Fly Ash Geopolymer

Pervious Concrete
A study of durability performance under cold-climate conditions

by Gang Xu and Xianming Shi

B
y design, pervious concrete pavement enables direct Mixture Proportions
infiltration of stormwater into the base, subbase, and Four pervious concrete mixtures were produced: two with
underlying soil. Its benefits include reduced peak a Type I/II portland cement13 and two with activated Class C
flow and improved quality of stormwater, recharging of fly ash (geopolymer) as binders, all at 320 kg/m3 (540 lb/yd3).
groundwater, reduced heat-island effect, reduced traffic noise, In the geopolymer mixtures, the fly ash weights include
and improved traffic and pedestrian safety.1 Na2SiO3·9H2O, Na2SO4·10H2O, CaO, and CaCl2·2H2O
To further reduce the embodied energy and CO2 footprint chemical activators at 7.0, 1.0, 5.0, and 0.5% by weight of fly
of pervious concrete, it is desirable to replace the common ash, respectively. The fly ash was obtained from a power plant
binder, portland cement, with an alternative binder. Fly ash in the state of Oregon.
offers great potential for this use, as it has been investigated as The geopolymer mixtures included 2% glass powder by
the sole binder in mortar or concrete in the last two decades.2-4 weight of binder as a microfiller to improve workability and
Further, a recent report indicates that in the United States, sustainability. A commercially available glass powder
nearly 64 million tons (58 million tonnes) of fly ash are sent produced from recycled industrial feedstocks was used. The
to landfills each year,5 suggesting that there should be a ready properties of this glass powder are provided in Table 1, along
supply of the material. with those of the fly ash. All mixtures contained 80 kg/m3
One significant barrier that hinders the broader (135 lb/yd3) of water and 1425 kg/m3 (2400 lb/yd3) of crushed
implementation of pervious concrete pavement is its lack of limestone coarse aggregate in a single size of 3/8 in. (9.5 mm).
durability in cold climates. By design, pervious concrete
allows the ingress of water and deicer solution, so it typically
exhibits a weak resistance to damage from cyclic freezing Table 1:
and thawing (FT).1 The use of chemical deicers tends to Characteristics of the glass powder and Class C fly ash*
exacerbate this problem.6-8
The geopolymer pervious concrete mixture described in Property Glass powder Fly Ash
this article was developed with alkali activation of fly ash Specific gravity 2.6 2.5
under ambient conditions. A novel nanomaterial, graphene Bulk density, kg/m (lb/ft )
3 3
689 (43) 860 (54)
oxide (GO), was used to facilitate the polymerization of fly D98 top size, µm 40 —
ash hydration products. GO has been shown to improve the
D50 median size, µm 8 to 9 —
performance of cementitious materials by regulating
hydration, providing crack branching and bridging SiO2, % 50 to 55 23.5
mechanisms, and acting as a nanofiller.9-11 CaO, % 20 to 25 23.2
The geopolymer pervious concrete mixture was Al2O3, % 14 to 20 13.8
investigated with the aim of isolating the physical and Fe2O3, % <1 4.8
chemical phenomena underlying concrete deterioration during
MgO, % <2 4.2
cyclic FT conditions and under salt exposure (weathering)
conditions. Previous work on the same mixture focused on Na2O+K2O, % 8 to14 6.7
density and void ratio, workability and compactibility, LOI, % <0.5 ≈ 0.8
compressive and split tensile strengths, Young’s modulus, *The tabulated compositions were evaluated by X-ray fluorescence
degradation resistance, infiltration rate, deicer salt scaling (XRF) analysis; loss on ignition (LOI) was determined using
resistance, and microstructural characterization.12 thermogravimetric analysis

