Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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The impact of fly ash and structural fiber on the mechanical properties of
concrete
M.D. Ikramullah Khan a,b, Mohd Abbas Abdy Sayyed b,⇑, G. Swamy Yadav a,b, S. Haripriya Varma b
a
Centre for Construction Methods and Materials, SR University, Ananthasagar, Hasanparthy, Warangal, Telangana 506 371, India
b
Department of Civil Engineering, SR University, Ananthasagar, Hasanparthy, Warangal, Telangana 506 371, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Structural concrete is prone to micro-cracks even before the structure is subjected to the design loads.
Received 3 June 2020 These cracks appear mainly due to drying shrinkage and other causes of volume changes. These small-
Received in revised form 30 July 2020 scale cracks induce large cracks and the improved miniaturized scale cracks, resulting in inelastic defor-
Accepted 8 August 2020
mation of concrete. To reduce the development of such micro-cracks, often fibers of artificial and natural
Available online xxxx
origin are used in concrete to strengthen it against cracking. Researchers have developed high strength
concrete using modern fibers like glass, carbon, polypropylene, aramid fibres and structural fibers.
Keywords:
Thermal power plant waste by-products like fly ash and bottom ash hugely suffer from the problem of
Fly ash
Structural polypropylene fiber
waste disposal. Fly ash is used in the fiber reinforced concrete to make it dense, and to reduce drying
Fiber dosage shrinkage which helps to arrest the shrinkage cracks. This study has been conducted for understanding
Fiber-reinforced concrete the mechanical behaviour of concrete by adding the structural fibre at 0.02%, 0.04%, 0.06%, 0.08% and
Material Properties 0.1% by weight of cement and fly ash partially replaces the cement by 10% of the weight of cement.
The results were then compared with M35 grade conventional concrete. The results were very found
promising compared to conventional concrete wherein, the fly ash binds the concrete mix to make it
dense. The fly ash is very cheap, eco-friendly, economical and effective in enhancing the strength of con-
crete compared to ordinary Portland cement.
Ó 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0) Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of ICAMMM 2020.

1. Introduction
Concrete is brittle in nature, and well known to be weak in ten-
sion as compared to the compressive strength. The addition of
fibers to the concrete results in dense and an isotropic uniform
material. It assists in improving the microstructure of concrete,
and it also controls the development of microcracks in concrete
in initial stage. When concrete cracks, the randomly placed fibers
start functioning, by arresting the propagation of crack, and it
enhances the tensile properties of concrete. Thus, the continuity
and integrity of concrete will be refined, which is valuable to the
safety and endurance of concrete structures. However, fibers are
added in lower volume in the concrete, to avoid making it stiff.
Research shows that the aspect ratio of the fiber is an essential
parameter that influences the properties of fiber reinforced con-
crete (FRC) to a greater extent. The failure modes of FRC are either
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: abbas.vnit@gmail.com (M.A. Abdy Sayyed).
bond failure between fiber and matrix or material failure [1]. Fiber
with a higher aspect ratio shows better results in controlling the
micro-cracks in the concrete microstructure [2].
The presence of polypropylene fibers decreases the rate of
degradation of the concrete by reducing expansion, reducing the
amount of shrinkage and permeability of concrete thereby
increases the life expectancy of the structure [3]. Though, addition
of fibers may not essentially increase the 28 days compressive
strength of concrete [4], the increased fiber content and strength
leads to the enhanced residual flexural performance. Due to the
increase in strength of concrete, its sensitivity to the strain and
stress rates reduces under flexure [5]. The bond strength between
fibers and cement paste within the concrete assures more com-
pressive and flexural strength of FRC compared to the plain speci-
mens [6,7]. In FRC, fiber reinforcements are implanted in the
structural element while concreting, thus it cuts the costs of han-
dling and placement of reinforcement unlike the conventional
reinforced concrete. Furthermore, fibers require a smaller storage
area as compared to conventional reinforcement [8].

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.08.242
2214-7853/Ó 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the
scientific committee of ICAMMM 2020.

Please cite this article as: M.I. Khan, M. A. Abdy Sayyed, G. S. Yadav et al., The impact of fly ash and structural fiber on the mechanical properties of concrete,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.08.242
2 M.D.I. Khan et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Research shows that the properties of concrete enhanced, when Table 1

natural aggregates were replaced by recycled aggregates [9]. There Properties of structural fiber.

are plenty of industrial and thermal power plant by-products like S. No. Properties Value
fly ash, nano-silica, and silica fume that can be used as supplemen- 1 Fiber Type Polypropylene
tary cementitious material in the concrete. It consumes calcium 2 Colour White
hydroxide during the hydration process which leads to enhanced 3 Specific Gravity 0.91
strength of concrete at initial and later stages. The addition of 4 Elastic Modulus 3000–30,000 MPa
5 Tensile Strength 300–700 MPa
fibers in concrete results in the reduced homogeneity of the mix 6 Diameter 35 mm
and slump value falls linearly. Under these circumstances, the 7 Length 40 mm
increased water content, and the supplementary cementitious
material due to its nano-sized particles helps in overcoming the
issues addressed above. However, the amount of water consump-
tion may be reduced by adding suitable admixtures as partial
replacement of cement in the concrete [10–16]. In view of the lit-
erature surveyed above, the present study was aimed at under-
standing the mechanical behaviour of structural propylene fiber
over the concrete by adding fibers at 0.02%, 0.04%, 0.06%, 0.08%
and 0.1% by weight of cement and replacing the cement partially
with class F-fly ash by 10% of the weight of cement for M35 grade
of conventional cement concrete.

