Experimental Studies on Green Concrete using Volcanic Ash and PVA/VE

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of volcanic ash (VA) and vinyl acetate/ethylene copolymer powder (PVA/VE) as partial cement replacement on the engineering properties of blended binders concretes. The parameters studied included density, workability and compressive strength. A total number of 12 trial mixtures were prepared and tested by varying the proportions of binders. Firstly, VA was used to replace OPC at dosage levels of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 50% by weight of the binder. Secondly, PVA/VE was used to replace OPC at dosage levels of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 2.50% by weight of the binder. Finally, the optimum replacement levels of VA and PVA/VE were determined and used to prepare a new trial mix. The results show that cement replacement up to 15% volcanic ash and 1.5% PVE/VE leads to increase in workability and compressive strength for C30 grade compared with the control mixture.

Keywords: Green concrete, Compressive strength, Workability, Volcanic ash, PVA/VE