Influence of palm oil fuel ash on physico-mechanical properties of prepacked aggregate concrete

Abstract

Prepacked aggregate concrete (PAC) is a special type of concrete which is made by placing coarse aggregate in a formwork and injecting a grout either by pump or under gravity force to fill the voids. Utilization of pozzolanic materials in traditional concrete has become increasingly extensive, and this trend is expected to continue in prepacked concrete as well. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is one of the pozzolanic ashes, which has been recognized as a good pozzolanic material. This paper presents the results of some experimental tests on the performance behavior of POFA in developing physical and mechanical properties of prepacked aggregate concrete. Four concrete mixes namely prepacked concrete with 100% OPC as control, and PAC with 10%, 20% and 30% POFA were cast, and the temperature growth due to heat of hydration in all the mixtures was recorded. It has been found that POFA significantly reduced the temperature rise in prepacked concrete. The compressive and tensile strength, however, increased with replacement of POFA. The results obtained and the observation made in this study suggest that the replacement of OPC by POFA is beneficial, particularly for prepacked mass concrete where thermal cracking due to extreme heat rise is of great concern.