March  2007  

Strength and durability of concrete with pond ash as fine aggregate

Kalgal M.R., Pranesh, R.N. and Ravishankar S

Pond ash is being produced at an alarming rate and efforts are required to safely dispose it and if possible find ways of utilising it. Fly ash collected through hoppers has been widely accepted as a pozzolona and is being used by the construction industry. Pond ash being coarser and less pozzolonic, is not being used. Some studies have been carried out earlier on partial replacement of sand by pond ash. In view of sand becoming scarce and pond ash accumulation posing environmental problems, total replacement of sand by pond ash in concrete is attempted. It is found that it is possible to use only pond ash as fine aggregate without compromising on strength and durability. This study opens up a major avenue for utilisation of pond ash.



















Corrosion initiation time of reinforced concrete members in marine environment

A. Srividya and S.B. Allampallewar

Effective chloride diffusion constants in partially saturated concrete are determined for a period of thirty years by studying the monthly temperature and relative humidity data in Santacruz (Mumbai, India) region and assuming diffusion decay constant as per Life-365. Temperature and relative humidity data collected for thirty years at Santacruz in Mumbai (India) by Indian Metrological Department is used. Mathematical models which consider monthly variation of chloride diffusion in concrete for constant surface chloride concentration and step-variation of surface chloride concentration are proposed to predict the corrosion initiation time of reinforced concrete members. In step-variation surface chloride concentration (Cs) is assumed to build up in steps to reach a maximum value (Cs,max = Co ) over a time period to and then remaining constant i.e. for time t ? to.The proposed mathematical models for constant surface chloride concentration for predicting the time and space variations of chloride content in concrete are based on Fickian process of diffusion (Fick's second law) and on the concept of chloride threshold to define corrosion initiation. Corrosion is initiated when the chloride concentration on steel reinforcement exceeds a threshold value (Cth). The governing parameters of the diffusion based model include surface chloride concentration (Cs), concrete cover depth (X), chloride diffusion coefficient in concrete (D), chloride threshold level of steel reinforcement (Cth) and exposure age of concrete (t - tref). Chloride diffusion coefficient mainly depends on water-cement ratio (w/c) of concrete and varies with age (t) depending on continued conditions of hydration, temperature (T) and relative humidity (h) and hence required to be modified by applying correction. Life-365 program does calculations only for fully saturated concrete considering user defined monthly variation in temperature. Predicted corrosion initiation time using effective diffusion constant is found to be short and within five percent of corrosion initiation time predicted by considering monthly variation of diffusion coefficient in Santacruz region. For fully saturated concrete condition proposed mathematical models estimate short corrosion initiation time by about 10% to 20% but for the same data considering partially saturated (actual condition) condition proposed models estimate 70% to 160% more corrosion initiation time to that predicted using Life-365 program depending on surface chloride concentration. With the knowledge of proper corrosion initiation time, maintenance and repair programmes of reinforced concrete members can be scheduled and resources can be utilised effectively. It also helps to fix the concrete cover depth and water-cement ratio necessary for the design of service life for concrete members in the region .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix proportioning of plain and rice husk ash concrete as per draft IS 10262

M.C. Nataraja and B.M. Ramalinga Reddy

With the revision of IS 456 in the year 2000, it is mandatory on the part of designers and users to follow the new specifications which are relevant for concrete mix design. Significant modifications have been made in many aspects of concrete mix design in the draft IS 10262 : 2004, which is currently being circulated by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The method proposed in the draft code can be used for the design of ordinary and standard concrete grades using concreting materials and other supplementary materials identified for this purpose. Here the mix proportioning is done for plain and rice husk ash (RHA) concrete. Two percentages of RHA namely 15% and 25 % as replacement to cement have been tried in this work. The investigation is only an attempt to demonstrate the use of draft code for the design of concrete that contains cement alone and a combination of cement and rice husk ash which is a supplementary cementing material.