www.concreteinternational.com | Ci | JANUARY 2020 37

Table 2:
Average transverse resonance frequency (Hz) and coefficients of variation (COV) for specimens at indicated
number of freezing-and-thawing (FT) cycles
No. of Cement, 14 days Cement + GO, 14 days Fly ash, 28 days Fly ash + GO, 28 days
cycles Average COV Average COV Average COV Average COV
0 1832 0.015 1806 0.032 1452 0.039 1733 0.035
6 1823 0.016 1791 0.031 1379 0.044 1701 0.027
12 1800 0.028 1772 0.027 1349 0.013 1691 0.030
36 1789 0.005 1672 0.015 1283 0.019 1683 0.032
60 1737 0.047 1662 0.066 24 0.062 1619 0.029
96 1571 0.057 1586 0.081 failed — 1570 0.039
144 30 0.057 1488 0.084 — — 30 0.023
162 failed — 30 0.039 — — failed —

Triethanolamine (TEA), dosed at 0.4 mL/100 kg (0.006 fl oz/ C666/C666M, Procedure A.17 Because pervious concrete
100 lb) of the binder, was added to the mixtures to improve exhibits a weak resistance to FT cycles when tested under
early-age strength. An air-entraining (AE) admixture, dosed at undrained conditions, this test protocol tends to overestimate
30 mL/100 kg (0.5 fl oz/100 lb) of the binder, was added to the vulnerability of properly designed and constructed
improve FT resistance. A high-range water-reducing pervious concrete pavements in the field service environment.
admixture (HRWRA), dosed at 3 and 10 mL/100 kg (0.05 and Table 2 provides the average resonance frequency results for
0.15 fl oz/100 lb) of the binder for the cement and fly ash each mixture, and Fig. 1 provides relative dynamic modulus
mixtures, respectively, was used to improve mixture workability. values. The results indicate that fly ash hydration was a slow
The GO used in this study was dosed at 0.2 g/100 kg process, as the resistance to FT damage improved with curing
(0.003 oz/100 lb) of the binder. The GO was produced using a duration. Fly ash mixtures with the GO admixture (cured for
modified Hummer’s method, which involves chemical 28 days) failed after 144 cycles, showing comparable FT
oxidation of graphite.14 The as-produced GO was pasty. It was durability as the conventional portland cement mixture (cured
diluted with deionized water and then sonicated for 45 for 14 days). The portland cement mixture with the GO
minutes using a Branson digital sonifier (S-450D, 400 W, admixture (cured for 14 days) failed after 162 FT cycles.
50% amplitude) to produce a stable suspension. The GO is
composed of two main elements, C (71 wt%) and O (26 wt%), Salt Weathering Resistance
as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Mixtures were tested for salt weathering resistance using a
The zeta potential of GO in aqueous solution (pH 7.0) is −30 test procedure from Reference 18. Specimens were subjected
mV, as measured by a surface potential tester. The zeta to cycles of wetting in a 3.0 wt% NaCl solution and drying in
potential value indicates a large amount of negatively charged air. The dynamic modulus of elasticity was measured after
chemical groups on the nanosheets in the GO.
Prismatic (3 x 4 x 16 in. [76 x 102 x 406 mm]) specimens
were fabricated using steel molds, according to ASTM C192/
C192M.15 The specimens were demolded after 24 hours and
moist cured for 14 days before testing. Six fly ash-based
specimens were also cured for 28 days to test the effects of
longer curing time. Mixtures were tested for resistance to
FT damage and to salt weathering. Mixture performance was
evaluated by measuring fundamental transverse resonance
frequency, in accordance with ASTM C215,16 before and
during application of cycles of FT or exposure to a salt
solution. To compare mixtures, relative dynamic modulus
values were calculated as the ratio of resonance frequency
measured at a given number of cycles to the resonance
frequency measured before cyclic testing.
Fig. 1: Relative dynamic modulus as a function of number of freezing-­
Cyclic FT Resistance and-thawing (FT) cycles for fly ash (F) and cement (C) specimens
The cyclic FT tests were conducted according to ASTM cured for 14 or 28 days as noted

