the
research studies focused on fiber reinforced FACC. The flexural
strength of FACC as reported in the literature is summarized in
Table 3. FACs have been incorporated into cementitious compos-
ites with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers [48,52,57,81–85], poly-
ethylene fibers (PE) [75,76,86–88], polypropylene fibers (PP) [57]
and steel fibers [76]. PVA fibers were found to enhance ultimate
flexural strength with toughness indices I5 and I10 [89] double than
those for FACC incorporated with PP fibers [57]. Use of relatively
higher volume fraction (2%) of PVA fibers led to much pronounced
strain hardening (up to 4.5% strain) with excellent multiple crack-
ing under uniaxial tensile tests [52]. A tensile strength of up to
6 MPa was achieved. These results indicate clearly that PVA fibers
have good compatibility with FACC which is primarily due to their
hydrophilic nature and the presence of hydroxyl group (in the PVA
fibers) resulting in strong chemical bonding leading to high Gd
[90].
Studies on PE and steel fiber reinforced FACC showed that the
first cracking strength of PE reinforced FACC is 17% less than its
counterpart containing steel fibers [76]. This is because of the
lower elastic modulus of PE fibers (79 GPa) as compared to that
of steel fibers (200 GPa). No synergy between PE and steel fibers
has been seen in flexural toughness at 0.50% fiber volume fraction.
378 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384
PP fibers even showed a worse performance than PE with tough-
ness indices I5 and I10 only up to 2 and 4 respectively, even at a
high volume fraction of fibers i.e. 2.67%.
FACs have also been proven to be effectively bonded in fiber
reinforced composites, as has been observed in the case of PVA,
PE, PP and steel fibers, where adequate strain hardening behavior
of the resulting composites has been observed. Particularly, PVA
fibers were found to be the most effective in generating multiple
cracking in the lightweight engineered cementitious composites
(ECC) manufactured by FACs. This further shows that FACs are
compatible with various kinds of fibers and can help reduce the
brittleness associated with LWCs.
The modulus of rupture (MOR) has not been the focus of many
researchers although limited data is available on it. Pichor et al.
[57] used fiber incorporated FACC by using PVA and PP fibers
and found that PVA fibers significantly enhanced the MOR of FACC,
whereas the decrease in MOR was linear with the increasing vol-
ume fraction of FACs. PP fibers were seen to significantly reduce
(up to 67%) the MOR of FACC, with increasing FAC amounts. In
other studies [84,85,91,92], it was further corroborated that MOR
is a function of the compressive strength and density of FACC.
3.4. Summary
The results on density, mechanical strength, and flexural perfor-
mance of FACC shows that FAC can be efficiently utilized as LWA in
cementitious systems. Great reduction in the unit weight while
having excellent mechanical characteristics for the resulting com-
posites signifies broad applicability of FACC. Further, FACs are not
only well bound in the cementitious matrix but also their compat-
ibility with various types of fibers has been demonstrated. Use of
discontinuous fibers compensates for the brittle nature of LWCs
thereby further encouraging the use of FACs for a variety of appli-
cations. It is also to be mentioned that the lightweight modification
factor, as suggested by ACI 318 ([80]), for predicting the elastic
modulus of LWC over-estimates the resulting values for FACC.
Thus, more work in this area is needed to develop right theoretical
models for prediction of such properties.
4. Structural performance of FACC
Limited studies on the structural performance of FACC in rein-
forced structures have been carried out in the last few years by
Wang et al. [51,76,77], Huang et al. [83,93], and Yan et al.
[84,85,91,92,94,95] covering various important aspects of struc-
tural behavior.
4.1. Flexural behavior
Flexural behavior of FACC was studied in steel–concrete–steel
(SCS) sandwich composite walls [93], reinforced flat slabs
[92,95], and double skin composites [95]. Huang and Liew [93]
infilled a sandwich wall with PVA fiber-reinforced FACC core (unit
weight 1380 kg/m3, compressive strength 55.9 MPa, splitting ten-
sile strength 5.4 MPa, and elastic modulus of 15.4 GPa) having steel
plate skin on both sides. J-hook connectors were used for improved
composite action between the steel skin and cement composite
core. The composite walls were subject to pure compression, pure
flexure, and combined compression – flexure loading. It was found
that the SCS sandwich wall displayed excellent ductility and
greater residual strength in a bending failure mode.
