Pelletisation factors on the production of fly-ash aggregates and its performance in concrete

Abstract

This research study investigates the factors associated with pelletisation in the production of fly-ash aggregates and its performance in concrete. To investigate this influence, experiments were carried out in different stages to explore the effect of factors responsible for pelletisation, which were designed through Taguchi's experimental design. Additionally, the influence of each parameter on the engineering properties of the produced aggregates was determined using Grey relational analysis. Further, considering the optimised pelletisation factors of the laboratory-scale studies and with the help of an industrial-scale pelletiser, mass production of fly-ash aggregates was carried out and characterised for their engineering properties. The test results indicate that these aggregates are mainly governed by water content followed by the angle and speed of pelletizing disc. It is observed from the results that the engineering properties of aggregates produced on an industrial scale are found to be better than sintered aggregates and also comparable with that of natural aggregates except for water absorption. The properties of concrete produced with fly-ash aggregates, light weight sintered aggregates and natural aggregates were also studied. The results showed that properties of concrete produced with fly-ash aggregates are in good correlation with those of conventional concrete produced with natural aggregates.