International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015

ISSN (Online): 2395-6755

Experimental Investigation on Properties of the concrete using

Fly Ash with Glass Fibre
1

A.Khalid Ahmed Gour, 2K.M.Mohammad Sathik Ali, 3C.Sanjay, 4R.Srinivasan

UG Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Vel Tech, Chennai, INDIA

1,2,3,4

Fly ash is defined as the finely divided residue resulting from

the combustion of ground or powdered coal, which is
transported from the firebox through the boiler by flue gases.
Fly ash is a by-product of coal-fired electric generating plants.
Specifically, it is the unburned residue that is carried away
from the burning zone in the boiler by the flue gases and then
collected by either mechanical or electrostatic separators. The
heavier unburned material drops to the bottom of the furnace
and is termed bottom ash; this material is not generally
suitable for use as a cementitious material for concrete, but is
used in the manufacture of concrete masonry block.

Abstract - This study reports the results of an experimental

investigation carried out to study the effects of fly ash with glass fibre
on the concrete and the optimum use of fly ash and glass fibre in
concrete. Cement was partially replaced with three percentages
(30%, 35%, and 40%) of class F fly ash by volume. Standard M30
grade of Concrete (OPC) is prepared as the standard reference
concrete. Compressive strength as well as splitting tensile strength of
the concrete specimens was determined after curing for 28 days.
Among the fly ash concretes, the optimum amount of fly ash replaced
with cement content is about 35%, which provides 4.36% higher
compressive strength and 5.07% higher splitting tensile strength as
compared to OPC concrete. Glass fiber (or glass fibre) is a material
consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. The glass fibre
used is of Anti Crack High dispersion fibre. Anti-Crack HD (High
Dispersion) is an engineered AR-glass chopped strand designed for
mixing in concrete and all hydraulic mortars where uniform
dispersion of the fiber reinforcement is needed. Anti-Crack HD is
typically used at a low level of addition to prevent cracking and
improve the performance of concrete, flooring, renders or other
special mortar mixes. They incorporate easily into mixes giving a
very large number of distributed reinforcing fibers from a small
weight of product. It reports the reinforcing efficiency of glass fibre
(0.5%, 1%, and 2%) addition in the fly ash concrete with cement
replacement level. With the optimum percentage of fly ash, the
various concentrations of glass fibres, the experimental test results
showed that 35% fly ash with 1% glass fibres addition in concrete
provided highest compressive strength up to 36.4% at 28 days and a
splitting tensile strength up to 19.7% at 28 days.

Fly ash is a pozzolanic material. Fineness, loss on ignition,

and chemical content are the most important characteristics of
fly ash affecting its use in concrete. It must be in a dry form
when used as a mineral admixture. It is a finely divided
amorphous alumino-silicate with varying amounts of calcium,
which when mixed with Portland cement and water, will react
with the calcium hydroxide released by the hydration of
Portland cement to produce various calcium silicate hydrates
(C-S-H) and calcium-aluminate hydrates. Some fly ashes
with higher amounts of calcium will also display cementitious
behavior by reacting with water to produce hydrates in the
absence of a source of calcium hydroxide. These pozzolanic
reactions are beneficial to the concrete in that they increase
the quantity of the cementitious binder phase (C-S-H)
and, to a lesser extent, calcium aluminate hydrates,
improving the long - term strength and reducing the
permeability of the system. Both of these mechanisms enhance
the durability of the concrete.

Keywords Fly ash , Glass fibre , Splitting Tensile Strength ,

Compressive Strength.

As per ASTM C618, Fly ash is classified into 2 categories,

namely,

I. INTRODUCTION
Concrete has become an indispensable construction material
and it is now used in greater quantities than any other material.
In the present context durability and sustainable development
are key issues for development. Ordinary Portland cement has
a high calcium base affecting the microclimate of concrete and
mortar. The interface bond between the cement paste and
aggregates can be improved with better pore structure and
minimized micro cracks using mineral admixtures like Fly
ash, Granulated blast furnace slag, Rice husk, Silica fume, etc.
Out of the above, the use of fly ash has gained prominence due
to growing awareness about the benefits and easy availability
of the good quality Fly ash.