38 JANUARY 2020 | Ci | www.concreteinternational.com

Table 3:
Average transverse resonance frequency (Hz) and coefficients of variation for specimens in wetting and drying cycles
No. of Cement, 14 days Cement + GO, 14 days Fly ash, 14 days Fly ash + GO, 14 days
cycles Average COV Average COV Average COV Average COV
0 1816 0.046 1720 0.051 1398 0.163 1547 0.111
1 1769 0.039 1755 0.057 1292 0.190 1456 0.110
2 1841 0.041 1757 0.059 1331 0.165 1531 0.082
4 1798 0.034 1741 0.047 1411 0.166 1584 0.084
6 1749 0.039 1675 0.065 1525 0.140 1933 0.040
8 1634 0.074 1614 0.055 1530 0.054 1846 0.122
10 1584 0.063 1543 0.106 1513 0.066 1794 0.045
12 1530 0.021 1511 0.088 1486 0.029 1732 0.038
14 1477 0.033 1442 0.034 1446 0.053 1686 0.028
16 1423 0.034 1377 0.021 1402 0.064 1593 0.047
20 1375 0.011 1313 0.033 1367 0.044 1485 0.056
22 1323 0.056 1287 0.067 1258 0.033 1407 0.083
24 1271 0.076 1206 0.027 1204 0.021 1361 0.067
26 1079 0.077 1033 0.045 1189 0.053 1330 0.056
28 998 0.049 954 0.033 1144 0.074 1313 0.034

Fig. 2: Relative dynamic modulus as a function of cycles of wetting

(in a 3.0 wt% NaCl solution) and drying for fly ash (F) and cement (C)
specimens. All specimens were cured for 14 days Fig. 3: XRD patterns of pervious concrete pastes produced with fly
ash (F) or cement (C) after the salt weathering test. Within the
patterns, C is calcite, CT is clinotobermorite, E is ettringite, G is
each cycle. Table 3 provides average resonance frequency gypsum, H is hatrurite, L is larnite, M is margarite, P is portlandite, Q
results, and Fig. 2 provides relative dynamic modulus values. is quartz, and T is tobermorite
Figure 2 indicates that the dynamic modulus of the
portland cement mixtures generally decreased with increasing
cycles of salt exposure and drying. Portland cement mixtures effects in the chemistry of the cement paste and physical
exhibited dynamic moduli below 60% of the initial modulus microstructure of concrete.19,20 The noted short-term increase
at 26 cycles. The relative dynamic modulus of fly ash in the relative dynamic modulus of the fly ash mixtures can be
specimens decreased as a result of the initial cycle of salt attributed to ongoing hydration of the binder21 and the
exposure. While the relative dynamic modulus increased for chemistry of fly ash pastes.22
the next five cycles, it decreased thereafter. Mixtures with GO At the end of the salt weathering tests, the paste portions of
admixture exhibited slightly better performance for both the specimens were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD)
cement and fly ash concretes. The noted decreases in the analysis. The results are provided in Fig. 3 and they agree
relative dynamic modulus are likely the result of detrimental with the XRD analysis presented in previous work.12 The

