Action Time-Effect and Mechanism of Low-Calcium Fly Ash in Cement-Based Composites

This study was conducted in order to investigate when low-calcium fly ash plays a physical or chemical effect and what is the chemical effect proportion of low-calcium fly ash. Two types of low-calcium fly ash and quartz powder, with similar fineness as active and inert admixtures, were used as materials in this study. Under different water/binder ratios and hydration ages, the effects of the different types of admixtures and their dosages on the flexural and compressive strength of the composites were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen adsorption methods, in addition to an assessment of the degree of hydration of the fly ash, were employed to observe the hydration products at different ages, the microstructures of the hydration products, as well as their surface areas and pore size distributions. The results show that during the hydration period of 28 days, the low-calcium fly ash has a micro-aggregate filling physical effect. However, after 56 days, the hydration degree of fly ash begins to exceed 1%. This illustrates that the low-calcium fly ash has both the pozzolanic activity effect and micro-aggregate filling effect. In contrast, the low-calcium fly ash hydrated for 90 days is still dominated by the physical filling effect.