Class F Fly ash is the Fly ash normally produced from burning
anthracite or bituminous coal that meets the applicable
requirements as SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 70%. It has
pozzolanic properties.
Class C Fly ash is the Fly ash normally produced from lignite
or sub-bituminous coal that meets the applicable requirements
as SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 70%. In addition to having
pozzolanic properties, also has some cementitious properties.
Some Class C fly ashes may contain lime contents higher than
10%.
Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete, also known as GFRC or
GRC, is a type of fiber reinforced concrete. Anti- Crack HD

International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015
ISSN (Online): 2395-6755
(High Dispersion) is defined as an engineered AR glass
chopped strand designed for mixing in concrete and all
hydraulic mortars where uniform dispersion of the fibers
reinforcement is needed. Glass fiber concretes are mainly used
in exterior building facade panels and as architectural precast
concrete. The composite panels are of recyclable and enhance
building life and durability with resistance to corrosion, fire,
UV light & temperature variations. It has been used for 40
years in more than 100 countries. It is used due to the Presence
of Zirconium (16 18 % ) gives Alkali Resistant Properties to
glass fibre.

compressive strength with average value of six specimens are

(47.3, 48.7, 51.3, 54.7) N/mm2 of 28 days and splitting tensile
strength with average values of six specimens are (4.1, 4.3,
4.6, 5.1) N/mm2 of 28 days. Flexural strength was tested with
average values of three specimens are (4.1, 4.3, 4.6, 5.1)
N/mm2 of 28 days. for glass fiber ratio of (0, 1, 3, 5) %
respectively [5].
III. METHODOLOGY

There are many types of fibre , namely - Polyester Glass Fibre,

Polypropylene Glass Fibre, Steel Glass Fibre, Alkali
Resistant(AR) Glass Fibre. We have used AR glass fibre in
this project.

II.

FINDING FROM THE LITREATURE REVIEW

1. The author explains the effects of fly ash on concrete of

various concentrations with cement. It improves in the longterm durability of concrete combined with ecological benefits.
This paper reports a comparative study on effects of concrete
properties with the replacement of fly ash [2].
2. The author aimed to investigate the physical, chemical and
mechanical properties of fly ash cement concrete. This paper
has shown that 30% of fly ash and 70% of cement has a
superior performance. It results in reduction in the cost of
materials and greenhouse gas emission [3].

Fig.1 Flow Chart Of The Detailed Methodology

A. MATERIAL USED
Cement (OPC 53 Grade Cement)
Fly Ash (Class F Type Fly Ash)
Water
Fine Aggregate (Sieve Less Than 4.75mm Till
0.15mm)
Coarse Aggregate (10mm To 20mm Size Aggregate)
Glass Fibre (AR)

3. The paper reports the experimental investigation result on

the effects of fly ash on strength development of mortar.
Cement was partially replaced with six percentages (10%,
20%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 60%) of class F fly ash by weight.
Compressive and tensile strength were determined at 3, 7, 14,
28, 60 and 90 days. Among the six fly ash mortars, the
optimum amount of cement replacement in mortar is about
40%, which results 14% higher compressive strength and 8%
higher tensile strength as compared to OPC mortar [4].

B. REQUIREMENTS
Use Of OPC 53 Grade Cement
Mix Concrete Grade Of M30
Use Of 10mm And 20 mm Sieve Size Coarse
Aggregate
Fly Ash percentage Of 30%, 35% And 40%
Glass Fibre percentage Of 0.5%, 1%, And 2%
Steel Mould Cube Size Of 150 X 150 X 150 mm
Steel Mould Cylinder Size Of 150 mm Diameter And
300 mm Height.

4. GFRC has advantage of being light weight and reduces

overall construction cost. Here, glass fibre is used for
reinforcement instead of steel. It increases to an optimum
percentage of 1.5% by the weight of cement and further it
decreases in 2% of adding glass fibre [5]
5. The report aims to evaluate glass fiber on the properties of
fresh and hardened self compacting concrete. The work
involves four mixes, the mix proportion of these mixes is (1:
1.75:2), and w/c ratio (0.4), super plasticizer of 5 % of cement,
limestone powder (100Kg /m3), and glass fiber (0, 1, 3, 5) %
of mixes volume respectively. Slump flow, L-Box and Vfunnel tests are to determine the workability of all mixes, the
values of slump flow are (710, 680, 655, 615)mm, the

C. MATERIAL TESTING
Sieve Analysis for Fine Aggregate and
Aggregate.(IS 2386)

Coarse

International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015
ISSN (Online): 2395-6755
COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH
(MPa)
28 DAYS

30.66

30.32

30.66

28

30

27.11

28

32

31.55

35

32

27.56

40

AVERAGE
COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH
(MPa)

30.52

27.70

31.85

26.81

26.22

Specific Gravity of Fine Aggregate,

Aggregate, Cement and Fly ash. (IS 2386)
Bulk Density. (IS 2386)
Water Absorption Test. (IS 2386)

C.1 TEST RESULTS

The fineness of fine aggregate
The specific gravity of fine aggregate
The specific gravity of coarse aggregate
The specific gravity of fly ash aggregate
The specific gravity of cement aggregate
Water Absorption

1.

