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FLY ASH
Subject:

Innovative Concrete Materials

(CE-6107)

Presented By: Muhamamd Faizan Tahir

2K15-UET/PhD-CE-92

WHAT IS FLY ASH

Fly ash is a by product of coal fired
electricity production
It is composed of fine particles, glass like
powder

WHAT IS FLY ASH

It contains heavy metals, volatile organic
compounds and radioactive solids
According to EPA (US Environmental
Protection Agency) Ruling in December
2014, it is classified as a Non-hazardous
waste

PRODUCTION OF FLY ASH

In coal combustion, these fine particles are
driven out of the boiler with the vent gases
Fly ash is captured by electrostatic
precipitators or any other particle filtration
equipment

PRODUCTION OF FLY ASH

Present production rate of fly ash:
In the United States about 131
million tons/year
125 million ton/year in the EU
300 million ton/year China+India

COMPOSITION OF FLY ASH

Fly ash particles are
generally spherical in
shape and range in size
from 0.5 m to 300 m
SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3 and
CaO are the main
chemical components
present in fly ashes

Photomicrograph made with

electron
microscope.
cross
section of fly ash particles at
750x magnification

COMPOSITION OF FLY ASH

The chemical properties of the fly ash are
largely influenced by the chemical content of
the coal burned (i.e., anthracite, bituminous,
and lignite)

COMPOSITION OF FLY ASH

Two classes of fly ash are defined by ASTM
C618:
1. Class F fly ash
2. Class C fly ash
The chief difference between these classes is
the amount of calcium, silica, alumina, and
iron content in the Fly ash

USE OF FLY ASH

1. REPLACEMENT OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Fly ash is used as a replacement for Portland
cement in concrete
Due to the spherical shape of fly ash particles, it
can increase workability of cement
Increase chemical resistance and durability
In some cases, fly ash can increase to the
concretes final strength

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RECENT RESEARCH

USE OF FLY ASH

1. REPLACEMENT OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Replacing Portland cement with fly ash
reduces the Green house gas effects
Production of one ton of Portland cement
generates approximately one ton of CO 2
(Annual production of Portland cement is
nearly 2 billion tons)
No CO2 generated with fly ash

USE OF FLY ASH

1. REPLACEMENT OF PORTLAND CEMENT
Fly ash first time used in
1929 in construction of the
Hoover Dam, USA
For
roller
compacted
concrete (dam construction),
Fly ash has been used at the
Ghatghar dam project in
Maharashtra, India

USE OF FLY ASH

2. EMBANKMENT
Fly ash is also can be used for embankment
construction
Generally Class F fly ash used in embankments

USE OF FLY ASH

3. SOIL STABILIZATION
Soil stabilization can also be achieved with Fly
ash
Fly ash is helpful to increase the shear strength
of a soil, control the shrink-swell properties of
a soil, improving the load bearing capacity of a
sub-grade to support pavements and
foundations

USE OF FLY ASH

4. FLOWABLE FILL
Fly ash is also used as a component in the
production of flowable fill, which is used as
self-leveling, self-compacting backfill material
in lieu of compacted earth or granular fill
Fly ash can replace either the Portland cement
or fine aggregate as a filler material

USE OF FLY ASH

5. BRICKS
Fly ash is also used as a replacement of clay in
making bricks

USE OF FLY ASH

5. BRICKS
In UK, Fly ash building
blocks are widely used for
construction of cavity walls
They are naturally more
thermally isolating than
blocks made with other
aggregates

USE OF FLY ASH

5. BRICKS
Fly ash bricks have high compressive strength
Lower water absorption ratio
High strength to weight ratio
No Green house gas effect
Consume less morter
Zero efflorescence

USE OF FLY ASH

6. Asphalt concrete
7. Roller compacted concrete
8. Geopolymers
9. Ceramics
10. Waste water treatment

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