16

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

In India, over 75% of the total installed power generation requires

230-250 tonnes of coal annually and produces more than 90 million tonnes of
fly ash. Disposal of fly ash requires 28,300 hectares of storage land, which
may further cause severe ecological problems. Batching plants on large
construction sites are comfortable with fly ash up to 25% to 30%. Nearly 60%
to 70% of cement was blended cement with 22% to 32 % of fly ash. Fly ash
can be utilized in production of concrete as partial replacement for cement.

CANMET-MTL in partnership with Confederation of Indian

Industry (CII) and other organizations in India has taken up the HVFA
concrete technology. It is funded through Canadian International
Development Agency. The aim is to develop India’s ability to reduce green
house gas (GHG) emissions, promote sustainable development of the
construction industry by increasing the use of fly ash by partial replacement
of cement in concrete.

2.2 STUDIES ON FLY ASH CONCRETE

Reshi & Garg (1963) carried out the investigation at Central

Building Research Institute, Roorkee. The samples of fly ash obtained from
Bokaro, Doorkeeper, Kanpur and Madras to assess their suitability for use as
pozzolana as admixtures, or as fine aggregate in mortar and concrete. The
collected fly ashes could found suitable to use as pozzolana by replacing 20 or
 17

25 percentage of cement, whilst none was suitable as admixture. The authors

found that the fly ash could also be advantageous to replace the sand in mortar
and concretes, thereby saving substantial quantities of cement.

Rawal et al (1967) reported that Bokaro and Delhi meet the

requirements of fly ash ASTM specification. It was considered satisfactory to
use as pozzolana for cement mortar and concrete. There was a progressive rise
in compressive strength with age of all mortar and concrete. The mixes
prepared by using different fly ash as partial replacement of cement. The
optimum percentage of cement replacement by fly ash found to be about 15 to
20 percent as compared with mixes without fly ash, causing any adverse
effect on strength. In rich concrete mixes 1:11/2:3 and 1:2:4 incorporation of
Neyveli fly ash to the extent of the 15 to 20% replacement of cement, exhibits
optimum strength, while in linear mixes 1:3:6 and 1:4:8 have progressive
decrease in strength, with increase in the replacement of cement by fly ash.
The author found that due to increase in the fineness of fly ash, it resulted in
an improvement in the strength of mortar.

Rawal& Aggarwal (1967) investigated the utilization of fly ash in

cement mortar and concrete. The authors represented that the reactivity of fly
ash depends on its fineness and percentage of amorphous or reactive silica
present in it, which again depends on the quality of coal used as fuel.
Increased fineness leads to great pozzolanic activity and higher early strength
in mortars and concrete. High carbon content in fly ash is objectionable
chiefly because of its deleterious effect on the strength of mortar and concrete.
It gives undesirable effect on the appearance of the concrete surface. From the
flow table test carried out with cement mortar 1:3, the workability of mortar
and concrete mixes found to improve with 15 to 20% fly ash in cement.
Shrinkage test shows that there was definite reduction in shrinkage. The rate
of revolution of heat of hydration also found reduced. Specific gravity and the
 18

compressive strength of fly ash increase with increase in fineness of the fly
ash. The author suggested that the optimum percentage of fly ash replacement
in cement was 15% and there was a progressive fall in strength with further
addition of fly ash.

Philip Owens (1979) explained that the chemical or pozzolanic

reaction is between the hydroxide and the alkali soluble silicates of glass
content of the fly ash during Portland cement hydration. The reaction mainly
depends upon the hydration characteristics of Portland cement and amount of
calcium hydroxide produced, temperature during reaction particle size and
glass content of fly ash. The effect of fly ash fineness on the strength of
concrete was not a function of specific surface as measured by air
permeability but of particle size. The larger amount of fly ash passing through
the 4.5mm sieve size will be the greater effect on concrete strength.

The finer the fly ash, the greater will be the water reducing effect.
Since increase in quantity of fly ash in the cement reduces the water demand
still further, a significant densifying effect results. The ability of any fly ash is
to change the properties of fresh concrete by reducing the water demand. It is
a function, not only of the particulate materials but also of mixing. Concrete
containing fly ash deceptive in that it appears less workable than its Portland
cement counterpart does. Because of the greater fines volume and the smaller
water volume, this has an increased effect on mobility when compaction
energy applied. The author concluded that fly ash has slower pozzolanic
reaction and does not contribute significantly to strength much before 10 to14
days. Fly ash used as pozzolana gives greater durability, lower permeability,
greater sulphate and acid resistance and reduced alkali aggregate reaction.

Swamy et al (1983) reported that concrete mixes containing 30

percent by weight of fly ash (ASTM Class F) could be proportioned to have
adequate workability and early one-day strength and elastic modulus for
 19

structural applications. Dosages of admixtures or super plasticizers were

adjusted to obtain cohesiveness and workability with slumps in excess of 4
inches (100mm) for easy place-ability in structural members with steel
reinforcement.

Swamy (1985) briefly reported that the fly ash can used as a partial
replacement of cement or both for nearly half a century, through still on a
very limited scale. This was rather regrettable considering the large quantity
of fly ash currently produced as an industrial by-product all over the world.
The vast potential it possesses in terms of economy in the consummation of
cement, energy saving and environment benefits. The paper, presented in two
parts, advocates three major areas of fly ash utilization in concrete
construction. The first part of the paper deals with the utilization of fly ash as
partial cement replacement, whilst the second part of the paper deals with the
utilization of the fly ash as lightweight aggregate in concrete and as filler for
special concrete. In the first part, the paper advocates a simple and direct
replacement of cement by fly ash in concrete. The author recommended that
30% replacement of fly ash by weight give all the desirable material
properties of concrete. The structural behaviour of the concrete containing fly
ash is almost identical to that of similar strength concrete. In the form of thin
sections, such as permanent formwork, thin sheet asbestos replacement, Ferro
cement boat construction and sprayed concrete, 50% to 70% replacement of
cement has achieved with sound technical advantages.

Wilbert Langley et al (1989) in their investigations expressed that

the concrete for structural application can be produced using (ASTM Class F)
fly ash in proportions of 50% to 60% of the total cementitious material. With
minimum water content and super plasticizers, high degree of workability has
obtained. The author reported the results on compression test, which shows
that there is very significant strength gain from 7 to 28 days and again from
 20

28 to 91 days for the mixes containing high volumes of fly ash. At 91 days,
the strength of fly ash concrete shown consistently to exceed that of the
control concretes. The additional strength of about 20 to 30% obtained
between 91 and 365 days.

Chemical activation of fly ash and their performance characteristics

were tested by aggressive macrocell corrosion technique. The salient features
of the investigations were steel embedded in OPC and unprocessed fly ash
incorporated cement suffered severe corrosion under macrocell corrosion
condition. However, OPC containing treated fly ash improved the corrosion
resistant properties largely. He found that, the tolerable limit of replacement
level for various treated fly ashes under aggressive macrocell corrosion
condition was 20% -30%. Under 30% replacement level, chemically activated
fly ash system showed lowest corrosion rate, lowest macrocell current under
accelerated macrocell corrosion conditions.

Blanco et al (2006) studied the effect of mechanically and

chemically activated fly ashes on mortar properties. Samples of fly ashes from
Asturia (Spain) were activated mechanically by wet milling and chemically
by leaching with sulphuric acid. The activated fly ash has characterized in
terms of physical-chemical characterization, granulometry and density. A
comparative study was made on several mortars, in some cases using different
additions of silica fume or activated fly ash. The influence of these additives
on the mechanical resistance of the mortars was studied. Moreover, it is
possible to use these activated fly ashes as a replacement for silica fume in
producing high-strength mortar or concrete.

It was found that mortars containing activated fly ash presented

higher compressive strengths. A mercury intrusion porosimetry study was
carried out on cement mortars made with mineral additives, such as silica
fume and activated fly ash. In general, the porosity values of these mortars
 21

showed that mineral admixtures improved mechanical resistance due to the

decrease in pores, which depend on the type of activator used. The author
concluded that longer curing time resulted in lower porosity values and the
increase in the mechanical resistance related to large reduction in porosity.

Angel Palomo et al (2011) narrate the applications of activated fly

ash in pre-cast industry for manufacture of railway sleepers, production of
lightweight materials. The possibility of activated alumino-silicate as
fireproof coating was discussed. For the pre-stressed railway sleepers they
used three mixtures and the thermal curing carried out at 85°C for 20 hours
for two mixtures and 115°C for 10hours in another. It was found that alkaline
activation with accelerated curing attained a compressive strength of 40MPa
after 10 hours at 115°C. It was noted that durability was unaffected due to
variation in curing temperatures. The authors mentioned that the shrinkage
was less compared to OPCC sleepers and the specimens showed a better bond
between steel and concrete. Static and dynamic load tests resulted in
improvement in the case of alkali activated fly ash sleeper specimens. It was
noted that alkali-activated fly ash, be effectively used for lightweight panels
as well as fireproof coating.

