Performance of self-compacting concrete containing fly ash

The influence of including fly ash (FA) oil the properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) is investigated. Portland cement (PC) was partially replaced with 0-80% FA. The water to binder ratio was maintained at 0.36 for all mixes. Properties included workability, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity ( V), absorption and shrinkage. The results indicate that high volume FA can be used in SCC to produce high strength and low shrinkage. Replacing 40% of PC with FA resulted in a strength of more than 65 N/mm(2) at 56 days. High absorption values are obtained with increasing amount of FA, however, all FA concrete exhibits absorption of less than 2%. There is a systematic reduction in shrinkage as the FA content increases and at 80% FA content, the shrinkage at 56 days reduced by two third compared with the control. A linear relationship exists between the 56 day shrinkage and FA content. Increasing the admixture content beyond a certain level leads to a reduction in strength and increase in absorption. The correlation between strength and absorption indicates that there is sharp decrease in strength as absorption increases from 1 to 2%. After 2% absorption, the strength reduces at a much slower rate. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.