FLY ASH

AS

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Haradhan Maiti
(3rd year civil) Haldia Institute of Technology E-mail maitiharadhan@gmail.com

MANUSCRIPT OVER VIEW: 1. ABSTRACT 2. INTRODUCTION 3. WHAT IS FLY ASH? 4. WHY FLY ASH UTALIZATION AS CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS? 5. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FLY ASH 6. CLASSIFICATION OF FLY ASH 7. AREAS OF FLY ASH UTALIZATION. -

8. USE OF FLY ASH IN DIFFERENT CONSTRUCTION. a. ROAD AND EMBANKMENT WORKS. b. MNUFACTURE OF BUILDING BRICKS. c. CONCRETE IMPROVING ITS PERFORMANCE. d. CONTROLLED LOW STRENGTH MATERIAL. e. IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MINES 9. FLY ASH REUSE 11. MOEF GAZETTE NOTIFICATION 12. CONCLUSION 13. REFERENCES 14. BIOGRAPHICAL SKERCH OF AUTHERS

1. ABSTRACT:Power plants fuelled by coal produce more than half of the electricity we consume in India today. But in addition to electricity, these plants produce a waste product known as FLY ASH which is fast becoming a vital ingredient for improving the performance of a wide range of concrete products as construction materials. Fly ash is the modern pozzolan, which improves the concrete performance and also enhances our environment. It comprises of non-combustible mineral portion of coal particles that solidify as microscopic, glassy spheres and collected from the power plants exhaust before they can fly away. Fly ash characteristics contribute to enhanced concrete workability and durability. There are two basic types of fly ash: Class F and Class C. Both Class F and Class C fly ashes undergo a pozzolanic reaction with the lime (calcium hydroxide) created by the hydration (chemical reaction) of cement and water, to create the same binder (calcium silicate hydrate) as cement. In addition, some Class C fly ashes may possess enough lime to be self cementing, in addition to the pozzolanic reaction with lime from cement hydration. The main benefit of fly ash in concrete is that it not only reduces the amount of nondurable calcium hydroxide (lime), but in the process converts it into calcium silicate hydrate (CSH), which is the strongest and most durable portion of the paste in concrete. The greater the percentage of fly ash ball bearings in the paste, the better lubricated the aggregates are and the better concrete flows. 2. INTRODUCTION:To meet the demands imposed by the rapid industrialization, the need for new constructions is increasing; lead to search of new construction materials. Fly ash is most versatile construction material. Fly ash is an inorganic product of fusion after combustion of coal in boiler of thermal power plants is produced in huge quantities .It is estimated that about 100 million tons of fly ash is produced from 65 major coals based thermal power station. Fly ash properties results primarily from the type of coal burned, the type of combustion equipment used and the fly ash mechanism employed. Though for the last decade, various studies have been done to use fly ash as a resource in various industries, including building products (brick, cement, aggregate, concrete).But still in India, the utilization is very low. One of the prime reasons for this is the difficulty of producing quality-controlled fly ash materials that can meet market specifications. The use of fly ash in building construction not only increases the availability of building materials but also saves expenditure on disposal and reduces air and water pollution concrete characteristics. It should be regularly checked as a part of quality control measure. How fly ash can be used as a construction material in various aspects is discussed below. 3. WHAT IS FLY ASH? Power plants fueled by coal produce more than half of the electricity we consume in India today. But in addition to electricity, these plants produce a material that is fast becoming a vital ingredient for improving the performances of a wide range of concrete products. That material is fly ash. Fly ash is comprised of the non-combustible mineral portion of coal. When coal is consumed in a power plant, it is first ground to -

fineness of powder. Blown into power plants boiler, the carbon is consumed- leaving molten particles rich in silica, alumina and calcium. These particles solidify as microscopic, glassy spheres that are collected from the power plants exhaust before they can fly away hence the products name: Fly ash. Fly ash use creates significant benefits for our environment. Fly ash conserves natural resources and avoids land fill disposal of ash products. By making concrete more durable, life cycle costs of roads and structures are reduced. Furthermore, fly ash use practically displaces production of other concrete ingredients, resulting in significant energy savings and reductions in green house gas emissions. Spherical fly ash particle offers ball bearing effect.

4. WHY FLY ASH UTALIZATION AS CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS?

Fly ash is an excellent resource material for construction industry. Fly ash utilization helps conserve natural resources like clay, lime stone required for making cement- thus saving environment. Fly ash is an excellent fill material for road/rail embankment. Fly ash is suitable for reclamation of both open cast and underground mines. Decoaled area can be reclaimed for agriculture/floriculture/aforrestation. Less requirement of land for fly ash pond. Fly ash has pozzolanic properties and used in the production of Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), therefore Environment friendly: For every tone of OPC produced, there is Release of 1 tone of Co2. Use of 0.25 tons of coal. Use of 1 tone of Lime stone. 80 units of electricity.

5. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FLY ASH:Fly ash material solidifies while suspended in the exhaust gases and is collected by electrostatic precipitators or filter bags. Since the particles solidify while suspended in the exhaust gases, fly ash particles are generally spherical in shape and range in size from 0.5 m to 100 m. They consist mostly of silicon dioxide (SiO2), which is present in two forms: amorphous, which is rounded and smooth, and crystalline, which is sharp, pointed and hazardous; aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and iron oxide (Fe2O3).

Fly ashes are generally highly heterogeneous, consisting of a mixture of glassy particles with various identifiable crystalline phases such as quartz, mullite, and various iron oxide. Fly ash also contains environmental toxins in significant amounts, including arsenic (43.4 ppm); barium (806 ppm); beryllium (5 ppm); boron (311 ppm);cadmium (3.4 ppm); chromium (136 ppm); chromium VI (90 ppm); copper (112 ppm); fluorine (29 ppm); lead (56 ppm); manganese (250 ppm); nickel (77.6 ppm ); selenium (7.7 ppm); strontium (775 ppm); thallium (9 ppm); vanadium (252 ppm) and zinc (178 ppm). Component Bituminous Subbituminious Lignite SiO2 (%) 20-60 40-60 15-45 Al2O3 (%) 5-35 20-30 20-25 Fe2O3 (%) 10-40 4-10 4-15 CaO (%) 1-12 5-30 15-40 LOI (%) 0-15 0-3 0-5

6. CLASSIFICATION OF FLY ASH:There are two classes of fly ash defined by ASTM C618: Class F fly ash and Class C fly ash. The chief difference between these classes is the amount of calcium, silica, alumina, and iron content in the ash. Class F fly ash: The burning of harder, older anthracite and bituminous coal typically produces Class F fly ash. This fly ash is pozzolanic in nature, and contains less than 10% lime (Cao). Possessing pozzolanic properties, the glassy silica and alumina of Class F fly ash requires a cementing agent, such as Portland cement, quick lime, or hydrated lime, with the presence of water in order to react and produce cementitious compounds. Class C fly ash: Fly ash produced from the burning of younger lignite or Subbituminious coal, in addition to having pozzolanic properties, also has some self-cementing properties. In the presence of water, Class C fly ash will harden and gain strength over lime. Class C fly ash generally contains more than 20% lime (Cao).