www.concreteinternational.com | Ci | JANUARY 2020 39

XRD patterns for mixtures without the GO admixture (in blue) Review of Environmental Benefits and Durability,” Journal of Cleaner
indicate the presence of calcite (C) as a predominant crystal Production, V. 210, Feb. 2018, pp. 1605-1621.
phase. We attribute this to paste decalcification by NaCl and 2. Roskos, E.C., “Building Green: Development and Evaluation of
accompanying carbonation of concrete.23 In comparison, the an Environmentally Friendly Concrete,” MS thesis, Civil Engineering
pastes of mixtures with the GO admixture showed a decrease Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 2011, 112 pp.
in calcite (C) peaks and an increase in portlandite (P) peaks, 3. Xie, N.; Shi, X.; Dang, Y.; and Pace, A., “Upcycling of Waste
indicating the beneficial role of GO in reducing carbonation Materials: Green Binder Prepared with Pure Coal Fly Ash,” Journal of
during salt weathering. The fly ash + GO concrete showed the Materials in Civil Engineering, V. 28, No. 3, Mar. 2016.
best performance in the salt exposure cycles, apparently 4. Palomo, A.; Grutzeck, M.W.; and Blanco, M.T., “Alkali-Activated
because GO facilitated the formation of margarite (M) and Fly Ashes: A Cement for the Future,” Cement and Concrete Research,
clinotobermorite (CT) as well as semicrystalline C-S-H (I) V. 29, No. 8, Aug. 1999, pp. 1323-1329.
and C-A-S-H gels.23 The improved resistance to salt attack in 5. Minkara, R., “Beneficial Use of Ash in Concrete,” North Carolina
the fly ash mixtures also stems from the large amount of Coal Ash Management Commission, Raleigh, NC, 2015.
network structures (Q3 and Q4 Si) in the geopolymer.22 This 6. Valenza, J.J., and Scherer, G.W., “A Review of Salt Scaling: II.
contrasts to the chain structures (Q1 and Q2 Si) predominant in Mechanisms,” Cement and Concrete Research, V. 37, No. 7, July 2007,
cement hydrates.24 pp. 1022-1034.
7. Shi, X.; Fay, L.; Peterson, M.M.; and Yang, Z., “Freeze-Thaw
Conclusions Damage and Chemical Change of a Portland Cement Concrete in the
Pervious concrete specimens were exposed to FT cycles or Presence of Diluted Deicers,” Materials and Structures, V. 43, No. 7,
cycles of wetting in a 3.0 wt% NaCl solution followed by Aug. 2010, pp. 933-946.
drying in air. The transverse resonance frequency was 8. Anderson, I., and Dewoolkar, M.M., “Laboratory Freezing-and-
employed as the indicator of changes induced by such Thawing Durability of Fly Ash Pervious Concrete in a Simulated Field
exposures. While the FT cycling caused rapid physical Environment,” ACI Materials Journal, V. 112, No. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2015,
damage to the specimens, the salt exposure caused a slow pp. 603-612.
physicochemical deterioration. 9. Lv, S.; Ting, S.; Liu, J.; and Zhou, Q., “Use of Graphene Oxide
A GO admixture at 0.02% by weight of binder dosage Nanosheets to Regulate the Microstructure of Hardened Cement Paste
significantly improved the resistance of the tested concrete to Increase Its Strength and Toughness,” CrystEngComm, V. 16, No. 36,
mixtures to FT damage. The FT resistance of GO-modified July 2014, pp. 8508-8516.
fly ash pervious concrete cured for 28 days was comparable 10. Gong, K.; Pan, Z., Korayem, A.H.; Qiu, L.; Li, D.; Collins, F.G.;
to the FT resistance of cement pervious concrete cured for Wang, C.M.; and Duan, W.H., “Reinforcing Effects of Graphene Oxide
14 days. The best FT resistance was demonstrated by the portland on Portland Cement Paste,” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering,
cement mixture with the GO admixture (cured for 14 days). V. 27, No. 2, Feb. 2015, pp. 1-6.
The GO admixture also slightly improved the resistance of 11. Ranjbar, N.; Mehrali, M.; Mehrali, M.; Alengaram, U.J.; and
the tested concrete mixtures to salt weathering. Fly ash Jumaat, M.Z., “Graphene Nanoplatelet-Fly Ash Based Geopolymer
pervious concretes showed a better resistance to salt Composites,” Cement and Concrete Research, V. 76, Oct. 2015, pp. 222-231.
weathering than their cement counterparts due to continued 12. Xu, G., and Shi, X., “Graphene Oxide-Modified Pervious
hydration of fly ash-based binder and the different chemistry Concrete with Fly Ash as Sole Binder,” ACI Materials Journal, V. 115,
of fly ash pastes. No. 3, May 2018, pp. 369-379.
13. Yang, Z.; Shi, X.; Creighton, A.T.; and Peterson, M.M., “Effect
Acknowledgments of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Latex on the Chloride Permeability and
The authors acknowledge the funding support by the U.S. Department Microstructure of Portland Cement Mortar,” Construction and Building
of Transportation (USDOT) Center for Environmentally Sustainable Materials, V. 23, No. 6, June 2009, pp. 2283-2290.
Transportation in Cold Climates, American Coal Ash Association 14. Li, D.; Müller, M.B.; Gilje, S.; Kaner, R.B.; and Wallace, G.G.,
Educational Foundation, and Washington State University (WSU) “Processable Aqueous Dispersions of Graphene Nanosheets,” Nature
Office of Commercialization. The authors thank Luis Gerardo Navarro, Nanotechnology, No. 3, Jan. 2008, pp. 101-105.
Kafung Wong, Pizhong Qiao, and Zhidong Zhou at WSU for their help 15. ASTM C192/C192M-16, “Standard Practice for Making and
with freezing-and-thawing tests. Boral, Lafarge, BASF, and W.R. Grace Curing Concrete Test Specimens in the Laboratory,” ASTM International,
kindly donated constituent materials for this study. Jing Zhong at Harbin West Conshohocken, PA, 2016, 8 pp.
Institute of Technology helped with the fabrication of the graphene 16. ASTM C215-14, “Standard Test Method for Fundamental
oxide used in this work. The technology described herein is disclosed in Transverse, Longitudinal, and Torsional Resonant Frequencies of
United States Patent Application 20180257989A1, Fly Ash Cementitious Concrete Specimens,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA,
Compositions, Sept 13, 2018. 2014, 7 pp.
17. ASTM C666/C666M-15, “Standard Test Method for Resistance
References of Concrete to Rapid Freezing and Thawing,” ASTM International, West
1. Xie, N.; Akin, M.; and Shi, X., “Permeable Concrete Pavements: A Conshohocken, PA, 2015, 7 pp.

