Efficiency of fly ash in cementitious materials

A quantitative understanding of the efficiency of fly ash as a mineral admixture in cement-based materials is essential for its effective utilisation. The present paper is directed towards a specific understanding of the efficiency of fly ash in cementitious materials systems by considering the independency of fly ash and its dependency on the characteristics of the cementitious materials system. A new method of quantitatively evaluating the strength effect of fly ash is proposed, in which two parameters, the strength-effect index and the strengthening factor are employed to study strength development in fly ash mortars and concretes and to further analyse the influences of water to binder ratio (w/b) and the replacement amount of fly ash on strength. Results indicate that the strength effect of fly ash in mortar systems is different from that in concrete; the strength effect of fly ash varies with both amount of fly ash and w/b. Furthermore, in a concrete system, two different optimal w/b ratios are used to maximise the strength-effect index and the strengthening factor of fly ash, respectively. An optimum amount of fly ash exists for an optimal unit strength-effect index in concrete. It is shown that the method presented in this paper is reasonable and effective in assessing the efficiency of fly ash. This information will strengthen the effective utilisation of fly ash in cementitious materials and design of fly ash concrete.