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Evaluation of mechanical properties of high-strength concrete with

sustainable materials

Article in IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering · March 2020
DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

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Evaluation of mechanical properties of high-strength concrete with

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The Fourth Postgraduate Engineering Conference IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 745 (2020) 012147 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

Evaluation of mechanical properties of high-strength concrete

with sustainable materials

Ahmed A Mohammed Ali1*, Roua Suhail Zidan1, Baraa J M Al-Eliwi1

1
Civil Engineering Department, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq,
E-mail: [Link]@[Link]

Abstract. This research deals with green concrete which is defined as environmental-friendly
material that contains the waste material, and its production does not cause environmental
pollution. Also, it has high performance and life sustainability. In this investigation, the effect
of the curing period on the properties of green concrete made with different percentages of fly
ash and recycled coarse aggregate has been studied. Nine mixtures with varying percentages of
replacement of fly ash (25% and 50%) and recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) (25% and 50%)
were prepared. In addition to the control mixture with 100% ordinary Portland cement and
100% normal coarse aggregate to compare the results. The standard concrete cylinders (150 x
300 mm) and cubes (150 x150 x150 mm) were prepared and tested at different ages (7, 14, 28,
and 60 days) to get the compressive strength, splitting strength, and modulus of elasticity. The
results showed that no noticeable effect on the cementing efficiency of fly ash if its
replacement ratio has no more than 50% of cement, as well as, recycled coarse aggregate has
no significant effect on concrete strengths when the replacement ratio of natural aggregate less
than 50%.

1. Introduction
Achieving sustainable construction can be adopted using green concrete technology (GCT). This
technology provides saving in natural materials, pollution and time through utilizing waste materials
[1]. Since concrete mix production consumes about 75-80% natural aggregate, besides, 8% of CO2
emissions of the world come from cement manufacturing [2- 4]. Thus, GCT becomes necessary to
reduce or eliminate using of natural aggregate. GCT characterized by lower energy and carbon
consumption comparable to conventional concrete, which contains Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).
As well as, GCT can incorporate different waste materials as recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) [5, 6].
Nowadays, fly ash used worldwide for building construction. It is a principal by-product of coal
combustion. Fly ash mainly utilized for cement replacement, decreases pollution to the environment,
improves durability, and decreases shrinkage and hydration [7-13].
Recently, the use of recycled aggregates locally available from war-damaged buildings in Mosul
has emerged as an alternative to natural coarse aggregates in concrete. Several studies were showed
successful impacts of mineral additives to improve the performance of recycled aggregate such as;
silica fume, fly ash, and furnace slag [14, 15]. Guo et al. [16] reported that the pozzolanic materials
that used as a surface coating or admixtures in recycled aggregate concrete can remarkably enhance
the overall durability.
A lot of researchers stated that the concrete strength affects by the ratio of RCA. Higher-strength
value with lower aggregate percentages was reported [17–20]. Sim and Park [21] reported that the
concrete/fly ash strength is lower compared to virgin concrete. To this end, the influence of recycled

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Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
The Fourth Postgraduate Engineering Conference IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 745 (2020) 012147 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

aggregate and fly ash together on GCT is not reported. However, this study focuses on the utilization
of fly ash and RCA in GCT.

2. Experimental Program
2.1. Cement, fly ash, admixture, and aggregate
OPC and concentrations of 25% and 50% of fly ash were selected and tested according to Iraqi
Standard Specification (ISS) [22]. Table 1 provides the physicochemical characteristics of OPC and
fly ash.
Sika Viscocrete-5930 Superplasticizer, which matches the requirements of (ASTM C-494) [23],
was used as a water reducer., resulting in higher concrete strengths. The water-cement ratio (W/C) was
constant (0.33).
Available natural sand of (4.75 mm) maximum aggregate size with grading within the limits of
(BS.882) specification [24], the grading and physical properties are listed in Tables 2 and 3,
respectively.
The natural rounded gravel of maximum aggregate (NCA) size (19 mm) was used, obtained from
the Tigris river (Iraq). This coarse aggregate prepared within the limits. The RCA was taken from
destroyed building parts inside Mosul city of 25 years old age, after cleaning and crushing it. The
grading and physical properties are listed in Table 4. Figure 1 shows a sample of fly ash and a waste of
concrete.

