Comparative assessment of Australian fly ash and conventional concrete bricks

Abstract

A comparative study of the chemical composition, mineralogy, morphology and crushing strengths of fly ash bricks, conventional concrete bricks and fly ash samples has been undertaken. The main chemicals present in the products were silica and alumina while their main minerals were quartz, mullite, illite, vaterite, and calcite. Elemental analysis by XPS showed that the major elements in the samples were oxygen, silicon, carbon, calcium and aluminium; and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the fly ash samples consist of spherically-shaped particles with surface attachment containing needlelike particles. Compared with conventional concrete bricks, fly ash bricks generally have higher atomic silicon and crushing strengths but lower crystalline silica. The implication of the results on the suitability of fly ash bricks as replacements for conventional concrete bricks in the building industry is discussed from the point of view of human health and occupational safety.

Effect of addition of pond ash and fly ash on properties of ash—clay burnt bricks

“…Much research has been carried out on the utilization of fly ash for bricks (Takegawa 1996, Kumar 2002, 2003, Lingling et al 2005, Cicek & Tanrýverdi 2006, Lin 2006. These studies were based on the fly ash available from a particular power plant, and the properties of the product obtained were dependent on the quality of the ash/coal (Ayoko et al 2005). In addition to superior conventional properties, fly ash/clay bricks have the advantage of being the usual red colour, which enhances the acceptance of the product to users (Das & Segaran 2005).…”