40 JANUARY 2020 | Ci | www.concreteinternational.com

 18. Darwin, D.; Browning, J.; Gong, L.; and Hughes, S.R., “Effects
of Deicers on Concrete Deterioration,” ACI Materials Journal, V. 105, Gang Xu received his PhD in 2018 from
No. 6, Nov.-Dec. 2008, pp. 622-627. the Department of Civil and Environmental
19. Haynes, H.; O’Neill, R.; Neff, M.; and Mehta, P.K., “Salt Engineering, Washington State University,
Weathering of Concrete by Sodium Carbonate and Sodium Chloride,” Pullman, WA. His research interests
ACI Materials Journal, V. 107, No. 3, May-June 2010, pp. 258-266. include sustainable and innovative
20. Xie, N.; Shi, X.; and Zhang, Y., “Impacts of Potassium Acetate concrete materials, nanotechnology
application in building materials, and
and Sodium-Chloride Deicers on Concrete,” Journal of Materials in
structural engineering. He is a licensed
Civil Engineering, V. 29, No. 3, Mar. 2017.
professional engineer in California.
21. Heinz, D.; Göbel, M.; Hilbig, H.; Urbonas, L.; and Bujauskaite,
G., “Effect of TEA on Fly Ash Solubility and Early Age Strength of
ACI member Xianming Shi is an Associate
Mortar,” Cement and Concrete Research, V. 40, No. 3, Mar. 2010,
Professor in the Department of Civil and
pp. 392-397.
Environmental Engineering at Washington
22. Xu, G.; Zhong, J.; and Shi, X., “Influence of Graphene Oxide in a
State University and Director of the
Chemically Activated Fly Ash,” Fuel, V. 226, Aug. 2018, pp. 644-657. USDOT National Center for Transportation
23. Xu, G., “Environmentally Friendly Pervious Concrete Made Infrastructure Durability and Life-Extension.
of 100% Fly Ash Binder and Enabled by Graphene Oxide,” PhD He is a member of ACI Committees 201,
dissertation, Structural Engineering, Washington State University, Durability of Concrete; 222, Corrosion of
Pullman, WA, July 2018. Metals in Concrete; and 236, Material
24. Xu, G.; Du, S.; He, J.; and Shi, X., “The Role of Admixed Science of Concrete. He received his PhD
Graphene Oxide in a Cement Hydration System,” Carbon, V. 148, July in chemistry from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
2019, pp. 141-150. China, in 1999, and a second MSc in industrial and management
engineering from Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, in 2002.
Selected for reader interest by the editors.

