The impact of wood ash and nanosilica on the consistency, setting time, and flowability of Portland cement
Abiodun AKINWALE, Hussein WALIED, Akeem Ayinde RAHEEM
Abstract. The building and construction sectors are sourcing innovative cementitious materials to enhance the conventional binder’s performance, durability, and sustainability. Optimizing resources and developing cost-effective, sustainable materials over their lifecycle is essential. This study investigates the impact of wood ash (WA) and nanosilica (NS) on Portland cement’s standard consistency, setting time, and flowability. The wood ash was sourced from Caterer’s Services in Johannesburg, ground to finer particles, and sieved. Preliminary analyses were conducted on the ash, which included oxide composition, specific gravity, and particle size distribution. The control sample (CC) contained no wood ash or nanosilica, while the experimental groups contained varying amounts of wood ash (5% to 25%) and nanosilica (0.6%, 1.1%, and 1.7%). The investigation shows the consistency of the cement paste was enhanced at 15% WA, and the incorporation of 0,6% NS gave the best consistency compared to 1,1 and 1,7 % NS. Higher WA content, particularly at 25% replacement (WA25NS0), resulted in the longest setting time, reaching approximately 600 minutes, while the flowability increases as the WA percentage increases. The results demonstrated consistent performance in binders containing 15 % WA and the incorporation of 0,6 % NS compared to 1,1 and 1 7 % NS. Higher WA content, at 25 % replacement (WA25NS0), resulted in the longest setting time. Flowability increases as the WA percentage increases, peaking at WA15NS0, representing 33,12% compared to the control sample.
Keywords
Woodash, Nanosilica, Consistency, Setting Time, Flowability, Cement Paste
Published online 3/25/2025, 9 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Abiodun AKINWALE, Hussein WALIED, Akeem Ayinde RAHEEM, The impact of wood ash and nanosilica on the consistency, setting time, and flowability of Portland cement, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 51, pp 1-9, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903537-1
The article was published as article 1 of the book Advances in Cement and Concrete
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] J.N. Wember, L.L.M. Elat, and C.D. Miyo, Impact of the partial substitution of cement and sand by ash from several types of wood species in cementitious materials manufacture volarisation in the industrial field. Discover Civil Engineering. (2024) https://doi.org/10.1007/s44290-024-00035-5
[2] J.M. Lessard, R. Gagné, and M.P. Jolin Rivard, Optimisation des cendres volantes et grossières de biomasse dans les bétons compactés au rouleau et dans les bétons moulés á sec, Mémoire de Maitise, Departement de Génie Civil, Université de Sherbrooke. (2016)
[3] K. Gopinath, K. Anuradha, R. Harisundar, and M. Saravanan. Utilization of sawdust in cement mortar & cement concrete. Int J Sci Eng Res. 6 (2015) 665-82.
[4] H.H.M. Darwesh, M.A. El-Suoud, Saw dust ash substitution for cement pastes – Part I Am J Constr. Build. Mater. 2 (2017) 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajasr.20170305.13
[5] N.V. Makarova, V.V. Potapov, A.V. Kozin, E.A. Chusovitin, A.V. Amosov, A.V. Nepomnyashiy. Influence of hydrothermal Nanosilica on mechanical properties of plain concrete. Key Eng. Mater. 744 744 KE, (2017)126-130. https://doi.rg/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.
[6] S. Erdem, S. Hanbay, Z. Güler. Micromechanical damage analysis and engineering performance of concrete with colloidal nano-silica and demolished concrete aggregates. Constr. Build. Mater. 171 ( 2018) 634-642.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.197.
[7] G. Li. Properties of high-volume fly ash concrete incorporating nano-SiO2, Cem. Concr. Res. 34 (2004) 1043-1049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2003.11.013.
[8] L. Varghese, V.V.L. Kanta Rao, L. Parameswaran. Nanosilica-added concrete: strength and its correlation with time-dependent properties. Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. Constr. Mater. 2019; 172 (2): 85-94. https://doi.org/10.1680/jcoma.17.00031.
[9]U. Sivasankaran, S. Raman, S. Nallusamy. Experimental analysis of mechanical properties on concrete with nano silica additive. J. Nano Res. 57 (2019) 93-104.https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/JNanoR.57.93.
[10] E. Ghafari, H. Costa, E. Júlio. A. Portugal, L. Durăes. The effect of nano-silica addition on ultra-high performance concrete’s flowability, strength, and transport properties. Mater. Des. 59 (2014) 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.02.051
[11] Jalal M, Pouladkhan A, Harandi OF, Jafari D. Comparative study on effects of Class F fly ash, nano silica, and silica fume on properties of high-performance self-compacting concrete. Constr. Build. Mater. 94 (2015) 90-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.07.001
[12] SANS 50197-1:2013. Cement, Part 1, Composition, specifications and conformity criteria for common cements.
[13] SANS 50196-3:2006. Methods of testing cement part 3. Determination of setting times and soundness.
[14] ASTM C305-13 Standard Practice for Mechanical Mixing of Hydraulic cement pastes and mortars of plastic consistency.
[15] SANS 3001-AG23:2014. Civil engineering test methods. Part AG23, Particle and relative densities of aggregates.
[16] SANS 3001-AG1:2014. Civil engineering test methods. Part AG1, Particle size analysis of aggregates by sieving.
[17] S. Chowdhury, M. Mishra, and O. Suganya. The incorporation of wood waste ash as a partial cement replacement materials for making structural grade concrete: An overview. Ain Shams Eng. J. (2014) https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2014.11.005
[18] L. Skevi, V.A. Baki, Y. Feng, M. Valderrabano, and X. Ke. Biomass bottom ash as supplementary cementitious material: the effect of mechanochemical pre-treatment and mineral carbonation. Materials. 15 (2022) https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15238357.
[19] S. Hailong, Z. Xiuzhi, Z. Peng, and L. Di. Effects of nanosilica particle size on fresh state properties of cement paste. KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering. 25 (2021) 2555 – 2566. Doi.10.1007/s12205-021-0902-3
[20] A. Pratibha, P.S. Rahul, and A. Yogesh. Use of nanosilica in cement based materials. A review. Cogent Engineering, 2 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2015.1078018
[21] Y. Qing, Z. Zenan, K. Deyu, and C. Rongshen. Influence of nano-SiO2 addition on properties of hardened cement paste as compared with silica fume. Construction and Building Materials. 21 (2007) 539-545.
[20] L. Senff, D. Hotza, W.L. Repette, V.M. Ferreira, and J.A. Labrincha. Mortars with nano-SiO2 and micro-SiO2 investigated by experimental design. Construction and Building Materials. 24 (2010) 1432–1437. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.01.012
[21] L. Senff, J.A. Labrincha, V.M. Ferreira, D. Hotza, and W.L. Repette. Effect of nano-silica on rheology and fresh properties of cement pastes and mortars. Construction and Building Materials. 23 (2009) 2487–2491. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2009.02.005
[22] Kawashima S, Hou P, Corr DJ, Shah SP. Modification of cement-based materials with nanoparticles. Cement and Concrete Composites. 36 (2012) 8-15.
[23] L.P. Singh, S.R. Karade, S.K. Bhattacharyya, M.M. Yousuf, and S. Ahalawat. Beneficial role of nanosilica in cement-based materials – A review. Construction and Building Materials. 47 (2013) 1069-1077. doi.10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.05.052