2.3 STUDIES ON HIGH VOLUME FLY ASH CONCRETE

Tarun Naik et al (1991) carried out research to investigate

performance of structural grade concrete incorporating high volumes of low
calcium fly ash. Two different ASTM class F fly ashes were used. A Portland
cement concrete, designed to have 28 days compressive strength of 6000 psi
(41 MPa), was used in this investigation as a control concrete. Concrete mixes
were also designed to have fly ash substitution based on total cement weight
in the range of 0% - 60% by weight. Water to cementitious ratio was
maintained approximately constant and the desired workability was achieved
by using a super plasticizer. Concrete tested for compressive strength,
 22

splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity in accordance with ASTM

test methods. Compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of concrete
were determined at ages 1, 7, and 28 days whereas modulus of elasticity was
determined at 7 and 28 days. It was found that high replacement of cement by
fly ash in concrete caused reduction in compressive strength, splitting tensile
strength and modulus of elasticity within the experimental range.
Compressive strength of fly ash concrete was slightly lower than the concrete
up to fly ash addition of 60%. The author expressed that fly ash concretes
achieved adequate strength appropriate for structural application even at the
60% cement replacements.

Malhotra (1998) explains that the calcium fly ashes obtained by

burning anthracite coal chemically react with calcium hydroxide at ordinary
temperature to form compounds possessing cementitious properties.
However, the high volume fly ashes obtained by burning lignite have
cementitious properties in addition to being pozzolanic. The author reported
that high volume fly ash concrete can be produced with the use of super
plasticizes, in this about 60% -70% of Portland cement was replaced by low
calcium fly ash (ASTM class F). It shows high strength and durability at early
ages. If a country replaces 1% of cement by fly ash, it can save about 1% CO2
emission to the atmosphere from cement plants.

Rafat Siddique (2003) carried out experimental investigation, which

deals with concrete incorporating high volumes of class F fly ash. Portland
cement was replaced by 40%, 45% and 50% with class F fly ash. Tests were
performed for both fresh and hardened concrete properties. The author
concluded that the replacement of cement with these percentages of fly ash
content reduced the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural
strength and modulus of elasticity of concrete at the age of 28 days. However,
there was a continuous and significant improvement in strength properties
 23

beyond 28 days. The strength of concrete with 40%, 45% and 50% fly ash
content, even at 28 days was enough for use in reinforced cement concrete
construction. The author found that the abrasion resistance of concrete was
strongly influenced by its compressive strength, irrespective of fly ash
content. Abrasion resistance was found to increase with the increase in age for
all concrete mixtures.

Kumar Mehta (2004) studied the topic sustainable high performance

concrete mixtures with high volume fly ash and published in ICFRC Jan
2004. He reported that, with 50% fly ash replacement of cement, the
compressive strength was 50 to 80 Mpa in 28 days and 25 to 40 Mpa in one
day with water cement ratio 0.3 in M25 grade concrete.

Gopalakrishnan et al (2005) reported that the details of development

of HVFA concrete using cement replacement level of 50% fly ash. The
investigation was carried out on mechanical properties and durability
characteristics of HVFA concrete specimens in comparison with a control
OPC concrete of the same grade. The structural behaviour of reinforced
HVFA concrete and OPC concrete of flexural and compression elements were
reported. These investigations have demonstrated the suitability of HVFA
concrete for normal structural applications.

Mathur et al (2005) presented an investigation using high volume of

fly ash (30-50%) for different grades of concrete (M20, M30 and M40) for
building sector. The main purpose of this investigation was to develop
confidence among user agencies in India to use higher volume fly ash
concrete in the building construction. They conducted tests to find
compressive strength, rapid chloride permeability tests and permeability
coefficient measurements.
 24

The replacement of cement by fly ash in all the three grades of

concrete shows that 28 days strength was achieved when compared to control
concrete. Fly ash concrete of all grades has shown improved resistance to
chloride ion penetration and reduced water permeability. They reported that
the use of fly ash influences the physico-chemical effects associated with
pozzolanic and cementitious reactions that result in pore size reduction and
grain size reduction phenomena. This affects the rheological behaviour of
fresh concrete and the strength and durability of hardened concrete. Thus, the
resistance to chloride ion penetration and reduced permeability can be derived
from the use of fly ash as supplementary cementing material. Costs of fly ash
concretes are lower than the cost of respective plain concrete. Thus, addition
of fly ash in concrete helps in achieving the code provisions by improving
durability and reduces the cost of the product.

