Fly Ash utilization in the Manufacture of Wall Panels

Abstract

The cement concrete is consumed around 400 metric tonnes annually which means there is an equal demand for its constituent materials like aggregates,sand, cement etc. required for cement concrete. So, there needs an alternative source of building materials ,and the fly ash is one of the best alternative to be used as a sustainable material. Fly ash is an important by- product from power plant industries. In India,coal- based thermal power plants account for most of the power generation and these produce a bulk quantity of fly ash which is estimated to be around 112 million tonnes annually. Fly ash can be used in technical applications like construction of backfills, embankments. A new approach is needed for fly ash to be used as a replacement material. So, aim of the present investigation is utilization of fly ash in wall panels. The development of prototype reinforced concrete wall panels with fly ash is an effort to achieve an environmental and sustainable construction by achieving green construction technology. The experimental program includes testing of wall panels supported at top and bottom with free sides. The panels include sizes of 600 mm x 300 mm x 30 mm and 600 mm x 400 mm x 30 mm. The panels have slenderness ratio of 30 with aspect ratio varying from 1.5 to 2.0. Fly ash used in wall panels was replaced from 0 to 30% as a replacement material both for cement as well as sand. The mix within the mold was hand compacted.Tests conducted were: axial compression test and flexural test. The average compressive strength of specimens of size 600mm x 300mm x 30mm and 600mm x 400mm x 30mm with 416 kg/m3 of cement content are 11.66 and 11.03 MPa respectively at control mix, and for flexural strength are 14.5 and 18 at 20% cement replacement. While, the average compressive strength values were 11.29at 30% and 13.36 MPa at 20%, flexural strength values are 16.80 at 30% and 23 MPa for 20% sand replacement at a cement content of 416 kg/m3.It was observed that panels with higher cement content shows higher strength.