2. Experimental program

53 grade ordinary Portland cement (OPC) of specific gravity

3.10, fineness 9% and standard consistency as 32% in agreement
with IS 269:2015 is used in this study. The locally available zone
II fine aggregates (IS 383: 1970) of specific gravity 2.36, fineness
modulus 3.15 and water absorption 0.72% is used. Locally available
coarse aggregate of size 20 mm of specific gravity 2.72 and water
absorption 0.23% is used. The potable water confirming to
IS10500: 2012 has been used while casting as well as curing of
the concrete cubes. The structural polypropylene fiber (SF)
obtained from local dealer, Hyderabad, India (Fig. 1) has been used
in this study confirming the properties listed in Table 1. Low-
calcium Class F Fly ash as shown in Fig. 2, was obtained from local Fig. 2. Fly ash.
Thermal Power Plant located at Bhupalpally, Jayashankar, India
having specific gravity of 2.18 and specific surface area of
192 m2/g. The chemical composition of fly ash is given in Table 2. the current study. The ratio of cement, fine aggregate and coarse
aggregate obtained through mix design is 1:1.61:2.62 with water
to cement ratio of 0.45. Though, the fly ash can be replaced up to
2.1. Mix proportions
25% by weight of cement in concrete, in this study the cement
was replaced with 10% fly ash, for allowing sufficient bond strength
Indian Standard procedure (IS 10262: 2009) for mix design of
between the fiber and the cementitious material. The structural
cement concrete was adopted to design M35 grade concrete in
fiber was added at 0.02%, 0.04%, 0.06%, 0.08% and 0.1% by weight
of cement to prepare the different concrete mixes. The samples
with the varying proportions of structural fiber and 10% fly ash
were compared with the control mix prepared with no replace-
ment. Each row in Table 3 specifies the quantity of dry material
used to prepare the mix to cast 6 cubes, 6 cylinders and 6 prisms
for conducting the test on 3 specimens each at 7 days and 28 days,
explained in the subsequent sections. The allowances for hand
mixing and absorption of fine aggregates were made, as per the
guidelines of IS 456: 2000.

2.2. Samples preparation and procedure for testing

The samples were prepared in the laboratory using the manual

procedure of dry and wet mixing on the non-absorbing smooth
platform, wherein the materials are taken by weigh batching. For
each mix labels, concrete cubes of 15 cm  15 cm  15 cm were
casted to assess the compressive strength on 3 specimens at 7 days
and 28 days each. Similarly, the cylinders of 10 cm dia  20 cm
height were prepared to assess the split tensile strength, prisms
Fig. 1. Structural fiber. of 10 cm  10 cm  50 cm to calculate the flexural strength. In par-

Please cite this article as: M.I. Khan, M. A. Abdy Sayyed, G. S. Yadav et al., The impact of fly ash and structural fiber on the mechanical properties of concrete,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.08.242
 M.D.I. Khan et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx 3

Table 2
Chemical Composition of fly ash.

Compound SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO Loss on Ignition

% weight 40–60 20–30 4–10 5–30 0–3

Table 3
Material quantity for different concrete mix labels.

Concrete mix labels Cement (kg) Fly ash (kg) Sand (kg) CA (kg) SF (kg)
CC 25.38 – 40.94 66.68 –
0.02% SF + 10% FA 22.842 2.538 40.94 66.68 0.0045
0.04% SF + 10% FA 22.842 2.538 40.94 66.68 0.0091
0.06% SF + 10% FA 22.842 2.538 40.94 66.68 0.0137
0.08% SF + 10% FA 22.842 2.538 40.94 66.68 0.0182
0.10% SF + 10% FA 22.842 2.538 40.94 66.68 0.0228

Note: CC = control cement concrete, SF = Structural Fiber, FA = Fly Ash, CA = Coarse Aggregate, Water-cement ratio = 0.45.

allel, the workability test was performed for each mix label using
slump cone test.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Workability

