Effect of fly ash fineness on the performance of cement mortar Sivakumar Naganathan and Tan Linda Department of Civil

Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IK !"#UNITEN, $%&&& Ka'ang, Selangor, "ala(sia) Email* sivaN+uniten)edu)m() ,hone* -.&%/0121134) 5a6* -.&%/012122.)

Abstract This paper investigates the effe7t of fineness of fl( ash on the performan7e of 7ement mortar) 5l( ash from thermal plant is used as partial su8stitute for 7ement) 5l( ash is used as re7eived and also pro7essed 8( grinding) The stud( involved four repla7ement levels of fl( ash into 7ement at 2&9, 1&9, %&9 and $&9 for ea7h mi6 design) "ortar 7u8es :ere tested for strength, :ater a8sorption, and sorption) ;ater a8sorption and sorption sho:ed a de7reasing trend :ith in7rease of fl( ash fineness :hereas the strength in7reased :ith in7rease of fineness) It is 7on7luded that in7reasing the fineness of fl( ash in7reases the strength and redu7es a8sorption 8( 239 and hen7e is an effe7tive method to improve its performan7e in 7ement mortar) Keywords* 5l( ash, Cement, "ortar, Strength, ;ater a8sorption, Sorption)

Introduction The thermal po:er plant fl( ash, :hi7h is availa8le in a8undan7e, is 7lassified as Class 5) If it 7an 8e 7onverted to Class C, it :ill 8e useful as a su8stitute for 7ement) In7orporating these ver( fine parti7les :hi7h are o8tained 8( grinding and<or pneumati7 sele7tion improves the performan7e of 7on7rete) There are t:o 7lasses of fl( ash are defined 8( =!ST" C.2/ 1&&3>, :hi7h is Class C fl( ash and Class 5 fl( ash) The main differen7e 8et:een these t:o 7lasses of fl( ash is the amount of 7al7ium, sili7a, alumina and iron 7ontent in the ash itself) This 7hemi7al 7ontent of the 7oal :ill influen7e the 7hemi7al properties of the fl( ash) Class 5 fl( 7ontains less than 1&9 of lime =Ca?> and it is po@@olani7 in nature =Karthik 1&&/>) A( possessing the po@@olani7it(, Class 5 fl( ash :ill need a 7ementing agent in order to rea7t and produ7e 7ementitious 7ompounds) The 8urning of the (ounger lignite or su8# 8ituminous 7oal 7an produ7e Class C fl( ash) This t(pe of fl( ash having po@@olani7 properties and also has some self#7ementing properties) It 7ontains more than 1&9 of lime =Ca?> and it :ill harden and gain strength overtime) Unlike Class 5 fl( ash, self#7ementing Class C fl( ash does not reBuire an a7tivator) It is the main t(pe offered for residential appli7ations from read(#mi6 suppliers) Thus, it :ill 8e useful as a su8stitute for 7ement if Class 5 fl( ash 7an 8e 7onverted to Class C fl( ash) ?ne :a( to improve 7lass 5 into 7lass C fl( ash is 8( in7reasing its fineness 8( grinding)

This paper reports the investigation done on the effe7t of fineness of fl( ash on the properties of mortar) Cement mortar :as made :ith 7ement, sand and various per7entages of fl( ash :ith var(ing fineness) The mortar :as then tested for strength, :ater a8sorption, and sorption)

Materials The 7ement used in this resear7h is ordinar( ,ortland 7ement o8tained from Tasek Corporation Aerhad, "ala(sia and 7onfirming to =AS EN 20. C 2 1&&3>) The 7hemi7al 7omposition is presented in Ta8le2 ) 5l( ash used in this resear7h is the fl( ash o8tained from the Kapar Energ( Dentures Sdn) Ahd, Kapar Thermal ,o:er Station, Kapar, Selangor, "ala(sia)

Table 1. Chemi7al Composition of Cement and 5l( !sh Cement =9> 12)1/ 3). %)%. .$).$ 1)&. 1)2$

?6ide Composition Si? !l? 5e? Ca? "g? S?

5l( !sh =9> 3.)3/ 14)/% $ $)% 2)$ #

The Alaine fineness of 7ement and fl( ash are reported in Ta8le 1) It 7an 8e o8served that the fineness of 7ement, fl( ash as 7olle7ted, fl( ash as pro7essed are different) The fineness of the ra: material is in7reasing from 7ement to fl( ash after pro7essed) 5rom the Alains fineness test, the fineness of 7ement resulting is $3&&)14 7mE<g :hile the fineness of fl( ash as 7olle7ted is resulting in .$44)0% 7mE<g) 5rom these results, it 7an 8e seen that the fl( ash is finer than 7ement) !fter that, the fl( ash as 7olle7ted :as ground 8( pla7ing the as re7eived fl( ash in the Los !ngeles !8rasion "a7hine and rotated for / hours at 3&& revolutions per hour)

