Effect of cattle manure ash’s particle size on compression strength of concrete

Abstract

Cattle manure ash (CMA) is an industrial waste generated by biomass power plants. The objection of this study is to confirm how the particle size of cattle manure ash influence the compression strength of concrete. To obtain different particle size of cattle manure ash, we used a muffle furnace to simulate the biomass power combustion temperature (500 °C, 650 °C, and 800 °C). These CMAs were then analyzed via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Compression strength of concrete is obtained by Standard for test methods for mechanical properties of ordinary concrete. Grey’s relevancy principle was used to determine the effect of CMA with particle sizes of 0–3, 32–65, 65–80 μm, and >80 μm on the compression strength of concrete. The results revealed that 15% CMA volume of cement replacement yielded a positive correlation between particles with sizes of 0–3 μm and >65 μm on the compression strength; a negative correlation was obtained for other particle sizes. The mechanism of improving the compression strength of CMA concrete include the particle improving density of the binary mixture, improving the chemical composition and structure between the aggregate and the gelled materials and improving the degree of the core effect. The results of this study can be used as a guide for extending the use of CMA in concrete.