Rheological Properties of Cement Paste Containing Ground Fly Ash Based on Particle Morphology Analysis

Abstract

Separating finer particles from raw fly ash is a popular method to produce high-performance admixture of concrete. However, the supply of separated fly ash is obviously behind the demand and the residue fly ash is difficult to be disposed. Ground fly ash is another method to improve the particle size and reactivity, but the change of particle morphology during grinding may affect the rheological properties of cement paste and concrete, which limits the application of ground fly ash in concrete projects. In this study, the raw fly ash, separated fly ash, and ground fly ash of the same particle size range were studied and the particle morphology was analyzed by Image-Pro Plus process and spherical particles proportion calculation. On this basis, the fluidity and rheological properties of cement paste with different fly ash content were tested and the mechanism was discussed by packing density and zeta potential analysis. The results showed that the total amount of spherical particles in fly ash-cement paste system was reduced due to the spherical particles of ground fly ash being destroyed during the grinding process. Thus, compared with the separated fly ash of similar particle size range, the fluidity of ground fly ash was significantly decreased while the yield stress and plastic viscosity increased significantly, which indicated that the rheological properties of fly ash cement paste are closely related to the particle morphology of fly ash. The results provide theoretical basis and technology support to the application of ground fly ash.