National Concrete Pavement Technology Center

Project description

In Texas, and most of the US, Class F fly ash is the most used supplementary cementitious material (SCM) due to the many benefits it provides to concrete. In recent years, the availability of Class F fly ash has decreased as many coal-fired power plants have shut down. Plants that have not shut down are required to install various emission control systems that can significantly alter the type of fly ash produced. As the face of fly ash production continues to change, the usability of non-traditional fly ashes and fly ash alternatives in concrete must be evaluated. As the number of new SCM sources rises to meet demand, rapid tests are necessary to screen out poor-performing materials and long-term performance testing is needed to qualify promising materials for use in concrete mixtures. In this study, both rapid SCM screening tests and long-term performance of non-traditional, blended fly ashes were examined.