Riner & Kenin (2006) narrated the HVFA concrete-analysis and

application. They suggested that 50% fly ash with 0.4 W/b ratio giving 15%
capital cost and 20% life cycle cost.

Mark Reiner et al (2006) described that a mini-mix study revealed

that 50% and 60% cement replacement percentages were the best candidates
for full scale testing. The environmental benefits included a 25% reduction in
smog, human health, and fossil fuel reduction compared to the same element
built with 100% Portland cement mix. The economic benefits included a 15%
capital cost reduction and a 20% life-cycle cost reduction when compared
with a 100% Portland cement mix. Full scale testing included a complete mix
design in addition to the construction of four concrete infrastructure products.

The products built included an alley panel, curb, and gutter sections
in the City and county of Denver, a precast manhole and lid, and a twin tee
pre-stressed girder. Although cement products are just one of many materials
used in the construction of the built environment, its production has a large
 25

impact on the environment. The author suggested that, using recycling of

waste material, such as fly ash in concrete, back into the built environment
can help reduce materials on the input side and pollution on the output side of
the bulk material flow of an urban city.

Mark Reiner &Kevin Rens (2006) observed that fly ash as a partial
replacement for cement has been utilized for many years. It has almost
exclusively used in low volume percentages, such as 10% or 20% cement
replacement. This paper looks at high volume percentage replacements from
40% to 70%. These environmental benefits included 25% reduction in smog,
human health effects and fossil fuel use compared to the same element built
with a 100% Portland cement mix. The author found that economic benefits
included 15% capital cost reduction and 20% life cycle cost reduction, when
compared with a 100% Portland cement mix. Full scale testing includes a
complete mix design in addition to the construction of four concrete
infrastructures products. In addition, he suggested that symbiotic recycling of
waste material, such as fly ash in concrete, back into the built environment
can help reduce materials on the input side and pollution on the output side of
the bulk material flow of an urban city.

Singh (2007) reported about the performance of concrete with fly

ash replacements above 30% -35%. His study presents the properties of
HVFA concrete with 50% fly ash used on two demonstration projects in New
Delhi, India. The demonstration projects were aimed to make Indian
professionals comfortable with this type of concrete made with local materials
and Indian site conditions. Several engineering parameters were monitored for
nearly a year on samples collected at the time of casting as well as field cores
from the site. The results show that HVFA concrete is indeed an excellent
material with later age properties superior to conventional concrete, namely
compressive strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus, abrasion resistance
 26

and permeability. From the viewpoint of sustainable development, it will be a

strongly viable solution as a building material in the years ahead.

Kyle Marie & Marlay (2011) evaluated the hardened concrete and
durability performance of several HVFA concrete mixes. The various HVFA
concrete mixes evaluated within this study consisted of 70 percent
replacement of Portland cement by weight of cementitious material and
water-to-cementitious ratios (w/cm) ranging from 0.30 to 0.45. Studies were
conducted on hardened properties including: compressive strength, flexural
strength, splitting tensile strength, and modulus of rupture. A shrinkage
analysis was also performed to evaluate drying and free shrinkage. The
durability performance of the HVFA concrete was also evaluated. Results
obtained from the tests revealed that compressive strengths of HVFA concrete
are comparable to Portland cement concrete with a reduced w/cm. Also, a
reduction in concrete shrinkage was observed for HVFA concrete. The
durability testing showed HVFA concrete increased the corrosion resistance
and decreased the chloride penetration. Finally, the authors suggested that the
existing relationships for hardened material properties and durability of
conventional concretes are applicable to HVFA concretes.

