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Mechanical Properties
Compressive strength of the concrete was measured using standard cylinders,
6" diameter × 12" long, following the method of ASTM C 39. The
compressive strength of concrete Mixture CON-C is shown in Table 4-53. The
compressive strength of the mixture was very low at the early age and could
not be measured until the age of 16 days. At the age of 16 days, the
compressive strength was only 60 psi. The compressive strength increased at
the age of 28 days to 135 days, and then significantly increased at the 42-day
age to 1345 psi. This indicates that the setting time of the concrete mixture
was significantly delayed, as well as pozzolanic effect of 40% fly ash content
contributing to this jump in strength. The delay in setting was attributed to the
amount of high-range water reducing admixture (HRWRA) required to be
added to the mixture. The amount of HRWRA exceeded the maximum
amount recommended by the manufacturer (136 oz/yd 3 versus 170 oz/yd 3
actually used in the laboratory mixture). Another possibility investigated was
to determine if the water-soluble sizing of the carbon fibers had any effect on
the setting time of the mixtures. The water-soluble sizing is applied to prevent
the agglomeration of the fibers.
A test was conducted on cement mortar cubes per ASTM C 109 using water
that was obtained from soaking the carbon fibers for 24 hours. The
compressive strength of the cement mortar cubes at the age of seven days was
5070 psi. This indicates that the water-soluble sizing probably did not have
any time of setting delay effect on the compressive strength of cement mortar.
The concrete compressive strength achieved for the Mixture CON-C tested for
this project is below its normally expected strength level. The primary focus
of this project was to determine the effect of carbon fibers on the electrical
properties of the concrete. Therefore, the compressive strength of the mixtures
was considered secondary at this stage of the study. The amount of fibers can
be revised in the future phases to produce a good-quality structural-grade
concrete. The amount of carbon fibers may be reduced and optimized for
electrical properties. Compressive strength of the concrete may be increased
by increasing the cementitious materials and/or reducing the amount of water
in the mixture.
We Energies 126
Coal Combustion Products
Utilization Handbook