Performance of Class F Pulverised Fuel Ash and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag in Ternary Concrete Mixes

Cement is the most utilised material after water, and the processes that are involved in making it are energy intensive, contributing to about 7% of the total global anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂). Energy efficiency can however be achieved by using Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) such as Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) which demand less process heating and emit fewer levels of CO₂. This work examined the advantages of substituting cement using PFA and GGBS in ternary (2 SCMs) concrete at steps of 0%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%. It was found that PFA increased the workability of GGBS, whereas GGBS improved the strength of PFA. The densities of the resultant concrete were below those of the 0% replacement as well as those of individual binary (1 SCM) concretes. The tensile strengths of the ternary concrete were lower than those of the binary concretes, whereas the gains in compressive strengths over curing time were higher at lower replacements for the ternary concrete compared with the 0% replacement and the binary concretes, but lower at higher replacements. The findings indicate that PFA and GGBS could be used together to improve the properties of concrete where each falls short.