Fly Ash Concrete - An Economic Concrete (Strength and Durability)

In India, coal will continue to remain a major source of fuel for generation of power. At present, about 65% power is produced by using coal as fuel, which results in the production of about 185 million tons of ash per annum. Considering the tremendous growth required in the power sector for the development of Indian economy, it is expected that ash generation will reach 225 million tons per annum by 2020. Ash is good resource material for utilization in various areas such as manufacture of cement, cement concrete, embankment construction, low lying area filling etc. In India, during mid-seventies and early eighties, engineers/scientists were responsible for making standards/codes had understood the useful properties of the ash and necessary provision were made in various Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) such as IS: 456- 1976- Code of Practice for Plain and Reinforced Concrete, IS: 1489 (part-1)-1976 - Specification for Portland Pozzolana Cement, IS: 2250 -1981 - Code of practice for preparation of masonry mortar etc. However, fly ash utilization could not make an impact mainly because adequate arrangement for collection of fly ash at thermal power stations was not available. The quality of fly ash was not good due to high-unburnt carbon content and less fineness, and awareness was negligible.