Chung-Ho Hung et al (2013) conducted an experimental

investigation dealing with concrete incorporating very high volumes of two
types Class F fly ash (HVFA) with 4.6% and 7.8% loss on ignition. A rational
mix design method was developed for concrete with 20-80% fly ash
replacement for cement. Tests were performed for fresh and hardened
concrete properties. Test results indicated that the setting times and the air
content of fly-ash concrete increased as the fly ash replacement level
increased. The compressive and flexural strength of the HVFA concrete
mixtures demonstrated continuous and significant improvement at late ages of
91 and 365 days. Relation was formulated for flexural and compressive
 27

strength for all grades of HVFA concrete. These results confirm the feasibility
that up to 80% of Class F fly ash can be suitably used as cement replacement
in concrete by using a rational mixture proportions. Rational mix design
method was proposed for the very HVFA concrete. 80% fly ash concrete may
be obtained using 136 kg Portland cement. The HVFA concrete was found to
be an adequate material for both structural and pavement application. The
authors concluded, the concrete containing fly ash of up to 80% of
cementitious material content can be proportioned to have adequate
workability when a more suitable Sp was used (Menta 2003).

Mini Soman &Sobha.K (2014), present a study on developing a

concrete by replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with 50% fly
ash by mass. The fresh and hardened properties of HVFA concrete with 50%
replacement of cement and OPC concrete are studied. The study discloses that
HVFA in concrete reduces the water demand and improves the workability.
Study also reveals that the OPC concrete and HVFA concrete exhibit similar
hardened properties. Comparison of flexural response of beams made with
OPC concrete and HVFA concrete with different percentage of reinforcement
are also studied. It was observed that HVFA concrete beams have shown
notable improvement in the deflection, cracking behaviour and load carrying
capacity.

Soni1 & Jasbir Saini (2014) carried out experimental investigation,

using fly ash as a mineral addition in concrete to improve its strength and
durability characteristics. At high temperatures, chemical transformation of
the gel weakened the matrix bonding, which brought about a loss of strength
of fly ash concrete. The compressive strength, split tensile strength and
modulus elasticity of fly ash concrete at elevated temperature up to 120˚C
with mix proportions of 1: 1.45: 2.2: 1.103 with a water cement ratio of 0.5 by
weight was determined. Cement was replaced with three percentages of fly
 28

ash. The percentages of replacements were 30, 40 and 50 % by weight of

cement. Tests were performed for compressive strength, split tensile strength
and modulus of elasticity at room temperature, 80˚C, 100˚C, and 120˚C for all
types of fly ash concrete at different curing periods (28 and 56 days).

Test results showed that the compressive strength, split tensile

strength and modulus of elasticity of concrete having cement replacement up
to 30% was comparable to the reference concrete without fly ash. The authors
reported that the compressive strength, split tensile strength and modulus of
elasticity of concrete mixtures with 30%, 40% and 50 % of fly ash as cement
replacement was lower than the control mixture at all ages and that the
strength of all mixtures continued to increase with the age. With the increase
in temperature, compressive strength of concrete mixes with 30%, 40% and
50 % of fly ash as cement replacement decreases by 11.4%, 30.1%, 28.9%,
and 27.5% at 120˚C when compared to room temperature.

Madhavi et al (2014), reviews the durability and strength properties

of HVFA concrete. HVFA concrete is more sustainable concrete compared to
conventional concrete as it reduces the usage of cement and reduces
environment pollution. HVFA concrete (Haque 1984)performs well at a later
stage than at an early age. Low water cement ratio and adequate curing are
essential for strength gain. Long-term permeability of HVFA concrete is very
low. HVFA concrete is effective in controlling temperature effects in mass
concrete applications. HVFA concrete can be safely used in concrete in
pavements for economic and ecological benefits. The author concluded that,
fly ash contents of up to 50% may be suitable for most elements provided the
early-age strength requirements of the project can be met and provided that
adequate moist-curing can be ensured.

Alaa Mlaa et al (2014), In their study, Portland cement has been

partially replaced with a Class F fly ash at level of 70 % to produce HVFA
 29

concrete (F70). F70 was modified by replacing FA at levels of 10 and 20 %

with silica fume (SF) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) and
their equally combinations. All HVFA concrete types were compared to OPC
concrete. After curing for 7, 28, 90 and 180 days the specimens were tested in
compression and abrasion. The various decomposition phases formed were
identified using X-ray diffraction. The morphology of the formed hydrates
was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated higher
abrasion resistance of HVFA concrete blended with either SF or equally
combinations of SF and GGBS, whilst lower abrasion resistance was noted in
HVFA blended with GGBS.