STD
CONCRETE

30

FLY ASH 30%

25

20

FLYASH 35%
FLY ASH 40%

In the table 1, the compressive strength for all the specimens is

shown and in the column chart the average compressive
strength is shown. Among the various concentration of the fly
ash i.e., 0%, 30%, 35%, 40%, the 0% of fly ash i.e., the
standard concrete attains average strength of 31.82 Mpa for a
curing process of 28 Days. There is a decrement seen of
9.24% in the fly ash content of 30% compared to standard
concrete. A increment of 4.36% seen in the compressive
strength of Fly ash content of 35 % , followed by a decrement
of 12% in the fly ash content of 40% compared to the standard
concrete. Therefore, the optimum percentage of fly ash is 35
%, and the corresponding average compressive strength
obtained is 31.85 Mpa.

Coarse

= 2.61
= 2.40
= 2.62
= 2.35
= 2.30
= 1.11%

D. MIX RATIO PROPOTION

The different mix proportions are given below:
Standard Concrete M30 Grade = 1:1.07: 2.26
M30 Grade with 30 % of fly ash = 1: 1.49: 3.15: 0.43
M30 Grade with 35 % of fly ash = 1: 1.60: 3.39: 0.54
M30 Grade with 40 % of fly ash = 1: 1.72: 3.65: 0.66
IV.

35

Fig. 2 Column Chart of Compressive Strength for Various

Concentration of Fly Ash

26.67

COMPRESSEIVE STRENGTH
(MPa)

TRAIL

FLY
ASH
%

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
1.1 For various Concentration of Fly ash

Table.1 Compressive Strength For Different Mix Proportion

International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015
ISSN (Online): 2395-6755
Fig 5 Column Chart of Compressive Strength for Various
Concentrations of Glass Fibre
In the table 2, the compressive strength for all the specimens
is listed out and in the column chart the average compressive
strength is shown. Among the various concentration of the
glass fiber i.e., 0.5%,1%,2%, keeping the fly ash content as
optimum ,the standard concrete attains average strength of
31.82 Mpa for a curing process of 28 Days. There is an
increment seen of 26.7% in the glass fiber content of 0.5%
compared to standard concrete. Again an increment of 36.4%
seen in the compressive strength of glass fiber content of 1 % ,
followed by a decrement of 5.34% in the glass fiber content of
2% compared to the standard concrete. Therefore, the
optimum percentage of glass fibre is 1%, and the
corresponding average compressive strength obtained is 41.63
Mpa.

Fig.3 Casting, Vibrating and curing of

Specimen

Fig.4 Cracking of cube and corresponding reading

2.
1.2 Compressive Strength for various Concentrations
of Glass Fibre with Optimum Fly ash Content

2.1 Various Concentration Of Fly Ash

Table.2 Compressive Strength for Different Mix Proportion

T
R
A
I
L

F
L
Y
A
S
H
%

1
2
3
1
2
3

GLASS
FIBRE
%

0.5

3
5

COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH
(MPa)
28 DAYS

F
L
Y
SPECIMEN
NO

39.56

1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3

38.67

41.63

40.89

Table 3 Splitting Tensile Strength For Different Mix

Proportion

AVERAGE
COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH
(MPa)

38.67
37.77
41.22
41.78

30.22
2

2
3

27.56
28.89

SPLITTING TENSILE STRENGTH

28.89

A
S
H
%
0

30

35

40

SPLITTING
TENSILE
STRENGTH
(MPa)
28 DAYS

AVERAGE
SPLITTING
TENSILE
STRENGTH
(MPa)

3.39
3.26
3.39
2.97
2.83
2.97
3.40
3.70
3.40
2.54
2.41
2.54

AVERAGE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

OF GLASS FIBRE

COMPRESSEIVE STRENGTH (MPa)

4
3

32
31

30

GLASS FIBRE
0.5%

29

GLASS FIBRE
1%

28
27

1
0

GLASS FIBRE
2%

26
25
PERCENTAGE OF GLASS FIBRE

10

STD
CYLINDER
FLY ASH
30%
FLY ASH
35%

3.35

2.93

3.50

2.50

International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015
ISSN (Online): 2395-6755
Fig 6 Column Chart of Splitting Tensile Strength for Various
Concentration of Fly Ash

