Deformation Characteristics of Concrete Containing High Volume Palm Oil Fuel Ash

Abstract

With the increasing building activities in both developed and developing countries, the utilization of supplementary cementing materials will continue to increase in the years to come because of their technical, economical and ecological advantages. One of such pozzolanic materials is palm oil fuel ash (POFA) which has been identified to be a good cement substitute in mortar and concrete mixes. This paper highlights some laboratory test results on the deformation characteristics of concrete containing high volume palm oil fuel ash. Concrete specimens containing 50% POFA were made and tested for compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, shrinkage and creep. The results were compared with that of control specimen i.e. concrete made with 100% ordinary Portland cement (OPC). It has been observed that POFA concrete had lower compressive strength compared to OPC concrete. Along with lower strength development, the modulus of elasticity of concrete containing 50% ash was found to be lower. Although a relatively higher creep strain was been recorded in POFA concrete, there has been no significant difference of drying shrinkage in concrete with or without palm oil fuel ash.