PURPOSES : The objective of this study is to evaluate the mechanical properties of ternary blended cement concrete incorporated with pulverized reject ash (PRA) or pulverized fuel ash (PFA) based on a comparison with those of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete.
METHODS : To produce the concretes, the level of OPC replacement is set at 60%, which comprises 30%~45% ground granulate blast furnace slag and 15%~25% of fly ash (FA). The FA can be categorized into PFA, 4PRA (fineness 3,930 cm2/g3), and 8PRA (fineness 7,840 cm2/g3). The compressive strength, surface electric resistivity, initial absorption coefficient, and chloride ion penetrability of OPC and the ternary blended cement concrete are measured at predetermined periods after water curing.
RESULTS : It is discovered that the mechanical properties of concrete with 8PRA are better than those of OPC concrete. The performance of 4PRA concrete is worse than that of 8PRA concrete, indicating that the fineness of the PRA can affect the mechanical properties of the ternary blended cement concrete.
CONCLUSIONS : The use of PRA is feasible for the production of ternary blended cement concrete, provided that the appropriate mix design and grinding technology are used.