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Sinopsis en español

Tecnologías emergentes en la construcción de concreto Innovación

Erickson, K., Concrete International, V. 42, No. 1, enero de Nasvik, J.V., Concrete International, V. 42, No. 1, enero de
2020, pág. 26-29 2020, pág. 43-47

Las tecnologías emergentes, como el escaneo láser, permiten Si bien el ritmo de innovación en la industria de la
a los contratistas de concreto estimar con mayor precisión construcción en general tiende a ser lento, algunas empresas
y eficiencia las cantidades, planificar visualmente las tienen culturas que fomentan el desarrollo y el uso de
colocaciones de concreto y la logística del sitio, y coordinar nuevas tecnologías. Este artículo describe cuatro ejemplos:
de manera más efectiva los sistemas que se utilizan en cada Milwaukee Tool, Trimble Inc., GOMACO Corporation y
proyecto. El artículo discute cómo se aplicaron múltiples Klorman Construction Corporation.
avances tecnológicos en la restauración y expansión del
histórico estadio de béisbol Wrigley Field en Chicago, IL, ¿Podemos hacer concreto sin cemento?
conocido como el Proyecto 1060.
Mahoutian, M.; Stern, C.; y Shao, Y., Concrete
Consideraciones para los paneles prefabricados de International, V. 42, No. 1, enero de 2020, pág. 48-51
concretos atados a losas sobre el terreno
La escoria del horno de acero, un subproducto del proceso
Tarr, S.M.; Sheehan, M.J.; y Van Duyne, E.J., Concrete de fabricación de acero puede utilizarse como sustituto del
International, V. 42, No. 1, enero de 2020, pág. 31-35 cemento Pórtland en la producción de unidades de albañilería
de concreto (CMU por sus siglas en ingles). Aunque la escoria
El diseño y la construcción de una losa sobre el terreno para de los hornos de acero carece de propiedades cementantes
que actúe como diafragma estructural aumenta el riesgo de o puzolánicas, gana fuerza cuando se expone al CO2 en
agrietamiento fuera de las juntas. Este artículo discute este presencia de agua. El artículo discute la tecnología para la
riesgo, describe los requisitos de diseño y refuerzo para fabricación de CMUs usando escoria de horno de acero como
tales losas, y anima a los diseñadores a considerar detalles un reemplazo total del cemento.
alternativos. También se discuten los detalles de construcción
que se utilizan comúnmente para limitar el arqueamiento de El Internet de las cosas ahora incluye mezcladores
los paneles de pared. volumétricos

Concreto permeable de geopolímero de cenizas volantes Concrete International, V. 42, No. 1, enero de 2020, pág. 52-53

Xu, G., y Shi, X., Concrete International, V. 42, No. 1, enero Bay-Lynx Manufacturing ha introducido BatchPro Connect,
de 2020, pág. 37-41 un portal de clientes y un sistema de software de aplicación
que se conecta de forma inalámbrica a los sensores de los
Se desarrolló una mezcla de concreto permeable al mezcladores volumétricos de la compañía. El software
geopolímero con activación alcalina de las cenizas volantes gestiona los pedidos y la asignación de trabajos, el cobro de
en condiciones ambientales. Se utilizó un nuevo nanomaterial, pagos, la calibración de la mezcladora, el diagnóstico del
el óxido de grafeno, para facilitar la polimerización de los camión y los registros de servicio. Las futuras actualizaciones
productos de hidratación de cenizas volantes. La mezcla de BatchPro Connect también incluirán la automatización de
fue entonces expuesta a la congelación y descongelación la configuración del mezclador volumétrico.
cíclica y a la intemperie salina, y la frecuencia de resonancia
transversal fue utilizada para monitorear los cambios
inducidos por estas exposiciones.

www.concreteinternational.com | Ci | JANUARY 2020 69

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