7. AREAS OF FLY ASH UTALIZATION:Pozzolana: Manufacture of Portland Pozzolana Cement. -

 Part replacement of OPC in concrete works. High Volume fly ash Concrete. Manufacture of Ash Bricks and Building products. Use as Micronutrient and Soil amendment High value Applications: Cenospheres. Recovery of metals. Manufacture of Ceramics, Paints, synthetic wood. 8. USE OF FLY ASH IN DIFFERENT CONSTRUCTION:a. ROAD AND EMBANKMENT WORKS Fly ash can be used in the different applications such as Core fill material for road/rail embankment constructions. As reinforced fill material. Sub base/base course of flexible pavements. Construction of semi-rigid /rigid pavements. Fly ash and IRC specifications: Indian Roads Congress Special Publication 58 (IRC: SP: 58)-2001 details Guidelines for use of fly ash in Road Embankments. Fly ash denotes any type of coal ash unless specifically mentioned. Advantages of using fly ash for road construction: Fly ash is a light weight material, as compared to commonly used fill material (local soil), therefore, causes lesser settlements. It is especially attractive for embankment construction over weak subgrade such as alluvial clay or silt where excessive weight could cause failure. Fly ash embankments can be compacted over a wide range of moisture content, and therefore, results in less variation in density with changes in moisture content. Easy to handle and compact because the material is light and there are no large lumps to be broken down can be compacted using either vibratory or static rollers. High permeability ensures free and efficient drainage. After rainfall, water gets drained out freely ensuring better workability than soil. Work on fly ash fills/embankments can be restarted with a few hours after rainfall, while in case of soil it requires much longer period. Considerable low compressibility results in negligible subsequent settlement with in the fill. Conserves good earth, which is precious top soil, thereby protecting the environment. Higher value of California Bearing Ratio (CBR) as compared to soil provides for a more efficient design of road pavement. Pozzolanic hardening property imparts additional strength to the road pavements/ embankments and decreases the post construction horizontal pressure on retaining walls. Amenable to stabilization with lime and cement. b. MANUFACTURE OF BUILDING BRICKS There are only a few detailed works on the utilization of fly ash in building bricks making. National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. R&D Center in India has done

considerable in-depth work for ash utilization such as studying the fly ash-limegypsum system for brick making. The compressive strength of fly ash bricks increased with increasing the temperature and increasing the amount of fly ash as additive. The average values of drying and firing shrinkages, water absorption, weight per unit volume and firing loss of bricks are tabulated in the following table. Results for some standard tests of fly ash brick.

Fly ash (%) 0 0 0 40 40 40 50 50 50 60 60 60

Dry shrinkage (%)

1.3

Firing temperature ( 0 c) 750 850 950 750 850 950 750 850 950 750 850 950

Firing shrinkage (%)

Water absorption (%) 15.53 15.41 15.33 20.63 19.49 20.06 21.49 20.28 20.47 21.33 21.63 21.52

Weight per unit volume(kg/cm3) 1793 1827 1867 1443 1463 1491 1374 1375 1379 1312 1355 1372

Firing loss (%)

0.33 0.35 0.40 0.27 0.29 0.47 0.28 0.55 0.56 0.29 0.66 0.68

8.21 9.90 12.07 5.82 6.63 7.77 5.30 5.47 6.05 5.20 5.25 5.93

1.32

0.93

1.01

The drying shrinkages of bricks group with 50% and 60% fly ash are significantly lower than the drying shrinkages of bricks groups, which are completely manufactured from the brick clay. Water absorption of bricks containing fly ash are higher than that of brick manufactured completely from brick clay. The addition of fly ash up to 60% at a firing temperature as 950 degree centigrade has no significant harmful effects on the brick quality. Use of fly ash as a raw material for the production of building bricks is not only a viable alternative to clay but also a solution to a difficult and expensive waste disposal problem. c. CONCRETE IMPROVING ITS PERFORMANCE: How fly ash contributes to concrete durability and strength: Typically, concrete made with fly ash will be slightly lower in strength than straight cement concrete up to 28 days, and substantially higher strength with in a years time. Fly ash chemically reacts with this lime to create more CSH, the same glue produced by the hydration of cement and water, there by closing off the capillaries that allow the movement of moisture through the concrete. The result is concrete that is less permeable, as witnessed by the reduction in efflorescence. Fly ash increased the durability of concrete. Increased density and long term pozzolanic action of fly ash, which ties up free lime, results in fewer bleed channels and decreased the permeability. Dense fly ash concrete helps keep aggressive compounds on the surface, where destructive action is lessened. Fly ash concrete is also more

resistant to attack by sulfate, mild acid, soft water, and sea water. Fly ash also contributes to combine with free lime, increasing compressive strength over lime.

