Analyzing the Mechanical Properties of Straw Ash as an Admixture in Green High Performance Concrete
Author(s):
Z. G. Wang, X. X. Li, H. B. Liu, L. L. Xie, & Z. Felix
Source:
Z. G. Wang, X. X. Li, H. B. Liu, L. L. Xie, & Z. Felix, Analyzing the Mechanical Properties of Straw Ash as an Admixture in Green High Performance Concrete, Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 104-109, 2017.
ABSTRACT: At present, straw is managed by way of direct combustion in an outdoor environment. The amount of poisonous substances go directly into the air, causing air pollution and increasing the risk of a fire disaster during the burning process. Using straw ash as the admixture of green high performance concrete increases the selection of admixture of green high performance concrete, and is environmentally friendly. In order to test the efficiency of using straw ash as a green admixture of high performance concrete, the mechanical properties of straw ash from soybean, sorghum, rice and maize were analyzed. Concrete blocks of high performance concrete combined with local mining materials and different ash materials were created, and the compressive strengths were tested. Testing methods and analyses for this research included X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF), which aided in distinguishing the chemical composition of straw ash. The results showed that straw ash contained material that can be used in high performance concrete admixture, and the compressive strength of concrete had no influence when using the admixture of 4% straw ash. Ash contains a large amount of active materials; therefore, using straw ash as admixture of high performance concrete is feasible.
Keywords: Green high performance concrete; Straw ash; Admixture; High efficiency water-reducing agent.