Acoustic and non-acoustic performance of coal bottom ash concrete as sound absorber for wall concrete

Abstract

The huge production of Coal Ash has contributed to environmental issues such as contaminated ground and surface water due to limited dumping space. Coal bottom ash (CBA) is still treated as waste and often placed into impoundment ponds, silos or landfills. This paper presents the acoustic and non-acoustic performance for a new concrete product that consists mainly of CBA as a sound absorber for building. Measurements of acoustic properties of CBA concrete panel were carried out according to ISO 354 in the mini reverberation chamber and rated based in ISO 11654. Material properties and non-acoustic performance of CBA concrete also were carried out Result showed the increase in CBA percentage in the concrete mixture has affected the compressive strength of the sample which were lower than that of control concrete. Based on the sound test conducted according to ISO 11654: 1997, it was found that CBA concrete can be classified as class D (absorption materials). Class D materials are able to absorb more than 30 % of sound. This research has successfully defined that CBA are viable to be used as raw material in concrete for acoustic absorber for building.