2.4 STUDIES ON CONFINEMENT

Mohammed Ziara et al (1995) examined the flexural behaviour of

structural concrete beams in which confinement stirrups have been introduced
into the compression regions. The laboratory- based part of the investigation
included under-reinforced beams eight of which had the concrete compression
regions, as defined by the compression force path (CFP) concept, confined
with rectangular closed stirrups. The remaining beams were traditionally
detailed. In comparison with traditionally detailed beams, the presence of
confinement shown to increase the ductility of the beams; however, no
comparable increase was found in their respective flexural capacities.

Test results have shown that confinement of the concrete

compression regions in under-reinforced beams, as defined by the
compressive force path concept with closed stirrups, does not increase the
flexural capacity of beams. However, significant increase in the ductility of
these beams was found as the amount of confining stirrups was increased
(Sheikh 1982). A In the range of beams tested, no increase in the flexural
capacity of the under- reinforced beams was found, which confirmed the
 30

results obtained from the proposed method used to evaluate flexural capacity
of beams with confinement.

Palanivel & Sundararajan (2003) suggested that the ductility of

concrete can be improved by confining concrete in steel binders, as ties in
compression members and as stirrups in beams. The concrete confined in such
a way is called confined concrete or ductile concrete. With the practical
minimum spacing of the ties provided at a critical section of a structural
member, there is a limit to extension of confinement, which can be provided
by the stirrups. Hence, it may not be possible sufficiently to confine a
structural member by providing laterals alone. The author indicated that,
additional confinement in the form of meshes improves the ultimate strength,
strain at the ultimate strength and the ductility of the concrete.

Srikanth et al (2007) presented a procedure for finding the analytical

moment curvature behaviour of statically determinate reinforced concrete
beams. Taking into consideration, the confinement has offered by shear
reinforcement to concrete in compression zone. Six-selected confinement
models were reported in literature in the last decade was used as a stress block
for confined concrete for generating the complete analytical moment
curvature behaviour. The moment curvature behaviour obtained with the
selected confinement models are compared with experimental results. In
general, it was observed that the results obtained from the selected models
were close to the experimental values.

However, it was observed that the analytical values obtained using

Mendis and Cusson model are closer to the experimental results when
compared to the other models. A procedure for obtaining analytical moment
curvature behaviour was taken into consideration, and the confinement effect
due to shear reinforcement was developed.
 31

Delaliberaaj & Giongob (2008) discussed the use of confinement in

over-reinforced concrete beams. This reinforcement consists of square
stirrups, placed in the compression zone of the beam cross-section, in order to
improve its ductility. A parametric numerical study was initially performed
using a finite element computational program that considers the material
nonlinearities and the confinement effect. To investigate the influence of the
transverse reinforcing ratio on the beam ductility, an experimental program
was also conducted. Four over-reinforced beams were tested; three beam
specimens with additional transverse reinforcement to confine the beams and
one without it. All specimens were fabricated with concrete designed for a
compressive strength of 25 MPa.

The experimental results show that the post-peak ductility factor

was proportional to the confining reinforcement ratio. However, the same was
not observed for the pre-peak ductility factor, which varied randomly with
changes in the confining reinforcement ratio. It was observed from the
experiments that the confinement effect tends to be closer to the beam neutral
axis. The confinement reinforcement, besides increasing the ductility of the
structural elements, also increases the concrete compression strength within
the confined concrete core. Whereas this increase was proportional to the
increase of volumetric ratio of the confinement reinforcement. The author
found that the theoretical and numerical analysis of reinforced concrete beams
with confinement reinforcement increased by an average of 13 %. This
increase was not enough to increase the flexural strength capacity of the
beams. The compression strength of the confined concrete core decreases
with the proximity of the neutral axis, because the effective lateral
confinement stresses also decrease with the proximity of the neutral axis.
 32

2.5 STUDIES ON DURABILITY

Joseph Lamond (1983) carried out the investigation to study

materials used in concrete to replace a portion of Portland cement. The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers has used fly ash as a material that partially replaces
Portland cement in concrete and performed satisfactorily on projects over the
last for twenty-five years. Initially research was performed on use of fly on
concrete properties for bleeding, permeability, heat rise, resistance to freezing
and thawing, elasticity, and compressive and flexural strength development.
Those properties affected by partial replacement of Portland cement with fly
ash were heat rise in mass concrete, resistance to freezing and thawing
(Muhammad Ashraf 2007) and strength development. The author concluded
that, fly ash may replace Portland cement up to 35 percent by absolute volume
in interior mass concrete and 25 percent by absolute volume in exterior mass
concrete and in structural concrete.