Ta8le 1. 5ineness of 7ement and fl( ash "aterial Cement 5l( ash as re7eived 5l( ash as pro7essed Mixture proportions and casting There are nine mi6ture designs used in this investigation as indi7ated in Ta8le %) The 7ontrol mi6 :as made :ith 7ement to sand ratio of 2*% :ith no addition of fl( ash) Cement :as then repla7ed :ith the fl( ash as re7eived and also pro7essed fl( ash at repla7ement levels of 2&, 1&, %&, and $& per7ent 8( :eight) The :ater 7ement ratio :as kept at &)3 for all mi6tures) Ta8le %) "i6 design "i6 id 2 1 % $ 3 . 4 / 0 Cement=9> 2&& 0& /& 4& .& 0& /& 4& .& 5l( !sh=9> # 2& 1& %& $& 2& 1& %& $& emark Control mi6 5l( !sh as 7olle7ted 5ineness =7mE<g> $3&&)14 .$44)0% 2&4&%)3$

5l( !sh as pro7essed

!ll the 7onstituent materials :ere pla7ed in a la8orator( mortar mi6er and mi6ed for three minutes) The mortar :as then poured into 3& mm 7u8e moulds and vi8rated for 3 se7onds in a vi8rating ta8le) The moulds :ere kept 7overed using a :et hessian for one da( and then transferred to 7uring :ater tank) ,ota8le tap :ater :as used in all the mi6tures) Testing "ortar 7u8es :ere tested for strength and ultrasoni7 pulse velo7it( =U,D> up to 1/ da(s, :ater a8sorption and sorption at 1/ da(s) Compressive strength test :as done in a77ordan7e :ith =!ST" C 2&0 1&&3> using a 7ompression testing ma7hine of 2&&& kN 7apa7it() Three 7u8es :ere tested and average value reported) ;ater !8sorption test :as done a77ording to =!ST" C 2$&% 1&&3> at 1/ da(s) The 7u8es :ere dried in an oven at 22&oC for 1$ hours and then 7ooled in a dessi7ator 8efore the tests) Sorption test is done after 1/#da(s of 7uring in the 7uring :ater tank for ea7h mi6 design) The :eight :as taken after the 7uring session) The samples :ere then kept in a tra( in su7h a :a( that the 8ottom % mm depth of the sample :as kept under :ater) The in7reases in :eight of the samples :ere re7orded on7e in ever( %& minutes up to $ hours)The value of sorption :as the slope of the graph :ith in7rease in :eight in F a6is and sBuare root of time in G a6is =Neville 200.>) Results and iscussion The results of strength, :ater a8sorption and sorption are indi7ated in Ta8le $) Ta8le $) Strength, :ater a8sorption, and sorption values of mortar "i6 Id Strength =",a> at da( 4 2$ ;ater !8sorption =9> Sorption =g<minHI>

1/

2 1 % $ 3 . 4 / 0

2/)40 23)21 2%)2/ 2%)&% 22)%4 21)40 22)44 22)&/ 4).2

1&)3$ 24)%2 24)4 2.).4 2$)20 24)&2 2$)%4 23)%4 21)%$

12)44 11 1$)41 1%)22 1&).3 13)%4 1.)31 11)$% 1%)2/

&)4$ &)0$ &)03 &)34 &)30 &).0 &)4/ &)$. &).0

%)$/ %)/0 1)%2 %)34 %)%3 1)/1 1).0 1)$$ 1)/1

!ompressi"e #trength The relationship 8et:een strength and age of sample is given in 5igure 2) The strength in7reases :ith age for all mi6tures) This is 8e7ause of h(dration of 7ement =Neville 200.>) The strength is more at 4 da(s for mi6 2 :hereas the strength is the lo:est for mi6 0) "i6 2 has no fl( ash 7ontent and mi6 0 has ma6imum of $&9 of fl( ash) Jen7e it is 7lear that addition of fl( ash redu7es the strength at earl( ages) This is 8e7ause addition of fl( ash redu7es the amount of tri 7al7ium sili7ate C%S in the mi6 :hi7h redu7es the heat of h(dration and hen7e redu7tion in strength =Shan Soma(a'i 1&&2>) It is also indi7ated in 5igure 2 that 4 da(s strength is lo:er :hen fl( ash fineness in7reased) Jen7e, it is 7on7luded that in7reasing the fineness of fl( ash redu7es earl( age strength =,rin(a et al) 1&&3>)

5igure 2) elationship 8et:een Compressive Strength and age)

