Logo image
Back
Potential use of lightweight aggregate (LWA) produced from bottom coal ash for internal curing of concrete systems
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Potential use of lightweight aggregate (LWA) produced from bottom coal ash for internal curing of concrete systems

Mohammad Balapour, Weijin Zhao, E.J. Garboczi, Nay Ye Oo, Sabrina Spatari, Y. Grace Hsuan, Pieter Billen and Yaghoob Farnam
Cement & concrete composites, v 105, 103428
Jan 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.103428
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.103428View
Accepted (AM)Maybe Open Access (Publisher Bronze),  Open

Abstract

Concrete Internal curing Lightweight aggregate Pore structure Sintering Sorption properties
This study evaluates the potential use of a novel lightweight aggregate (LWA), spherical porous reactive aggregate (SPoRA), produced from waste coal bottom ash, for internal curing of concrete. The engineering properties of SPoRA required for concrete internal curing were assessed including specific gravity, porosity, sphericity, water absorption, and water desorption. SPoRA showed a low oven dry specific gravity, ranging from 0.83 to 1.43, accompanied by high porosity which makes it capable of storing the amount of water needed for concrete internal curing. Through X-ray computed tomography (XCT), the high porosity of SPoRA (39.6%–57.8%, by volume) was measured and confirmed, and its sphericity, which influences the workability of concrete, was evaluated. XCT evaluation also showed that the pore structure of SPoRA is well connected, allowing stored water to move through the pore structure to the outer surface during the self-desiccation of concrete. SPoRA's 72 h water absorption not only passed the requirements of ASTM C1761 for internal curing (water absorption > 5% and minimum of 85% water desorption at 94% relative humidity, RH), but also showed superior performance in comparison to LWAs available in the market, which were also evaluated in this study. Moreover, the SPoRA desorption isotherms showed its capability for releasing a favorable amount of absorbed water as the internal RH decreases during concrete self-desiccation, thereby providing promising desorption behavior for concrete internal curing and can be a promising LWA for internal curing of concrete.

Metrics

27 Record Views
109 citations in Web of Science
123 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#12 Responsible Consumption & Production

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Construction & Building Technology
Materials Science, Composites

Research   Oct 2019

New Atlas (Ben Coxworth)

Research   08 May 2024

New Atlas (Ben Coxworth)
Logo image