Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp.

303-312, 1994
Copyright © 1994 Elsevier Science Ltd
Pergamon Printed in the USA. All rights reserved
0008-8846/94 $6.00 + .00

ABRASION RESISTANCE OF CONCRETE AS INFLUENCED

BY INCLUSION OF FLY ASH

Tarun R. Naik*, Shiw S. Singh**,

and Mohammad M. Hossain***

*Director, **Post-Doctoral Fellow,

and ***Research Associate,
Center for By-Products Utilization,
College of Engineering and Applied Science,
Department of Civil Engineering and Mechanics,
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 53201

(Refereed)
(Received January 18; in final form October 5, 1993)

ABSTRACT

This research was conducted to evaluate abrasion resistance of high-volume fly ash
concrete. A reference plain portland cement concrete was proportioned to obtain 28-
day strength of 41 MPa. Concrete mixtures were also proportioned to have two
levels of cement replacements (50 and 70%) with an ASTM Class C fly ash.
Abrasion tests were carried out using the rotating cutter method as per ASTM C-
944. In this work all the concrete specimens made either with or without fly ash
passed the abrasion resistance requirements per ASTM C-779, Procedure B.

An accelerated test method was also developed to evaluate abrasion resistance of

concrete. This method used the rotary cutter device having dressing wheels
equipped with smaller size washers. A measured amount of standard Ottawa sand
was added to the surface being abraded at one minute intervals. The accelerated
test results exhibited lower abrasion resistance for high-volume fly ash concrete
systems relative to no-fly ash concrete.

Introduction

In general, inclusion of fly ash to concrete causes reduction in early age strength, but long-term
strength and durability of fly ash concrete are generally higher than that of the plain portland
cement concrete containing no fly ash.

Abrasion of concrete occurs due to rubbing, scraping, skidding or sliding of objects on its
surface. The primary factors affecting the abrasion resistance of concrete are: compressive

303
304 T.R. Naik et al. Vol. 24, No. 2

strength, aggregate properties, finishing method, use of toppings, and curing. Only a very
limited amount of work has been done on abrasion resistance of concrete containing high
volumes of Class C fly ash.

This research work was undertaken to investigate the effects of inclusion of large amounts of
fly ash on concrete resistance to abrasion.

Previous Studies

A number of studies have been conducted to develop fly ash concrete for structural application
(1-9). Naik and Ramme (2,3) performed studies to develop mixture proportions for structural
grade concrete using high proportions of an ASTM Class C fly ash. They concluded that fly
ash can be used for structural grade concrete in quantities of up to at least 40 percent
replacement of cement. Several studies have substantiated that high-volume fly ash concrete can
be manufactured for structural applications (9).

Tikalsky and Carrasquillo (4) reported that concrete containing Class C fly ash possessed
superior abrasion resistance compared to either plain portland cement concrete or concrete
containing Class F fly ash. Ukita et al. (5) showed that at a 30% cement replacement with a
Class F fly ash, the abrasion resistance of fly ash concrete was lower relative to plain portland
cement concrete. Barrow et al. (6) measured abrasion resistance of concrete made with fly ash
having cement replacement between 0 and 35 % by volume. They concluded that the concrete
incorporating either Class C or Class F fly ash attained abrasion resistance equivalent to that of
no-fly ash concrete.

Langan et al. (7) studied the influence of compressive strength on durability of concrete
containing fly ash at a 50% cement replacement by weight. The authors concluded that the
compressive strength does not seem to have a significant effect on abrasion resistance of

TABLE 1

Chemical Composition of Fly Ash

Chemical Tests Fly Ash (%) ASTM C-618

Specifications (%)
Silicon Oxide, SiO2 30.5
Aluminum Oxide, A1203 17.2
Iron Oxide, Fea03 5.5
Total, SiO2+ A1203+Fe203 53.1 50.0 minimum
Sulfur Trioxide, SO3 5.0 maximum
Calcium Oxide, CaO 28.6
Magnesium Oxide, MgO 4.7 5.0 maximum
Titanium Oxide, TiO2 1.6
Potassium Oxide, Ka20 0.4
Sodium Oxide, Na20 2.0 1.5 maximum
Moisture Content 0.1 3.0 maximum
Loss on Ignition 0.3 6.0 maximum
Vol. 24, No. 2 ABRASION RESISTANCE, FLYASH, HIGH VOLUME 305

concrete. Recently Bilodeau and Malhotra (8) determined abrasion resistance of high-volume
Class F fly ash concretes. Their test result shows higher resistance to abrasion for no-fly ash
concrete as compared with high-volume fly ash concretes.

