Accelerated carbonation and testing of concrete made with fly ash

Abstract

An accelerated carbonation test was carried out in order to assess the carbonation of fly ash (FA) concrete. The process of carbonation was accelerated using a controlled environment. The concrete mixtures made with 0, 50 and 70% replacement of normal Portland cement (NPC) with fly ash were prepared. Water–cementitious material ratios were ranged from 0.28 to 0.55. Some concrete mixture was also made with a superplasticizer. Comparisons were made to evaluate the influence of FA on the carbonation of concrete. The laboratory test results showed that FA concrete made with 70% replacement ratio was carbonated more than that of 50% FA replacement concrete and normal Portland cement (NPC) concrete. In contrast, 50% FA replacement concrete showed lower or similar carbonation to NPC concrete. Before exposing the concrete to the accelerated carbonation testing, the longer initial curing period resulted in lower carbonation depth. The effect is more marked with moist curing. The statistical analyses results showed a strong correlation between the carbonation depth and the strength of the concrete. The influence of the superplasticizer on the carbonation was found to be insignificant.