Yan et al. [92] studied the effects of concentrated loading on
reinforced flat slabs made from FACC of different strengths and
unit weights. Failure mode, load – deflection patterns and punch-
ing shear resistance of the slabs were determined. The punching
resistance and elastic resistance of the slabs were found to be
directly correlated with the fiber amount in the FACC which (the
fibers) increased the punching cone zone in the punching shear
failure surface. Moreover, the ultimate strength was also deter-
mined as a function of the compressive strength of FACC.
In another study, reinforced flat slabs and double skin compos-
ites (DSC) fabricated from FACC with unit weight of 1450 kg/m3
and compressive strength of 60 MPa [81] were evaluated for flex-
ural performance under central loading [95]. The members were
tested for different flexural reinforcement ratios as well as varying
fiber volume fractions. Under loading the slabs showed one peak
resistance in load – deflection curve while DSC plates exhibited
two peaks corresponding to core failure and skin failure. The opti-
mum flexural reinforcing ratio was found as 1.71%. Increasing fiber
volume fraction was found to be beneficial in increasing ultimate
flexural strength of slabs whereas no significant improvement
was seen in DSC members.
4.2. Shear behavior
Shear behavior of SCS sandwich composite shell structures was
studied in [83,85] in which ultimate strength behavior and punch-
ing shear behavior was investigated, experimentally and analyti-
cally. An innovative conical structural configuration was built by
SCS sandwich shell. FACs were used as LWA in the mix of core
while PVA fibers were also added for improved material ductility.
The resulting core had a density of 1361 kg/m3 with splitting ten-
sile strength of 5.8 MPa and elastic modulus of 14.30 GPa. Shear
connectors were used as shear reinforcement to withstand the
transverse shear force acting on the structures section. Quarter
scaled lab models (shell structures) were used in lieu of actual
arched ice-resisting structures and subjected to patch loads till fail-
ure. The punching shear failure was analyzed and modelled. The
load–deflection curve was found to be bi-modal representing dif-
ferent failure strengths. The structural composite shells failed in
concrete core at the first peak strength while the second peak
strength was due to the tension failure (skinning) of outer face
plate. It was found that Eurocode 2 overestimates the punching
shear resistance for such composites. So, Huang et al. [83] pro-
posed a modification in the relations with further verification.
Although it was demonstrated that the SCS shell exhibited satisfac-
tory punching shear resistance for FACC in comparison with the
ISO design load, no comparison was made with other high perfor-
mance composites (HPCs).
This gap was overcome in the work of Yan et al. [85] who per-
formed similar tests on SCS shell structures with different compos-
ites for the core. In their study, they used crushed granite and river
sand and the results were compared with the shells with PVA fiber
reinforced FACC cores. The ultimate strength of the SCS shell with
FACC core was half that of HPC core. However, greater ductility
after the first peak strength was seen in case of FACC. Based on
the test results, new theoretical models were developed which
proved to be able to predict the punching behavior more reason-
ably as compared to ACI [80] and Eurocode 2 [96]. Shear behavior
in SCS plate subjected to patch loading [94] and concentrated load-
ing [91] was also studied using the same sandwich structure sys-
tem employed as in [83,85], however the elements were plain
rather than curved arches. Satisfactory performance of composites
with FACs as LWA was further verified.
4.3. Summary
The behavior of reinforced composites shells and plates ceno-
sphere filler clearly advocate the great applicability of FACs for pro-
ducing exceptionally lightweight, structurally sound, and
economically viable composites. The flexural performance, shear
 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384 379

behavior and punching resistance evaluated under various scenar-
ios dictate that satisfactory performance of the structural members
can be achieved using FACs. The developed models for predicting
these properties may be used adequately for such applications.
