Effects of Roller Compacted Concrete Incorporating Coal Bottom Ash as a Fine Aggregate Replacement

Abstract

Coal bottom ash (CBA) is a by-product generated in the coal furnaces of thermal power plants. It has adverse effects on the environment and requires additional landfill storage. However, the physical appearance of CBA is similar to that of sand, with particle sizes ranging from fine to coarse aggregates. Hence, many previous studies have focused on its application instead of sand for conventional concrete and structural fill materials considering natural sand depletion. Roller compacted concrete (RCC) is a zero-slump concrete with better compressive strength than conventional concrete because of the aggregate interlock achieved due to the compactness. It uses a low cement content but requires a large amount of sand. However, the applicability of CBA to RCC is limited. The properties of CBA may vary depending on the location. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of CBA as a sand replacement in RCC in terms of strength and long-term performance by conducting an empirical experiment under given conditions. Initially, a comprehensive literature review of various concrete strengths using CBA as sand replacement is provided. Thereafter, details related to the experiments on the strength and durability of the given CBA are presented. The results show that the RCC strength improves when CBA increases owing to the good gradation and low percentage of calcium oxide. Furthermore, the samples displayed acceptable freeze–thaw resistance values, but the scaling resistance values were small, owing to the high-water absorption. Therefore, CBA can be used in RCC as sand for improved structural performance, while additional research should be conducted to improve its long-term performance.