The average 1/ da( strength of all mi6tures made :ith unground fl( ash is 11).1 ",a and the same for ground fl( ash is 1$)%/ ",a as reported in Ta8le .) It is o8served that in7reasing the fineness of fl( ash in7reases the strength at 1/ da(s) This is 8e7ause the finer the fl( ash, smaller is the parti7le si@e and the larger is the surfa7e area for h(dration and po@@olani7 rea7tion, and hen7e the strength :ill in7rease =,rin(a et al) 1&&4>) Jen7e it is 7on7luded that in7reasing the fineness of fl( ash in7rease its po@@olani7it() Jo:ever, more detailed investigation is ne7essar( in order to 8etter understand the po@@olani7 8ehavior of fl( ash)

Ta8le .) !verage strength of mortar 7u8es after 7uring !ge =da(s> !verage Strength =",a>

Control "i6 4 2$ 1/ 2/)40 1&)3$ 12)44

.$44)0% 7mE<g fl( ash 2%)2/ 2.)$4 11).1

2&4&%)3$ 7mE<g fl( ash 2&)/2 2$)44 1$)%/

#orption The sorptivit( of mortar is presented in 5igure 1) 5rom the figure, :e 7an 7on7lude that the finer the fl( ash, the lo:er is the rate of sorption) Aesides, the higher the 5l( !sh< Cement ratio, the lo:er is the rate of sorption) This is 8e7ause :hen there is more fl( ash, it :ill fill up the empt( voids in the mortar 7u8es, thus there is no voids for the :ater to sip through to in7rease the :eight of the 7u8es ,rin(a et al) 1&&3>)

5igure 1) ate of Sorption for various mi6tures)

$ater absorption 5igure % presents the :ater a8sorption values for various mi6tures) It is indi7ated that :hen the fl( ash is getting finer, the rate of :ater a8sorption is lo:er) 5urthermore, the

higher the fl( ash< 7ement ratio, the lo:er is the rate of :ater a8sorption) This is 8e7ause :hen volume of fl( ash is in7reasing, it :ill fill the voids, in7reases the densit( and hen7e prevents the :ater a8sorption =,rin(a et al 1&&4>)

5igure %) ;ater !8sorption

!onclusions The fl( ash as re7eived and also pro7essed 8( grinding :as used at four repla7ement levels in mortar) The 4 da( strength :as de7reasing as the fineness of fl( ash in7reased, :hile the 1/ da( strength :as in7reasing as the fineness of the fl( ash in7reased) The dura8ilit( properties su7h as :ater a8sorption and sorption sho:ed a de7reasing trend :ith the in7rease of the fl( ash fineness and validated :ith previous :orksJen7e it is 7on7luded that in7reasing the fineness of fl( ash in7reases its po@@olani7it( and hen7e grinding is an effe7tive :a( to enhan7e the performan7e of fl( ash re7eived from thermal po:er plant) Ac%nowledgement

!uthors :ish to a7kno:ledge the authorities of Kapar Thermal ,o:er Station, "ala(sia for suppl(ing the ne7essar( fl( ash for this resear7h) !uthors also :ish to thank Civil engineering department, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, "ala(sia for e6tending the la8orator( fa7ilities and also for providing a resear7h grant No) J 32&&3&$3& to do the resear7h)

References !ST" C 2&0 =1&&3>) Standard Test "ethod for Compressive Strength of J(drauli7 Cement "ortars, !ST" International, ,!, US!) !ST" C 2$&% =1&&3>) Standard Test "ethod for ate of ;ater !8sorption of "asonr( "ortars, !ST" International, ,!, US!) !ST" C .2/ =1&&3>) Standard Spe7ifi7ation for Coal 5l( !sh and a: or Cal7ined

Natural ,o@@olan for Use in Con7rete) !ST" International, ,!, US!) AS EN 20.#2*1&&3) "ethods of testing 7ement, Determination of strength) Aritish standards Institution, UK)

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Karthik J) ?8la, =1&&/>) Spe7if(ing fl( ash in 7on7rete) Concrete in focus, spring 1&&/, National read( mi6 7on7rete asso7iation, US!)

Neville, !)") =200.>) Properties of concrete) 5ourth Edition, !ddision ;esle( Longman Limited, UK) ,rin(a Chindaprasirt , Chai Jaturapitakkul , and Theera:at Sinsiri =1&&3>) Effe7t of fl( ash fineness on 7ompressive strength and pore si@e of 8lended 7ement paste) $13C$1/)

Cement & Concrete Composites 14 =1&&3>

,rin(a Chindaprasirt , Chai Jaturapitakkul , and Theera:at Sinsiri =1&&4>) Effe7t of fl( ash fineness on mi7rostru7ture of 8lended 7ement paste) Construction and

Building Materials 12 =1&&4> 23%$C23$2) Shan Soma(a'i =1&&2>) Civil Engineering Materials) Se7ond edition, ,renti7e Jall In7, US!)

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