Experimcnhal Program

Materials

An ASTM C-150 Type I cement, obtained from one source was used in this work. A Class C
fly ash obtained from Pleasant Prairie Power Plant of Wisconsin Electric Power Company was
used in this investigation. Chemical and physical properties of the fly ash were determined
according to ASTM C-618 (Tables 1 and 2). The fine aggregate was a natural sand with a 6.35
mm maximum size, which was obtained from a local precast concrete producer. The coarse
aggregate used in this study was 25 mm nominal maximum size containing a mixture of rounded
and crushed limestone, which was also obtained from the same precast concrete producer. A
commercially available superplasticizer (Daracem T M 100) was used to vary workability of
concrete for a given water-to-cementitious material ratio. An air-entraining agent (Catexol A.E.
260) was utilized to maintain air content at about 6+1%.

Preparation of Test Specimens

Concrete mixture proportions developed in this work are presented in Table 3. The ratio of fly
ash addition to cement replaced was kept at 1.25. The water-to-cementitious material ratio
varied between 0.33 to 0.36, and desired workability was achieved through the aid of the
superplasticizer.

Specimens (150 x 300 mm) were cast for compressive strength measurement. Slab specimens
of 300 x 300 x 100 mm were prepared for abrasion resistance measurement. These specimens
were prepared in accordance with the applicable ASTM procedure.

TABLE 2

Physical Properties of Fly Ash

Physical Tests Fly Ash ASTM C-618

Specifications
Fineness retained on No. 325 18.6 34 max
Sieve (%)
Pozzolanic Activity Index 105 75 min
with Cement (% of control)
Water Requirement (% of 90.4 105 max
control)
Autoclave Expansion (%) +0.02 +0.8 max
Specific Gravity 2.78
306 T.R. Naik et al. Vol. 24, No. 2

TABLE 3

Mixture Proportions Using ASTM Class C Fly Ash

Mixture Number C-3 P4-7 P4-8

Specified Design Strength (MPa) 41
Cement (kg/m3) 375 180 110
Fly Ash (kg/m 3) 0 226 316
Water (kg/m 3) 135 136 155
Water-to-Cementitious Material Ratio 0.36 0.33 0.36
Sand, SSD (kg/m 3) 687 655 606
25-ram Aggregates, SSD (kg/m3) 1182 1139 1145
Slump (ram) 120 114 120
Air Content (%) 6.3 7.0 6.4
Superplasticizer (L/m 3) 2.9 2.7 2.6
Air Entraining Admixture (ml/m 3) 270 886 380
Air Temperature (°C) 21.1
Concrete Temperature (°C) 23 26 25
Fresh Concrete Density (kg/m3) 2393 2328 2365
Hardened Concrete Density (kg/ma) 2486 2342 2326

Testing of Specimens

Compressive strength of concrete was determined in accordance with ASTM C-39. Abrasion
tests were carded out using the rotary cutter method conforming to ASTM C-944 requirements.
The depth of wear was evaluated in accordance with ASTM C-779, Procedure B. The rotary
cutter method having a washer diameter equal to that of the dressing wheel produced a depth of
abrasion of about 1 mm at 60 minutes of abrasion. In order to obtain relative abrasion resistance
of concretes, especially high-strength, another method is needed which can apply higher abrasive
forces than that exerted by the ASTM technique. Therefore, it was decided to develop a
technique to amplify the depth of wear so that concretes having high resistance to abrasion can
be evaluated in a short period of time.

An accelerated test method was developed to measure abrasion resistance of concrete. In this
method, the rotary cutter apparatus was equipped with washers having a smaller diameter
relative to the dressing wheels and equal amounts of sand (about a teaspoon) were added to the
concrete surface during exposure to abrasion at one minute intervals. Depth of wear was
measured according to ASTM C-779, Procedure B.

Test Results and Discussion~

Strength Properties

Compressive strength data are presented in Figure 1. As anticipated, early age strengths of
high-volume fly ash concrete mixtures were low, especially at 70% cement replacement with the
Vol. 24, No. 2 ABRASION RESISTANCE, FLYASH, HIGH VOLUME 307

50 n
¢1 I"l

40
I--
0
z
w 30
I.-- • 1-Day
00
Ill
[] 3-Day
> 20 [] 7-Day
N [] 28-Day
ul
[] 91-Day
10 l
0
0
i!
50 70
FLY ASH, PERCENT
FIG. 1
Compressive Strength Versus Percentage Fly Ash

fly ash. At 28-day age, the 50% fly ash mixture attained strength required for structural
applications, whereas the performance of the 70% fly ash mixture was unsatisfactory with
respect to compressive strength at this age. However, the 70% fly ash mixture did develop
strength in excess of 31 MPa at 91 days (Figure 1).