How fly ash contributes to concrete workability. First, fly ash produces more cementitious paste. It has a lower unit weight, which means that on a pound of pound basis, fly ash contributes roughly 30% more volume of cementitious material per pound versus cement. The greater the percentage of fly ash ball bearings in the paste, the better lubricated the aggregates are and the better concrete flows. Second, fly ash reduces the amount of water needed to produce a given slump. The spherical shape of fly ash particles and its dispersive ability provide water-reducing characteristics similar to a water reducing admixer. Typically, water demand of a concrete mix with fly ash is reduced by 2% to 10% depending on a number of factors including the amount used and class of fly ash. How Fly Ash Reduces Heat of Hydration in Concrete. The hydration of cement is an exothermic reaction. Heat is generated very quickly, causing the concrete temperature to rise and accelerating the setting time and strength gain of concrete. For most concrete installations, the heat generation is not detrimental to its long-term strength and durability. However, many applications exist where the rapid heat gain of cement increases the chances of thermal cracking, leading to reduced concrete strength and durability. In these applications, replacing large percentages of cement with fly ash (fly ash generates only 15-35 percent as much heat as compared to cement at early ages) can reduce the damaging effects of thermal cracking. How fly ash protects concrete. An extremely important aspect of the durability of concrete is its permeability. Fly ash concrete is less permeable because fly ash reduces the amount of water needed to produce a given slump, and through pozzolanic activity, creates more durable CSH as it fills capillaries and bleeds water channels occupied by water-soluble lime (calcium hydroxide). Fly ash improves corrosion protection. By decreasing concrete permeability, fly ash can reduce the rate of ingress of water, corrosive chemicals and oxygen thus protecting steel reinforcement from corrosion and its subsequent expansive result. d. USE OF FLY ASH AS CONTROLLED LOW STRENGTH MATERIAL(CLSM):

 Fly ash can be used in the manufacture of Controlled Low Strength Material (CLSM). CLSM is a fluid mixture made of 90-95% fly ash and 5-10% Portland Cement and sufficient quantity of water. It can be poured in All difficult to reach cavities. Settles within 24 hours. No settlement after initial settlement. e. USE OF FLY ASH IN MINES CONSTRUCTION: Fly ash can be gainfully utilized as: Stowing material in Underground mines. Filling material for reclamation of abandoned mines. Filler material along- with overburden of an operating mines.

9. FLY ASH REUSE:The reuse of fly ash as an engineering material primarily stems form its pozzolanic nature, spherical shape, and relative uniformity. Fly ash recycling, in descending frequency, includes usage in : Portland cement and grout; Embankments and structural fill; Waste stabilization and solidification; Raw feed and cement clinkers; Mine reclamation; Stabilization of soft soil; Road sub base; Aggregates; Flow able fill; Mineral filler in asphaltic concrete; 10. MOEF GAZETTE NOTIFICATION:MOEF has issued a gazette notification dated 14th September .99 and amendment dated 27-08-03 on fly ash utilization. Purpose: Protect our environment. Conserve top soil. Prevent dumping of fly ash from thermal power stations on land. Promote utilization of ash in the manufacture of building materials and construction activity. In gazette notification, directives are in three parts: Use of fly ash, in manufacture of bricks, tiles or blocks for use in construction activities. 100%utalization of fly ash by thermal power stations in -15 years for existing stations. -9 years for new stations. Preparation on fly ash based products:

Use at least 25% fly ash in manufacturing of clay bricks or tiles or blocks within radius of 50 kms from the thermal power station. Power plants to issue ash as free of cost for ten years. All existing power stations to plan for 100% fly ash utilization within 15 years. CONCLUSION:The concept of using industrial wastes such as fly ash which is the major industrial waste produced 112millions/yr. is quite unique and innovative in itself .This not only has opened up the new avenues for the disposal of the waste products but the building materials produced by this wastes are of improved quality and can prove handy to the huge INDIAN construction industry .The cost effectiveness and sustainable development are the two parameters which are justified by this particular concept .This idea with a little better management can bring a very significant if not a very drastic change . REFERENCE: Development of fly ash concrete - Dunstan, Mrh. High volume fly ash concrete Bryan Marsh, Arup Material Consulting Waste products: An Innovatoive, Cost Effective And Eco Friendly building material S.K.Chaudhary Effective utilisation of fly ash as building material for construction industry , an overview- H.O.Thakrey , A.M.Pande , S.V.Ambedkar Waste products scenario REGIONAL RESEARCH LABORTARY (CSIR) , BHOPAL, M.P Biographical sketch of authers:HARADHAN MAITI: 3rd year student, Civil Engineering Dept. HALDIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (HIT) Ph: 9932663538 OR 9046347307 E-mail: maitiharadhan@gmail.com