Saraswathy et al (2002) conducted physical, thermal and chemical

activation and their performance characteristics tested by aggressive
macrocell corrosion technique. The salient features of the investigations on
steel embedded in OPC and unprocessed fly ash incorporated with cement
suffered severe corrosion under macrocell corrosion condition. However,
OPC containing treated fly ash improved the corrosion resistant properties
largely. The tolerable limit of replacement level for various treated fly ashes
under aggressive macrocell corrosion condition was found to be 20%-30%
replacement level. The author concluded that chemically activated fly ash
system showed lowest corrosion rate, lowest macrocell current under
accelerated macrocell corrosion conditions.

Thomas Silver et al (2003) explained about high performance

characteristic of Chemically Activated Fly Ash (CAFA). CAFA concrete was
produced using conventional concrete mixing and forming techniques. The
 33

author reported that CAFA requires dry curing at elevated temperature of 50

to 93 degree Celsius making it feasible for production of pre-cast concrete
products. CAFA concrete has high performance properties including rapid
strength gain (up to 90.5) of 28 days compressive strength in 24 hours, high
ultimate strength (over 124 MPa) and excellent acid resistance. CAFA
concrete was resistant to chemical attack such as sulphuric, nitric,
hydrochloric and organic acids. They carried out testing for alkali silica
reactivity, chloride permeability and microstructure.

Lee et al (2003) studied the use of fly ash as cement replacement

material to increase the long-term strength and durability of concrete (Camoes
2000). Despite these benefits, use of fly ash was limited due to the low early
strength of fly ash concrete. To eliminate this problem, many studies were
conducted on accelerating the pozzolanic properties of fly ash. The study
reported about the strength and micro structural characteristics of fly ash
cement systems containing three kinds of activators-mainly Na2SO4, K2SO4
and triethanolamine- to accelerate the early strength of fly ash mortars.
Through the use of thermal gravity analysis, it was shown that the activators
not only decreased or maintained the amount of Ca (OH) 2 products. X-ray
diffraction, scanning electron microcopy, and mercury intrusion porosimetry,
but also confirmed that in the early curing stages of fly ash cement pastes
containing activators, large amounts of ettringite was formed, resulting in a
reduction in the pore size ranging from 0.01-5 m. The research results support
the supposition that the addition of small amounts of activators is a viable
solution for increasing the early-age compressive strength of fly ash concrete.

Ana Fernandez-Jimenez et al (2006) presented the result of

experimental research on certain engineering properties of concrete made with
alkali activated fly ash. Laboratory tests were conducted to determine the
mechanical strength, modulus of elasticity, bond strength, and shrinkage. The
 34

result showed that mortar and concrete made with Portland cement-free
activated fly ash develop a high mechanical strength in short period of time,
have a moderate modulus of elasticity and better binding strength.

Ha-Won Song et al (2008) studied the evaluation of cementitious

mortars and its corrosion resistance was reported. They investigated the
durability characteristics of five types of modified cement based repair
mortars. The corrosion resistance of the repair materials was evaluated by
conducting various tests such as water absorption, rapid chloride ion
penetration test, impressed voltage, 90 days ponding test, macrocell corrosion
test, weight loss measurement, etc. Details of the test and their results were
discussed. The author concluded that the modified cement-based repair
mortars formulated with mineral admixtures with fly ash and silica fume
showed improved corrosion resistance.

Bhikshma & Annie Florence (2013) made an investigation to study

the effect of maximum size of aggregate in higher-grade concrete using
HVFA (Crouch & Ryan Heuitt 2007). Three different mixes of M50 grade
concrete were designed using graded coarse aggregate of three maximum
sizes of 10mm, 12.5mm and 20mm. Each mix, cement was replaced with fly
ash at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% (%replacements).All the mixes
were cured for 56 days and tested for compressive strength, flexural strength
and splitting tensile strength. The test results obtained have suggested that the
maximum size of coarse aggregate in M50 grade concrete at various
replacement levels of fly ash was 12.5 mm aggregate and optimum
replacement of fly ash was 30%. The authors obtained the results, and the
percentage increase was 20% for compressive strength, 20% for splitting
tensile strength and 5% for flexural strength when compared to the design
strength.
 35

