Strength Development and Thermogravimetric Investigation of High-Volume Fly Ash Binders

Abstract

To address sustainability issues by facilitating the use of high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete in industry, this paper investigates the early age hydration properties of HVFA binders in concrete and the correlation between hydration properties and compressive strengths of the cement pastes. A new method of calculating the chemically bound water of HVFA binders was used and validated. Fly ash (FA) types used in this study were sourced from Indonesia and Australia for comparison. The water to binder (w/b) ratio was 0.4 and FA replacement levels were 40%, 50% and 60% by weight. Isothermal calorimetry tests were conducted to study the heat of hydration which was further converted to the adiabat..