Fig. 7 Cracking Of Cylinder And Corresponding Reading

In the table 3, the Splitting tensile strength for all the

specimens is listed out and in the column chart the average
compressive strength is shown. Among the various
concentration of the fly ash, the 0% of fly ash i.e., the standard
concrete attains average strength of 3.35 Mpa for a curing
process of 28 Days. There is a decrement seen of 12.54% in
the fly ash content of 30% compared to standard concrete. An
increment of 4.48% seen in the splitting tensile strength of fly
ash content of 35 % , followed by a decrement of 25.37% in
the fly ash content of 40% compared to the standard concrete.
Therefore, the optimum percentage of fly ash is 35%, and the
corresponding average splitting tensile strength obtained is 3.5
Mpa.
The various percentage of fly ash is illustrated in a line chart
and column chart with various concentrations of fly ash
replaced in cement content by its volume of 30%, 35% and
40% (of cement content).
The crack pattern and the splitting tensile strength is observed
and Figd below of Fig 7.

Fig. 8 Column Chart Of Splitting Tensile Strength For Various

Concentrations Of Glass Fibre
In the table, the splitting tensile strength for all the specimens
is listed out and in the column chart the average tensile
strength is shown. Among the various concentration of the
glass fiber i.e., 0.5%, 1%, 2%, keeping the fly ash content as
optimum which is 35%, the standard concrete attains average
strength of 3.35 Mpa for a curing process of 28 Days. There is
an increment seen of 7.16% in the glass fiber content of 0.5%
compared to standard concrete. Again a increment of 19.7%
seen in the splitting tensile strength of glass fiber content of 1
% , followed by a decrement of 7.16% in the glass fiber
content of 2% compared to the standard concrete. Therefore,
the optimum percentage of glass fibre is 1 %, and the
corresponding average splitting tensile strength obtained is
4.01 Mpa.

2.2. Splitting Tensile Strength for various Concentration of

Glass Fibre with Optimum Fly ash Content
Table.4 Splitting tensile Strength for Different Mix Proportion
F
L
Y
TRAIL

1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3

GLASS
FIBRE
A
%
S
H
%
0.5
3
5

SPLITTING
TENSILE
STRENGTH
(MPa)
28 DAYS
3.68
3.39
3.68
3.96
4.1
3.96
3.39
2.83
3.11

AVERAGE
SPLITTING
TENSILE
STRENGTH
(MPa)

3.59

4.01

3.11

Fig. 9 Glass Fibre Texture In The Concrete

11

International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015
ISSN (Online): 2395-6755
V. CONCLUSION
Based on the investigation for various concentration of fly ash
and various concentration of glass fibre and the concrete cured
for 28 days , the following conclusions can drawn ,
1.

The compressive strength found to be increasing at

fly ash content of 35%, whereas in 30 % and 40%,
the strength found to be decreasing.

2.

The increase in compressive strength is 4.36%

compared to the conventional concrete.

3.

The splitting tensile strength found to be increasing at

fly ash content of 35%, whereas in 30 % and 40%,
the strength found to be decreasing.

4.

The increased in splitting tensile strength is 5.07%

compared to the conventional concrete.

5.

The compressive strength found to be increasing at

optimum content of fly ash 35% with glass fibre 1%,
whereas in 0.5 % and 2%, the strength found to be
decreasing.

6.

The increase in compressive strength is 36.4%

compared to the conventional concrete.

7.

The splitting tensile strength found to be increasing at

optimum content of fly ash 35% with glass fibre 1%,
whereas in 0.5 % and 2%, the strength found to be
decreasing.

8.

The increase in splitting tensile strength is 19.7%

compared to the conventional concrete.
REFERENCES

[1]

CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY book by M.S. SHETTY,

S.Chand and Company limited , New delhi.

[2]

C.Marthong, T.P.Agrawal (2012)A Project on effect of

fly ash additive on concrete properties, Ijera., Vol 2
Issue.4, pp.1986-1991.

[3]

Tomas U. Ganiron A Project on analysis of fly ash

cement concrete, International Journal of Advanced
Science and Technology, Vol.60, pp.33-44.

[4]

Md. Moinul Islam And Md. Saiful Islam (2010) Strength

Behaviour of mortar using fly ash as partial replacement
of cement, Concrete Research Letters., Vol 1 (3), pp.98105.

12

[5]

Avinash Gornale (2012) ,A journal on strength aspects of

glass fibre reinforced concrete, Vol 3, Issue 7, pp.1-5.

[6]

Mohammed Karem Abd, (2013) Evaluation of using

glass fiber on properties of self-compacting concrete,
Journal of Kerbala University , Vol. 11, pp.16-25.

[7]

IS 10262-2009 and IS 456-2000 Indian Standard Code

Book.