Strength, chloride resistance, and water permeability of high volume sugarcane bagasse ash high strength concrete incorporating limestone powder

Although sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) with suitable particle size is formally approved as a good pozzolanic material for better durability and mechanical properties of concrete, most previous studies have found that the amount of SCBA is still low level for cement replacement in concrete. In this research, high strength concrete (HS-C) containing high volume sugarcane bagasse ash (HVSCBA) was investigated. Sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) was ground to have high fineness and used as a cement replacement at rates of 60, 70, and 80 wt% of binder for the binary blended binder in concrete. Also, SCBA and limestone powder (LS) were used as cement replacement at amounts up to 80 wt% of binder for the ternary blended binder in concrete. Testing of the binary and ternary blended binders for HS-C comprised of compressive strength, chloride resistance, and water permeability. The results showed that the compressive strength at 28 days of binary and ternary binders HS-C could develop to meet the requirement of 55 MPa. Also, the chloride ion penetrability of the binary and ternary binder HS-C sharply reduced to <1,000 Coulombs of passing electric charge. Although the water permeability of the concrete slightly increased with the increase of SCBA proportion in HS-C. For economic consideration, the binary and ternary HS-C showed a reduction in carbon dioxide emission of 42–57% and a reduction in material cost of 13–25% in comparison to CT concrete. This study recommends that HVSCBA and LS can be used to produce eco-friendly high strength concrete with low cost and high durability.