Controlled Low-Strength Materials Using Bagasse Ash and Fly Ash

An increase in industrial and construction activities has resulted in the generation of wastes that consume large volumes of land-fill spaces. Controlled low-strength materials (CLSMs) are an obvious choice for reuse of large quantities of these waste materials. This paper examines the fresh and hardened properties of CLSM mixtures produced using wastes such as bagasse ash and fly ash as pozzolanic materials, and broken hollow concrete blocks and quarry dust as fine aggregates. Engineering properties such as spread flow, Marsh flow, compressive strength, settlement, and density were investigated. Flow and strength phenomenological models were generated. The predicted values were also compared with Lagrange's interpolation values and a new set of experimental data. Results indicate that phenomenological models encourage the production of CLSM of required parameters instead of a conventional trial-and-error process. The use of fly ash, bagasse ash, and quarry dust in large quantities increased water demand of the mixtures. Bagasse ash mixtures containing quarry dust resulted in lower strengths when compared to fly ash mixtures containing powdered hollow concrete blocks. All these wastes are encouraged to be reused in CLSM and, hence, reduce the burden on landfills.