Abrasion Resistance

Initially all the concrete mixtures (C-3, P4-7 and P4-8) that were tested according to ASTM C-
944 test method showed relatively small amounts of surface wear, about 1 mm of depth of wear
and therefore, passed the abrasion resistance requirement per ASTM C-779, Procedure B l(J_0_).

The accelerated test method used in this work produced higher amounts of abrasion relative to
the ASTM C-944 test method. As expected, depth of wear increased with time of abrasion. Up
to 55 minutes of abrasion time during the accelerated testing, the mixtures C-3 (the reference
mixture containing no fly ash) and P4-7 (50% cement replacemen0 exhibited abrasion depth less
than 3 mm, and therefore did not fail per ASTM C-779, Procedure B (Figures 2 through 4).
Therefore, these mixtures have excellent abrasion resistance against high abrasive forces.
However, when time of abrasion increased to 60 minutes, the fly ash concrete mixtures with
50% and 70% cement replacement showed depth of wear greater than 3 mm.

In this work, abrasion resistance of the concrete was compared at a constant water-to-
cementitious materials ratio, not at a constant compressive strength. This was done to determine
the extent of abrasion damage when large volumes of cement is replaced with fly ash.

For a given range of compressive strengths, it can be assumed that depth of wear (d~) of
concrete is inversely proportional to its compressive strength (f). The depth of wear, therefore,
can be expressed by the following relation:
308 T.R. Naiket al. Vol. 24, No. 2

dw = 1 (z)
f

or
dwf = C (2)

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5 ,,{//1/{
,,i f/////.4
Y/////~
r///~///
2.0 r//////~
U. "////~
0
1.5- [] 28-Day

o. Ill 91-Day
uJ 1.0- "////~
Q

0.5
"//////~
0.0
50 7O
FLY ASH, PERCENT

FIG. 2
Abrasion Resistance Data O b t a i n e d f r o m the Accelerated Testing
of Concrete at 60 Minutes of Abrasion Time

4.0 7
i
3.5-1
:[ 3.0

2.5
E
<
ill
2.0
It.
O 1.5
"v
0% Fly Ash
I--
O.
1.0
tU 54)% Fly Ash
r~
0.5 70% Fly Ash

0.0 i

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
TIME, MINUTE
FIG. 3
Abrasion Resistance Data O b t a i n e d f r o m the Accelerated Testing
of Concrete at 28-Day Age
Vol. 24, No. 2 ABRASION RESISTANCE, FLYASH, HIGH VOLUME 309

3,0

2.5

=E
=E 2.0
d
<
I.u 1.5

It.
0 + 0% Fly A s h
1.0
-i-
I-,. • 50% Fly A s h
1.1.1
¢3 0.5 + 70% Ry A s h

0.0 . , • , • , , • , • ' , " ,

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
TIME, MINUTE

FIG. 4
Abrasion Resistance Data Derived from the Accelerated
Testing of Concrete at 91-Day Age

where C is a constant. For the accelerated testing work conducted in this work, below 30 MPa,
the value of C was found to be 71 mm-MPa. The values of C were 90 mm-MPa for 30 to 50
MPa concretes and 114 mm-MPa for 50 to 70 MPa concretes. For other methods of depth of
abrasion resistance measurements, the value of the constant C should be determined using
Equation 2 for each range strengths to achieve better results.

6j 30-Minute

5
[] Experimental

[] Calculated

60-Minute
x ~
< [] Experimental
iii
[] Calculated

tL
O
"1"
I--
O.
e~

50 70
CEMENT REPLACEMENT, %

FIG. 5
Experimental and the Calculated Values
by Eq. 2 at 28-Day Age
310 T.R. Naik et al. Vol. 24, No. 2

30-Minute

• F. . . . . . . . . . . .
BI,
:E
60-
[]l

IJJ

IJ,.
o
-1-
I-
a.
uJ

5O 70
CEMENT REPLACEMENT, %
FIG. 6
Experimental and the Calculated Values
by Eq. 2 at 91-Day Age

The experimental values of depth of wear, and the calculated values from concrete strengths
using Equation 2 for the 50% and 70% mixtures are presented in Figures 5 and 6. Additional
experimental data obtained from the literature (11) is shown in Figure 7. The experimental
values are nearly equal to the values derived from Eq. 2 (Figures 5 through 7). Therefore, if
abrasion resistance is known at a particular strength level, then abrasion resistance at other levels
can be estimated by Eq. 2 within a given compressive strength range.

Conclusions

The following main conclusions were drawn based on the results obtained in the present study.

. Compressive strengths of high-volume fly ash concrete mixtures at 50 and 70 percent

cement replacements were lower than the reference concrete containing no fly ash.
However, the difference between strength gain of fly ash and no-fly ash concrete
diminished with age. Concrete mixture having 50% cement replacement with fly ash
attained sufficient strength required for structural applications.

