Characterization of high-volume fly-ash cement pastes for sustainable construction applications

The effects of high proportions of fly ash in cement-paste composites for use in low-strength applications for sustainable ecological products were investigated. Pore volume is an important property for concrete and, consequently, for cement pastes. Proposed relationships between porosity and physical characteristics gave high regression coefficients (R2 > 0.90) for all slump classes after 28 days and were satisfactorily used to characterize pore volume. The roles of supplementary cementitious materials in cement pastes were optimized with respect to the physical and mechanical properties of the products. The optimized mixture proportions revealed in this study may offer opportunities in manufacturing cements for controlled low-strength applications.