5. Microstructural characteristics of FAC bearing composites
The properties of FACC are influenced by the microstructural
characteristics of the composite. The few studies conducted so
far provide useful insights into the mechanism of FACs in the FACC.
Fig. 3 shows the microstructure of FACC under different magni-
fications. A more porous microstructure can be clearly seen with
the inclusion of FAC in the cementitious composite. A total porosity
of 43%, at 70% FAC weight fraction and 0.70 water to binder ratio,
was reported by Hanif et al. [48]. This is mainly because of two rea-
sons; first, the spherical particles induce more air voids in the
matrix, and second, the lower iso-static crush strength (defined
as the stress at which the average bulk of the material has a 90%
or greater survival rate [97]) up to 70–140 MPa, depending to shell
thickness. Further, due to the pozzolanic activity of FACs, the shell
of the smaller particles may consume itself increasing the calcium
silicate hydrate (CSH) gel volume and leaving behind voids due to
the hollow nature of FACs (Fig. 3(c)). The possible reaction of FACs
in the cement matrix is the main reason for FACC having greater
strength, even at lower unit weight.
Detailed studies on porosity and permeability were carried out
in a more recent work [50] where it was shown that porosity
directly increases with increasing weight fraction of FACs in the
cementitious composites, however the lower permeability values
reported there indicate that the porosity may not be a serious issue
as long as the FAC weight fraction is limited to 50%.
The interfacial properties between FAC particles and the matrix
can be seen from the crack growth in Fig. 3(b). The crack did not

Fig. 3. SEM images of FACC at various magnifications; (a) [50], (b) [50], (c) [52], (d) [50] [75], (e) [50] and (f) [48].
380 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384

break the shell as it propagated but rather passed through a
weaker zone (several microns width) surrounding the FAC particle.
This indicates that FACs are well bound within cementitious sys-
tem. The interfacial transition zone (ITZ) was further characterized
[57].
not interconnected and hence the permeability of FACs concrete
is limited. Similar findings on different LWAs were reported later
by Liu et al. [104] where it was further corroborated that LWC
has similar transport properties as normal concrete.

6.2. Creep and shrinkage

6. Durability – related, time – dependent, and functional
properties of FACC
Miscellaneous properties of FACC which have been studied ear-
lier include alkali-silica reactivity, porosity, permeability, creep,
shrinkage, and thermal conductivity. An overview of these studies
is covered in the following sub-sections.
6.1. Alkali-silica reactivity and permeability
Wang et al. [51] determined the alkali silica reactivity of FACC
in accordance with ASTM C227 [98] and ASTM C1260-14 [99].
The test results indicated that the FAC particles were not poten-
tially deleterious in cementitious systems in regard to alkali – silica
reactivity concerns. Rather the amorphous silica in FAC (as identi-
fied in XRD patterns) led to increased pozzolanic activity of FACC
affecting the mortar expansion by reducing the pH of the pore
solution and permeability of the mortar. This important result fur-
ther encouraged the use of FACs as LWF
Permeability studies on FACC were done by Barbare et al. [100]
to determine the possibility of sulfate and chloride ions transport.
The concrete test specimens were prepared in accordance with
ASTM C192 [101]. For FAC incorporated concrete, all the fine aggre-
gate was replaced with FACs and transport of water in the concrete
from both the flat surfaces through the axial length, was measured.
The results were found to be in agreement with Washburn kinetics
[102] at shorter time periods of 5–10 min, for both normal and FAC
incorporated concrete. The moisture up take by FACs was found to
be significantly higher than sand with the depth of penetration 20%
higher at time period of 6 min, indicating the porous nature of FACs
incorporated concrete [103]. However, the effective pore size for
water penetration in sand concrete was higher than its counterpart
with FACs as fine aggregate, but the corresponding diameter for
both was of the order of 1 nm. This confirmed that the pores are
Time – dependent properties like creep and shrinkage are very
important from a structural design point of view as these may
influence the cracking in concrete due to the stresses developed
because of the restrained volume change or sustained loads
applied to the structure [105]. Creep and shrinkage of FAC incorpo-
rated concretes (termed ‘‘ULCC”) were extensively investigated by
Chia et al. [106] and compared with the other concretes incorpo-
rating expanded clay lightweight aggregate and quartz sand as fine
aggregate, with crushed granite as coarse aggregate. Cylindrical
specimens of 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height were fabri-
cated for determining the basic creep, total creep, autogenous
shrinkage, total shrinkage, compressive strength, and elastic mod-
ulus. For creep test, the specimen were subjected to sustained
loading at 40% of their compressive strengths. The data were taken
until the age of 450 days. Expanded clay and FACs exhibited less
total shrinkage in concrete specimen as compared to normal con-
crete while FACC had the least total shrinkage of all the specimen
after 180 – day age. However, their creep strain were 80% and 20%
higher than concretes incorporating quartz sand – crushed granite
and expanded clay LWA – crushed granite. The experimental val-
ues were compared with the ones obtained by the prediction mod-
els of ACI 209.R.92 [107], Eurocode 2 [96], and CEB-FIP [108,109]. It
was found that these models overestimate the creep and shrinkage
of FACC, however in the absence of any relevant creep data Euro-
code 2 can be mode adequately used as it overestimates the creep
values by only 25%.
The reduced shrinkage due to FAC incorporation in concrete sig-
nifies the reduced micro-cracking, at the early ages, which indi-
cates the improved durability by inhibiting the ingress of ions
and salts. This is an important conclusion as it encourages the
use of FAC in marine structures as well as structures with larger
surface area to depth ratios, like road pavements, floorings, and
reinforced concrete slabs where the chloride, sodium and sulfate

Table 4
Comparison of FAC with other LWAs in LWCs

Type of LWA Reference Water/Binder Ratio Density (kg/m3) Compressive Strength (MPa) Thermal conductivity (Wm1 K1)
Fly Ash Cenosphere Hanif et al. [48] 0.70 1297 33.54 0.410
Huang et al. [52] 0.26 1649–2001 44.3–48.1 0.278–0.370
Blanco et al. [41] 0.30 1090–1510 5.04–33.03 0.36–0.46
Wu et al. [75] 0.35–0.56 1196–1471 33.0–69.4 0.31–0.40
Losiewicz et al. [54] – 760–867 0.55–2.88 0.111–0.153
Expanded Perlite Gul et al. [110] 0.70 1773–1984 11.3–25.1 0.82–1.23
Demirboga et al. [111] 0.63 483–522 3.16–4.90 01,472–0.1797
Sengul et al. [12] 0.55 354–1677 0.10–17.30 0.13–0.57
Tandiroglu [112] 0.40–0.65 1798–1883 60–80 1.47–1.76
Pumice Uysal et al. [5] – 1329–2270 – 0.78–1.46
Topcu and Uygunoǧlu [31] 0.20 1500 9 0.44
Diatomite Topcu and Uygunoǧlu [31] 0.20 900 6 0.13
Unal et al. [113] 0.15 900–1200 3.5–5.9 0.22–0.32
Polystyrene Wang and Meyer [114] 0.55 1560–1980 19–37 0.27–0.61
Laukaitis et al. [115] – 150–300 0.10–0.80 0.045–0.095
Bouvard et al. [21] – 492–861 0.80–11.4 0.164–0.314
Expanded shale Kim et al. [116] 0.47 1553–1800 8–22 0.36–0.54
Expanded glass Yu et al. [117] 0.38–0.59 1280–1460 23–30 0.49–0.85
Aerogel Gao et al. [29] 0.38 1000–2050 8.3–60 0.26–1.90
Ng et at [118] 0.20–0.25 800–2250 5–140 0.35–2.35
Ng et al. [119] 0.20 800–2250 5–140 0.35–2.35
Hanif et al. [48] 0.70 1187–1297 18.63–23.54 0.32–0.41
Kim et al. [120] 0.50 – 8–26 0.14–0.56
Palm kernel shell Okpala [121] 0.50–0.80 1600–1780 11.50–22.20 0.19–0.45
 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384
ions may attack (through the micro-cracks) the hydrated cement
paste resulting in corrosion, leeching, alkali-silica reaction (ASR),
and expansion due to Ettringite formation.
6.3. Thermal conductivity
One of the most important functions of utilizing LWAs in con-
crete is the thermal insulating behavior due to the greater air void
content within the concrete. As the thermal conductivity of air is
far less than that of the solid cement hydration products, the sub-
sequent thermal conductivity of the concrete is also low. Previ-
ously researched LWAs in producing LWC for thermal insulating
behavior are summarized in Table 4 and the corresponding ther-
mal conductivity coefficient values obtained are also provided for
comparison with FACC.
It can be clearly seen that FAC incorporation in concrete leads to
significant lowering of the thermal conductivity, comparable to
other LWAs. However, the compressive strength of such concretes
at the same unit weight, in comparison to other LWCs, is much
higher which makes it more useful and beneficial over other LWAs.
For example, a thermal conductivity coefficient of 0.31 W/m-K can
be achieved with FAC with the composite density of 1196 kg/m3 at
33 MPa compressive strength. However, for achieving the same
thermal conductivity coefficient using EP, polystyrene, expanded
shale, and aerogel the corresponding concrete strength of 16, 23,
8, and 18 MPa, respectively, is achieved. This can help in quantita-
tively assessing the beneficial effects of FACs on thermal conduc-
tivity and specific strength simultaneously.
6.4. Summary
FAC has been proved as an excellent material for improved
durability – related, time – dependent, and functional properties
of the resulting composites. Lower permeability, even at higher
porosity values, supports its application in thermally insulating
composites. Also, the results on ASR, creep, and shrinkage show
the improved durability of FACC. However, there are still some
functional properties like acoustic properties and water resistance,
which have been a neglected area yet, which need to be evaluated
for FAC.
7. Prospects and future trends
Although the influence of FAC particles on various properties of
the resulting concretes have been widely studied, their physical
and chemical characteristics encourage their use in a variety of
applications. Moreover, the properties of the resulting concretes
may be improved or modified with different materials for specific
use.
7.1. Use of nano silica in FAC incorporated composites
The review of the past literature led to the conclusion that all in
all, the FAC is very useful material for incorporation into cementi-
tious composites as a lightweight filler which has a positive influ-
ence on the resulting properties. Moreover, its utilization as
construction material may substantially reduce the waste from
coal fired plants. However, it has been shown that certain proper-
ties of FAC incorporated composites (FACC) are compromised like
creep, porosity, and elastic modulus.
Nano-silica (NS) has been found useful in improving the inter-
facial transition zone of aggregate in concrete, increasing the
early-age strength of concrete by accelerating the cement hydra-
tion reactions, and increasing the pozzolanic effect of fly ashes in
cement mortars and concrete [122–127]. Therefore, it can be
381
ascertained that if colloidal NS is used in FACC, the resulting prop-
erties may improve significantly.
7.2. Micro-encapsulation of FAC particles to use as phase change
material (PCM)
Phase change materials (PCMs) are known to increase the ther-
mal storage capacity and thermal insulating behavior of cement
composites [128]. The FAC spherical particles may be filled with
a PCM like paraffin to improve their thermal storage capacity
which may possibly lead to enhanced thermal insulating behavior.
However, one great difficulty in such application is the filling of
hollow particles with PCM which would need sub-micro level per-
forations in the FAC shell in such a way that the particles may still
be able to contain the PCM. If this barrier is overcome, very encour-
aging results in thermal behavior can possibly be achieved.
7.3. Incorporation of FACs with other LWAs
Another future direction for FAC utilization in construction
materials is to use it in combination with another suitable LWA
e.g. palm kernel shells, aerogels, or expanded perlite. This may fur-
ther specifically modify the properties of the resulting concrete for
desired application. One such attempt was made earlier by Hanif
et al. [48] where FACs were used with aerogel, and the co-effects
were studied in regard to the influence on mechanical and thermal
insulating behavior.
7.4. Utilization of FACs in thermal insulating coatings
Another excellent use of FACs can be in thermal insulating coat-
ings for concrete panels, walls, facades, roofings, etc., as demon-
strated by Arizmendi-Morquecho et al. [129] and Chávez-Valdez
[130]. Such coatings can be made with cement slurry as the carrier
unlike the aforementioned studies. In such a scenario, the poten-
tially unwanted characteristics associated with FACC may be
overcome.
7.5. FAC utilization in reinforced concrete structures
Although some aspects of structural behavior such as shear
resistance and flexural performance have been addressed earlier,
detailed studies need to be carried out to strengthen the proposi-
tion of FAC incorporation in reinforced concrete structures. These
may include the bond strength of steel rebars, beam – column
joints evaluation, seismic design, and so forth.
8. Conclusions
The studies utilization of FACs as LWF in producing LWC has
been reviewed. The physical and chemical characteristics of FAC
as well as the mechanical, structural, durability-related, time-
dependent and functional properties of the resulting composites
(FACC) were summarized. The mechanical and thermal insulating
behavior of FACC was also compared with conventional LWC.
Moreover, new directions for possible FAC incorporation and appli-
cation for research and practical use are also suggested. Based on
the review, the following conclusions could be drawn:
1. Fly ash cenospheres (FACs) are hollow alumino-silicate spheri-
cal shaped particles, with shell thickness of several microns.
The size ranges from a few microns to 400 mm. Due to its lower
bulk density ranging from 400 to 800 kg/m3, FACs can be used
as lightweight fillers in cement – based composites.
382 A. Hanif et al. / Construction and Building Materials 144 (2017) 373–384
2. The presence of amorphous silica and lime in FACs signifies its
pozzolanic activity in cementitious systems. The pozzolanic
effect leads to greater calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) gel forma-
tion and lower calcium hydroxide content making the FAC
incorporated cement composites (FACC) to have higher
mechanical strength at lower density levels.
3. The hardened density of FACC at 28 – day age has been reported
in the range of 760–1510 kg/m3 with the corresponding com-
pressive strength range of 5.04–69.40 MPa, leading to a higher
specific strength.
4. The ACI 318 equation for predicting the elastic modulus of con-
crete (based on compressive strength) can be successfully
employed with a suitable lightweight concrete modification
factor.
5. The inherent brittle nature of FACC, just like LWC, can be mod-
ified with fiber addition into the mix. Among various kinds of
fibers, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers show the best bonding
and greater flexural performance enhancement of FACC due to
its chemical bonding with the cement matrix.
6. The structural performance of FACC in steel – concrete – steel
sandwich walls, shells, and plate structures reveals that FACC
behaves in almost the same manner as normal concrete under
compression, end moment, patch loading, and concentrated
loading. Although, the ultimate flexural strength is governed
by the FACC compressive strength, the greater ductility with
fiber addition encourages its application. Similar observations
have been made for reinforced flat slabs made from FACC.
7. The microstructure of FACC is even though porous, and the
pores are not interconnected thus reducing the total permeabil-
ity. FAC particles are well bound in cement paste and the FAC
shell may sometimes consumed in pozzolanic reaction, for finer
FAC particles.
8. The thermal conductivity of FACC is significantly lower than
conventional LWC with excellent specific strength, thus encour-
aging its use as exterior wall panels, roofing, and facades for
temperature control, which may reduce the heating and cooling
load on the building.
9. Utilizing nano-silica in FACC, micro-encapsulation of FACs with
PCMs, incorporating FACs together with other LWAs, use of
FACs in producing thermal insulating coatings, and FAC utiliza-
tion in RCC structures are some of the unaddressed areas till
now which may be studied in future for customizing FACC for
desired applications.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the China Ministry of
Science and Technology under grant (973 Program:
2015CB655104) managed by HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute.
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