Strength development of binary cement concrete, using Pulverized Fly Ash (PFA) under various curing conditions

Abstract

Binary cement incorporating Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM) is widely used in concrete to reduce the cement consumption in construction industry. Cement production is a major source of emission of Green House Gases (GHG), and there is increasing pressure to reduce its consumption to avoid further global warming, climate changes, etc. In this research, Pulverised fly Ash was used to partially replace cement in the concrete. Three levels of replacement of cement by PFA were selected, and the specimens were cured under summer and winter environments. The strength development characteristics of the blended concrete were compared with the control mix without PFA. The strength gain under winter curing condition was observed as slower. At water cement ratio of 0.35, concrete with 30% replacement of cement by PFA achieved high early-age strength. PFA concrete gained more strength than the PC concrete did, after the age of 28 days. The 28-day compressive strength of blended concrete for 30% of cement replacement by PFA was observed to be nearly the same as that of control concrete mix.