. All the concrete mixtures used in this study, showed excellent abrasion resistance when
tested in accordance with ASTM C-944.

. The accelerated testing method developed in this work, produced higher depth of wear
compared to the standard ASTM C-944 test method. The rate of depth wear is suitable
for accelerated testing of concretes having a wide range of abrasion resistance, especially
structural and high strength concretes made with or without fly ash.

4. In general, the no-fly ash concrete showed higher abrasion resistance during the
Vol.24, No. 2 ABRASIONRESISTANCE,FLYASH,I-UGHVOLUME 311

4.0

m Experimental From the Literature (11)

3.5
• Calculated

3.0

i
2.5

• ~ II [] 00 41'0
2.0

• • [] E I • ~ II

1.5

1.o , I I I
20 30 40 50 60 70

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, MPa

FIG. 7
Experimental Depth of Wear and Calculated Values
by Eq. 2 as a Function of Compressive Strength

accelerated testing relative to high-volume fly ash concrete mixtures. None of the
concrete mixtures failed during the 30 minutes of abrasion in accordance with the ASTM
C-779, Procedure B criteria. However, when time of exposure to abrasion was increased
to 60 minutes, the high-volume fly ash concrete mixtures showed depth of wear in excess
of 3 mm at 28 days. But at 91 days all the concrete mixtures exhibited excellent
abrasion resistance when tested in accordance with the accelerated testing method
proposed.

. Abrasion resistance of concrete was primarily influenced by its compressive strength.

6. For a given concrete compressive strength range, irrespective of the amount of fly ash,
the products of depth of wear and compressive strength was found to be constant.
Therefore, for a known value of compressive strength in a particular strength range,
depth of wear can he determined by Eq. 2, and Fig. 7.

References

1. E.E. Berry and V.M Malhotra, "Fly Ash for Use in Concrete - A Critical Review", ACI
312 T.R. Nail( et al. Vol. 24, No. 2

Journal, 77 (2), 59-73 (1980).

. T.R. Naik and B.W. Ramme, "Low Cement Content High Strength Structural Grade
Concrete with Fly Ash", International Journal of Cement and Concrete Research, 17 (1),
283-294 (1989).
. T.R. Naik and B.W. Ramme, "High Strength Concrete Containing large Quantities of
Fly Ash", ACI Materials Journal, 86 (2), 111-117 (1984).
4. P.J. Tikalsky and R.L. Carrasquillo, "Durability of Concrete Containing Fly Ash",
Center for Transportation Research, Bureau of Engineering Research, University of
Texas at Austin, Research Report: 364-3, 141 (1986).
. K. Ukita, S. Shigematsu, and M. Ishii, "Improvement in the Properties of Concrete
Utilizing Classified Fly Ash", Proceedings of the Third International Conference on the
Use of Fly Ash, Silica Fume, Slag and Natural Pozzolans in Concrete, Trondheim,
Norway, V.M. Malhotra, Ed., 1 (ACI Special Publication SP-114), 219-240 (1989).
. R.S. Barrow, K.M. Hadchiti, R.M. Carrasquillo and R.L. Carrasquillo, "Temperature
Rise and Durability of Concrete Containing Fly Ash", Proceedings of the Third
International Conference on the Use of Fly Ash, Silica Fume, Slag, and Natural
Pozzolans in Concrete, Trondheim, Norway, V.M. Malhotra, Ed., 1 (ACI Special
Publication SP-114), 333-347 (1989).
. B.W. Langan, R.C. Joshi and M.A. Ward, "Strength and Durability of Concrete
Containing 50% Portland Cement Replacement by Fly Ash and Other Materials",
Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 17, 19-27 (1990).
. A. Bilodeau and V.M. Malhotra, "Concrete Incorporating High Volumes of ASTM Class
F Fly Ashes Mechanical Properties and Resistance to Deicing Salt Scaling and to
Chloride-Ion Penetration", Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Use
of Fly Ash, Silica Fume, Slag and Natural Pozzolans in Concrete, Istanbul, Turkey,
V.M. Malhotra, Ed., 1 (ACI Special Publication SP-132), 319-349 (1992).
. T.R. Naik, S.S. Singh and W.Y. Hu, "High-Volume Fly Ash Concrete Technology",
EPRI Report No. TR-100473, (1992).
10. American Society for Testing and Materials, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Sec. 4
Construction, 04.02, Concrete and Aggregates.
11. T.R. Naik, S.S. Singh and M.M. Hossain, "Abrasion Resistance of High-Volume Fly
Ash Concrete System", CBU Report No. 176, Department of Civil Engineering and
Mechanics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, A Progress Report Submitted to EPRI,
(1993).