Hong-zhu Quan & Hideo Kasami (2014), a series of experimental

studies were carried to improve the durability of fly ash concrete, out, where
durability improving admixture was used to reduce drying shrinkage and
improve freezing-thawing resistance. The effects of durability improving
admixture, air content, water-binder ratio, and fly ash replacement ratio on the
performance of fly ash concrete are also studied. The authors results shows
that, by using durability improving admixture in non air-entraining fly ash
concrete, the compressive strength of fly ash concrete can be improved by
10%-20%, and the drying shrinkage is reduced by 60%. Carbonation
resistance of concrete was roughly proportional to water-cement ratio
regardless of water-binder ratio and fly ash replacement ratio. For the
specimens cured in air for 2 weeks, the freezing-thawing resistance was
improved. In addition, by making use of durability improving admixture, it
was easier to control the air content and make fly ash concrete into non air-
entraining one. The quality of fly ash concrete has thereby optimized.

Jo Jacob Raju & Jino John (2014), High volume fly ash concrete is
recommended over the ordinary concrete as it considerably saves cement and
also prevents environmental pollution. The use of fibres improves specific
material properties of the concrete, impact resistance, flexural strength,
toughness, fatigue resistance, and ductility. The author made an attempt to
study the mechanical properties of HVFA concrete with addition of fibres at
0.1, 0.2, and 0.3% of cement and with 60% fly ash replacement with cement.
It was found that fibre additions have increased its strength characteristics
considerably over the ordinary cement concrete. A mathematical model was
developed using SPSS 20 for the strength parameters of HVFA concrete with
fibres. The major parameter that affected strength was total binders and water-
binder ratio.
 36

Palaniraj Saravanakumar & Govindasamy Dinakaran (2014) studied

the utilization of recycled coarse aggregate obtained from demolished
concrete. It has gained momentum in recent years due to its contribution
towards sustainability by minimizing the use of artificially produced materials
and eliminating environmental problems due to dumped waste materials. The
present research exploited the possibility of producing HVFA based recycled
aggregate (RA) high-strength concrete (Nanik 1989). It was found that 50%
of desired strength could be achieved even with 50% replacement of cement
with fly ash and 50% of natural aggregate (NA) with RA. An attempt was
thus made to study the effects of RA and HVFA on durability characteristics.
The parameters considered were resistance to chloride ion penetration, acid
attack, sulfate attack and sorption. It was found that replacement of NA with
RA and cement with fly ash in higher volumes showed a way of considering
economy and environmental effects as criteria, given a little bit of
compromise towards strength and durability criteria but still falling well
within an acceptable limit.

2.6 CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Existing literature mainly concentrates on mix design aspects in

addition to mechanical and durability studies. Some of the literature focused
on fly ash utilization for pavements etc., there are limited publications
available in the area of behaviour of structural elements made of HVFA
concrete. After the Bhuj earthquake (2001), the seismic map of India was
revised (IS: 1893-Part1: 2002). Based on that, many cities come under zone 3,
which needs earth quake effect to be considered in design to make the
structure ductile. It was proved that confinement in the compression zone aids
for ductility. A critical review of the literature indicates that no study was
made for HVFA usage in RCC beams with confinement of stirrups in
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compression zone. In this aspect, HVFA concrete beam has designed with
confinement in compression zone.

From the literature review, it was found that the HVFA concrete
exhibits reduced compressive strength, flexural strength and split tensile
strength properties during the earlier stages of curing (28 days). But the fly
ash reacts with CSH gel at later stages and increases the strength properties at
90 days of curing due to pozzolanic properties. When concrete is confined
with steel, the behaviour of the concrete is completely changed and exhibits
more load carrying capacity and ductility. The presence of fly ash in high
volumes also exhibits the similar behaviour under confinements.

2.7 SCOPE OF THE PRESENT RESEARCH

In light of the above observations, an experimental study of the

mechanical behaviour of HVFA concrete beams with confinement by
reinforcement in compression zone was conducted through a series of tests.

The specific objectives of the project are as follows:

1. To establish the fresh and hardened properties of HVFA

concrete.

2. To develop the statistical model by regression analysis using

SPSS for compressive strength (fck), flexural strength (fcr) and
split tensile strength (ft).

3. To study the bending behaviour of HVFA concrete beams

with confinement of closely spaced stirrups in compression
zone.
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4. To perform the durability study of HVFA concrete under

adverse environment.

5. To validate the experimental results using ANSYS.