Fly-Ash Concretes of 50% of the Replacement Ratio to Reduce the Cracking in Concrete Structures

Abstract

Fly-ash concrete used in massive concrete structure has superior advantages to reduce hydration heat. On the other hand, the fly-ash concrete has negative property of low strength development at early age because pozzolanic reaction of fly-ash activates at mature age, such as after 28 days. To investigate these characteristics of fly-ash used in concrete, the present study discusses thermal cracking possibility of fly-ash concrete by using FE analysis software. The present study employs prediction formulae proposed by Zhang and Japanese design code in the simulations. The objects in this study are normal strength concrete mixed of fly-ash up to 50% of replacement ratio to cement. The comparative investigations show that temperature effect is more significant than strength development at early age. Based on the analytical study, high volume fly-ash concretes of 30-50% of the replacement ratio can be concluded as effective and useful materials to reduce the cracking possibility in massive concrete structures. Keywords-Fly-ash concrete; Early Age, Prediction Formulae for Strength; Thermal Stress Analysis