About the Project

The energy industry is transitioning away from the combustion of coal for a fuel source and, one side effect, is that the availability of coal combustion residues – fly ash, a common concrete additive – is also becoming scarce.

Goals

The goal of this research project is to evaluate the viability of high-quality alternative pozzolanic materials (specifically those that are abundantly available in Florida or surrounding areas) that have otherwise been disregarded in lieu of fly ash. The evaluation criteria for the alternative pozzolans include: adequacy of supply, cost and practicality of implementation of cementitious materials as a partial replacement of Portland cement into the FDOT standard specification for road and bridge construction.

Some of the materials being evaluated for use in Florida concretes are crushed recycled glass, wood biomass ash, agricultural combustion ashes, underutilized (lesser quality) coal fly ash, etc. The materials are blended with cement at various percentages to determine optimum performance in a battery of tests. These test methods include physical raw material characteristics identification, cement hydration analysis, fresh concrete/mortar properties determination, hardened concrete/mortar properties determination, and evaluation of long term durability of the amended concrete/mortar.

Sponsors

• Florida Department of Transportation

Project Manager

• H.D. Deford

Graduate Assistant

• Jerry Paris