(a) (b)
Figure 1. The (a) A Sample of fly ash and (b) A Sample of waste concrete.
Table 1. Physicochemical properties of the OPC and fly ash used in
this study.

Chemical Cement Fly Ash

Composition (%) (%)
SiO2 18.0 64.64
AL2O3 4.52 25.72
Fe2O3 4.27 5.30
CaO 62.7 0.61
MgO 4.24 0.26
SO4 5.62 0.34
Loss on Ignition 3.56 2.50
Fineness (m2/kg) 300 376
Initial setting time (min.) 60 150

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The Fourth Postgraduate Engineering Conference IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 745 (2020) 012147 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

Final setting time (hr) 5 -

Specific gravity (gm/cm3) 2.43 3.14

Table 2. Sieve analysis of fine aggregate.

Percentage by mass passing BS sieves 882/1992
Sieve Size
(%) Specification Limits
(%) Passing
In mm BS.882 (1992)
3/8 9.52 100 100
No.4 4.76 89-100 96
No.7 2.4 65-100 87
No.14 1.2 45-100 65
No.25 0.6 25-80 40
No.50 0.3 5-48 15
No.100 0.15 - 6

Table 3. Physical properties of fine aggregate

Specific Gravity
Color Absorption (%)
(S.S.D)
Brown 2.63 1.5

Table 4. Physical properties of NCA and RCA.

Type of coarse
NCA RCA RCA25a RCA50b
aggregate
Maximum aggregate
19 19 19 19
size (mm)
Specific Gravity (SSD) 2.72 2.515 2.686 2.642
Absorption (%) 1.00 4.87 1.92 2.67
2
Unit weight (kg/m ) 1680.35 1389.39 1525.25 1454.85
a: 25% recycled RCA + 75% NCA
b: 50% recycled RCA + 50% NCA
2.2. Specimen preparation and testing program
The tests were performed at 7, 14, 28, and 60 days. 243 specimens were cast (108 cube samples for
compressive strength, 108 cylinder samples for splitting tensile strength, 27 samples for modulus of
elasticity). Some trial mixes were made to choose the proportion of the concrete mix. Three samples
for the prescribed age were tested and took their averages. Details of all mixtures were listed in Table
5.
A 150 X 150 X 150 mm cubes were tested as per (BS1881-Part116) [25] to find out concrete
compressive strength. Whereas, 150 X 300 mm cylinders specimens as per ASTM C496 [26] was used
for splitting tensile test. The modulus of elasticity was measured as ASTM C469 [27] at the ages of 28
days.
Table 5. Details of concrete mixtures.

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The Fourth Postgraduate Engineering Conference IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 745 (2020) 012147 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

MIXTURE Cement (%) Fly Ash (%) NCA (%) RCA (%)
FA0RA0 (CC) 100 0 100 0
FA0RA25 100 0 75 25
FA0RA50 100 0 50 50
FA25RA0 75 25 100 0
FA25RA25 75 25 75 25
FA25RA50 75 25 50 50
FA50RA0 50 50 100 0
FA50RA25 50 50 75 25
FA50RA50 50 50 50 50

3. Results
To investigate and compare the behavior of concrete using fly ash and recycle coarse aggregate, an
experimental study was performed on concrete samples to find the strength and properties of it. The
tests were carried out after 7, 14, 28, 60 days. Summary of the test results for different concrete
mixures listed in the tables and figures.
3.1 Workability Tests
The mix of concrete used for the test is medium workability; slump cone tests are performed in this
study. The workability was enhanced by adding a superplasticizer to the mixure of concrete. All
workability results were listed in Table 6.

Table 6. Summary of workability test results.

Mixture Workability
CC 90
FA0RA25 87
FA0RA50 82
FA25RA0 84
FA25RA25 77
FA25RA50 75
FA50RA0 80
FA50RA25 74
FA50RA50 73

3.2 Compressive Strength

The all compressive strength results are shown in Table 7 and Figure 2. The experimental results were
compared to the results exited from the control concrete (CC), all experimental tests were conducted in
4 periods, with the age of concrete: 7, 14, 28 and 60 days. There is a slight decrease in compressive
strength with the increase of cement replacement with fly ash up to 50%, also for 50% RA
replacement compared with CC mix, while the reduction with 50% fly ash and 50% RA replacement
was 39.8%.
The considerable variance in the obtained results occurs within 7 and 14 days of curing time. The tests
have been performed to show that the compressive strength of concrete was increasing with time. It
can be easily noticed by comparing the changes in compressive strength over time, which is shown in
Table 7. And Figure 2. The most remarkable difference was observed at an early age.