The workability of the fresh mix of concrete for different mix

labels were evaluated using a slump cone test confirming IS
1199: 1959 and is as shown in Fig. 3. As the fiber content increased,
the slump value linearly decreased as shown in Fig. 3. While the
control concrete shows the slump value of 82 mm, the slump value
for the 0.06% SF mix reduced to 75 mm. The reduced slump value
can be attributed to the loss of fluidity of the fresh concrete
because of the presence of fiber. And as the aspect ratio of fiber
increases, more amount of mortar is required, to ensure the same
workability. However, the workability can be improved by using
suitable admixtures without increasing the water content. In this
Fig. 4. Compressive strength of different concrete mix labels.
study the plasticizers were not used and hence the behaviour is
as depicted in the figure.
The maximum increase in 7 days and 28 days compressive
3.2. Compressive strength strength of FRC is observed to be respectively 11.38% and 9.43%
more compared to the control concrete at 0.06% SF and 10% fly
The compressive strength of different mix labels was obtained ash. However, increasing the percentage of fiber beyond 0.06%
at 7 days and 28 days of curing at 27oC and the value reported is reduced the compressive strength significantly. Increase in fiber
the average of three test samples. Fig. 4 shows the variation of reduced the compressive strength of concrete as the portion of
compressive strength of concrete for different mix labels at 7 days paste form coated the fiber causing the reduction of paste in con-
and 28 days respectively. With the increase in the content of the crete. The fly ash helps the concrete to overcome this problem
fiber, both 7 days and 28 days compressive strength increased.

Fig. 3. Actual workability test and measured slump of different concrete mix labels.

Please cite this article as: M.I. Khan, M. A. Abdy Sayyed, G. S. Yadav et al., The impact of fly ash and structural fiber on the mechanical properties of concrete,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.08.242
4 M.D.I. Khan et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

and makes the concrete dense and enhances the characteristic

strength.

3.3. Split tensile strength

Cylindrical specimens of 10 cm dia  20 cm height were tested

at 7 days and 28 days of curing in the laboratory to obtain the split
tensile strength as per IS 516: 1959 and the results are reported as
the average of 3 test specimens. Results showed that with the
increase in the fiber content, the 28 days split tensile strength
increased maximum up to 15% as compared to the control concrete
at an addition of 0.08% SF and 10% fly ash replacement. Further
increase in the fiber content reduced the split tensile strength of
the concrete mix as shown in Fig. 5. As noted earlier, the decreased
paste content in the concrete due to increased fiber surface area
aggravates the continuous internal bonding of the fiber, and thus
reduces the split tensile strength.
Fig. 6. Flexural strength of different concrete mix labels.

3.4. Flexural strength

1. As the fiber content is increased in the concrete mix, the work-
ability of the concrete mix decreases. Superplasticizer are
The flexural strength is measured using 10 cm  10 cm  50 cm
essential under such circumstances to maintain good
prisms as per IS 516: 1959. The prisms were tested for 7 days and
workability.
28 days of curing in the laboratory and the reports are averaged for
2. The ideal percentage of SF that can be added to the concrete mix
3 specimens. In FRC, fiber is the key component that affects the
while solely considering the compressive strength of concrete is
tensile nature of the concrete. Fig. 6 depicts the flexural strength
0.06%. The 7 days compressive strength is 32.08 MPa and
of different concrete mix labels. Fig. 6 clearly shows that there is
28 days is 48.15 MPa obtained at an optimal fiber content of
an increase of 22.85% of 28 days flexural strength for the mix
0.06%.
0.08% SF and 10% fly ash FA as compared to the control mix. Fig-
3. The optimal percentage of SF that can be added to improve the
ure shows that there is a sudden increase in the flexural strength
split tensile strength of concrete is 0.08%. The split tensile
at 0.08% SF while the same is not true for the lower and higher per-
strength obtained in this experiment for 7 days is 2.3 MPa and
centages. The increase of percentage fiber beyond 0.08% has
28 days is 3.22 MPa at an optimal fiber content of 0.08%.
reduced the flexural strength even below the control concrete.
4. The optimum percentage of SF that can be added to improve the
The same reasons can be attributed for the decreased flexural
flexural strength of concrete is 0.08%. The flexural strength
strength of the FRC at higher fiber content.
obtained in this experiment for 7 days is 3.26 MPa and 28 days
is 5.16 MPa.
5. Overall, considering the compressive strength, split tensile and
4. Conclusions
flexural strength, the optimal fiber content may be adopted in
between 0.06 and 0.08% for better performance of the concrete.
The present study investigated the properties of fresh and hard-
6. The cost of fly ash is very low, as compared to the cost of
ened structural polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete varied in 5 cement. Hence, the replacement of cement with fly ash can be
different percentages and cement replaced with 10% of fly ash by
economical for mass concreting. It helps in reducing the prob-
weight. Based on observations made in the results and discussion, lem of dumping the fly ash. On the other hand, the presence
the following conclusions are derived,
of fly ash in the concrete has its own advantages in terms of
the reduced cracks and dense concrete.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

M.D. Ikramullah Khan: Conceptualization, Methodology.

Mohd Abbas Abdy Sayyed: Validation, Writing - review & editing,
Supervision. G. Swamy Yadav: Resources. S. Haripriya Varma:
Visualization.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-

cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.08.242
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