Andrzej Gruchot, Tymoteusz Zydroń, Elżbieta Gałowicz
Uniwersytet Rolniczy, Kraków
Abstract
Production of electricity and heat energy in Poland is largely based on the combustion of coal and lignite in power plants. Combustion of coal is associated with the production of significant quantities of wastes. Given the possibilities of their using, the most important product of combustion is fly ash and recently – fluidized fly ash. Tests on properties of fluidized fly ash are mainly focused on determining the impact of its addition on the mechanical properties of concrete or the setting time of self-hardening slurries, while little is known about its mechanical parameters.
The aim of the study was to determine the impact of density, moisture content and maintenance duration on shear strength, CBR ratio and compressive strength of fluidized fly ash from Power Plant "Połaniec". The study was performed in terms of assessing their possibility of use for the purpose of road construction. CBR ratio was determined at three various values of moisture content determined from compaction curve of the fly-ash. CBR ratio tests were done for samples directly after compaction and after 4 days of the soaking in water. Shear strength was determined in a direct shear apparatus on samples compacted at a moisture content close to the optimum and three values of the compaction index IS = 0.90, 0.95 and 1.00. Determination of compressive strength was carried out on samples immediately after preparation and after 7, 14, 28 and 42 days of air, air-water and air-water maintenance process including 3, 7, and 14 cycles of freezing and de-freezing.
The results revealed that in accordance with the geotechnical nomenclature the tested fluidized fly-ash's grain-size distribution corresponds to sandy silts. The fly-ash has high value of maximum dry density. CBR ratio of fly-ash samples after 4 days of soaking in water were very high and ranged from 199 to 277%. It can be underline that in case of both tests series, the obtained CBR indexes were positively correlated with increasing initial moisture content of tested samples. The parameters of the shear strength were high. It was stated that the higher values of compaction indexes, the higher values of the angle of internal friction and cohesion were obtained. The compressive strength of samples was high, ranging from over 2.2 MPa to approximately 6.0 MPa. The largest increase in strength was obtained after 7 days of maintenance. The maximum values of compressive strength after 42 days of maintenance, were obtained for samples which were subjected to air and air-water maintenance process. Freeze-thaw resistance index value obtained for a short 3 cycles of freezing and de-freezing process was greater than 1.0, which means that tested fly-ash was not prone to freezing process. Increasing number of freezing and de-freezing cycles affected the freeze-thaw resistance index value, which was well below 1.0, indicating a significant loss of compressive strength.
To sum up, the test results on the fluidized fly ash from Power Plant "Połaniec" revealed that the fly-ash has good compaction properties, bearing capacity and shear strength. In contrast, the particle size of the fly-ash is unfavorable from the viewpoint of its use in road embankments. In turn, the results of the CBR and compressive strength tests confirmed the presence of hydration properties of fluidized fly ash thus indicating the possibility of its use in road hydraulic binders.
Słowa kluczowe:
fluidalny popiół lotny, wytrzymałość na ścinanie, wskaźnik nośności CBR, wytrzymałość na ściskanie, budownictwo drogowe
098. Mechanical Properties of Fluidized Fly Ash from Power Station “Połaniec”
Keywords:
fluidized fly ash, shear strength, CBR ratio, compressive strength, road construction
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Zadanie Czasopismo, Annual Set The Environment Protection Volume 17. Year 2015 (wersja elektroniczna) dofinansowane ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego