Properties of concrete containing high volume palm oil fuel ash: a short-term investigation

Utilization of pozzolanic materials in concrete works is increasing, and this trend is expected to continue in the years ahead because of technological advancement and the desire for sustainable development. This study presents some experimental results on the behaviour of high volume palm oil fuel ash (POFA) in concrete. Concrete specimens containing 50, 60 and 70% POFA were made at various water-cement ratios of 0.38, 0.42 and 0.48 with superplasticizer content of up to 2%. Workability in terms of slump and strength properties were studied, and compared with that of concrete containing 100% OPC as control. It has been found that the workability of high volume POFA concrete was quite satisfactory with superplasticizer while the development of strength at all ages of 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days were lowered than that in concrete with OPC alone. Among the curing methods the water curing has been found to produce the best result. The short-term investigation reveals that high volume palm oil fuel ash has good potentials in the production of concrete