Durability of Concrete Containing PFA-GGBS By-products

Abstract

Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS) and Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) were used to replace up to 60% of Portland cement (PC) in concrete. The testing program of the concrete included the determination of the consistency of fresh concrete, the measurement of the density and compressive strength of the hardened products cured for up to 56 days and the evaluation of their durability via visual inspections and strength loss calculations after the freeze and thaw cycles. The results showed that the blend proportion and type had affected the consistency of the fresh concrete. Replacing the PC with 20% for PFA or 40% for GGBS had similar performances as the control mix. The durability of concrete subject to freeze and thaw had little effect on the concrete specimens. It was observed that the concrete without blends suffered the worst, resulting in chips along the edges of the cube and scaling of the faces compared to mixes with 20% GGBS and 20% PFA which resulted in increased durability. However, blended concrete exhibited more loss in strength compared to the concrete without cement blends.