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The Fourth Postgraduate Engineering Conference IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 745 (2020) 012147 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

Figure 2. Effect of fly Ash and RCA on compressive strength of concrete at different ages curing.
Table 7. Summary of compressive strength test results.
Compressive Strength (MPa)
Mixtures
7-days 14-days 28-days 60-days
FA0RA0 (CC) 37.89 51.98 56.27 61.16
FA0RA25 36.20 48.80 54.72 58.59
FA0RA50 34.49 47.50 51.20 55.89
FA25RA0 36.73 47.59 53.90 59.23
FA25RA25 35.12 46.29 51.43 54.14
FA25RA50 31.66 41.38 45.57 49.87
FA50RA0 27.55 29.94 41.11 43.74
FA50RA25 24.91 26.87 36.28 39.86
FA50RA50 23.03 30.82 33.87 36.27

3.3 Splitting Strength

The overall outcomes of the splitting tensile strength test are listed in Figure 3 and Table 8, Figure 3
shows that the development of splitting strength with age progress for all mixes. It can be noted that
the splitting tensile strength of concrete mixes increased with the increase of the proportion of RCA up
to 25% then decreased, and there is a slight decrease in splitting tensile strength with the 50%
replacement of RCA comparing with NCA mix, while the reduction with 50% fly ash and 50% RA
replacement was 36.7%. Optimum value can be found when fly ash=25% and RCA=25%.

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The Fourth Postgraduate Engineering Conference IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 745 (2020) 012147 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

Figure 3. Effect of Fly Ash and RCA on splitting strength of concrete at different ages curing.

Table 8. Summary of Splitting Tensile Strength Test Results.

Splitting Tensile Strength (MPa)
Mixtures
7-days 14-days 28-days 60-days

FA0RA0 (CC) 3.66 5.90 6.10 6.13

FA0RA25 3.81 6.12 6.35 6.38
FA0RA50 3.63 5.95 6.06 6.10
FA25RA0 3.18 4.70 5.3 5.32
FA25RA25 3.75 6.06 6.25 6.41
FA25RA50 2.79 3.90 4.65 4.71
FA50RA0 2.91 3.20 4.85 5.92
FA50RA25 2.37 3.83 3.95 3.98
FA50RA50 2.31 3.62 3.86 3.90

3.4 Modulus of Elasticity

The moduli of elasticity values are present in Table 9 and Figure 4. The modulus of elasticity of green
concrete showed a similar trend to that of the compressive strength. The increase in fly ash and RCA
percentage resulted in a decrease in the moduli of elasticity. The modulus of elasticity for CC concrete
samples was 40.20 GPa and 34.09 GPa for the FA50RA50 mix, respectively.
Table 9 indicates the modulus of concrete at different content of fly ash and RCA. It can be notice that
the modulus of elasticity was affected considerably by the replacement level of fly ash and RCA in
concrete.

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 The Fourth Postgraduate Engineering Conference IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 745 (2020) 012147 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

Figure 4. Effect of Fly Ash and RCA on the elasticity modulus of concrete at different ages curing.

Table 9. Summary of modulus of elasticity test results.

Modulus of Elasticity (GPa)
Mixtures
28-days
FA0RA0 (CC) 40.20
FA0RA25 39.65
FA0RA50 39.07
FA25RA0 39.78
FA25RA25 38.67
FA25RA50 37.69
FA50RA0 36.16
FA50RA25 35.12
FA50RA50 34.09

4. Conclusions
In this paper, the mechanical properties of green concrete with fly ash were investigated. The
following outcomes have been drawn:
1. Green concrete technology containing fly ash resulted in CO2 emissions reduced.
2. Concrete with 25% fly ash is possible in structures; but, it should be taken into account that
the concrete strengths.
3. Recycled coarse aggregate can be used as replacement natural coarse aggregate with
acceptable effects on concrete strengths when the replacement ratio less than 50%.
4. According to this study, the optimum percentage of fly ash and RCA was 25% to obtain good
concrete strengths.
5. The recorded results led to; it is possible to produce green concrete with fly ash and recycled
coarse aggregate.

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 The Fourth Postgraduate Engineering Conference IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 745 (2020) 012147 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/745/1/012147

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