Mechanical, Mineralogical and Durability Properties of Pulverized Pond Ash Based Concrete

In recent decades, cement production and demand have significantly impacted the environment; enormous amounts of energy are required to produce cement. This led to a severe energy crisis in our country. In order to minimize the usage of cement and energy consumption in an eco-friendly manner, industrial waste materials with cementitious characteristics are drawn to attention. Hence, the study deals with the use of pulverized pond ash as a partial replacement for cement in concrete. The mix design was carried out for M 25 grade concrete by IS 10262-2019. Two significant mix proportions were prepared, namely, Conventional Concrete (CC) (100 % cement), and Pulverized Pond Ash Concrete (PPAC) (90 % cement and 10% pulverized pond ash). In this study, cylinder compressive strength, mineralogical analysis, sulphate resistance tests, sorptivity, and water absorption, were examined. The PPAC mix outperformed CC in compressive strength by 10.74 %, 13.09 %, and 13.66 % at 28, 56, and 90 days, respectively. At 28 days, ettringite peaks are minor, with both intensity and quantity increasing significantly by 56 and 90 days. The PPAC also showed higher residual compressive strength (1.08 %, 1.65 %, 2.32 %) and lower sorptivity (8.93 %, 10.14 %, 12.5 %) than CC at all ages. From the results, PPAC showed superior properties than CC at all ages suggesting for replacement of 10 % of cement with pond ash.