Strength properties of high-volume fly ash roller compacted and workable concrete, and influence of curing condition

A laboratory investigation was carried out to evaluate the strength properties of high-volume fly ash (HVFA) roller compacted and superplasticised workable concrete cured at moist and dry curing conditions. Concrete mixtures made with 0%, 50% and 70% replacement of normal Portland cement (NPC) with two different low-lime Class F fly ashes, good and low quality, were prepared. Water-cementitious material ratios ranged from 0.28 to 0.43. The compressive, flexural tensile and cylinder splitting tensile strengths were measured and presented. The relationship between the flexural tensile and compressive strengths was discussed. The influence of loss on ignition (LOI) content of fly ash on water demand and the strength of concrete was also discussed. The influence of moist and dry curing conditions on the high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete system was assessed through a proposed simple efficiency factor. The study showed that producing high-strength concrete was possible with high-volume fly ash content. LOI content increased the water demand of fresh concrete. HVFA concrete was found to be more vulnerable to dry curing conditions than was NPC concrete. It was concluded that HVFA concrete was an adequate material for both structural and pavement applications.