As a part of Nirma University funded Minor Research Project, a Sustainable High Volume Fly Ash Concrete Pavement, 3.5m in width and 6.0m in length was constructed on June 23, 2020. The pavement was constructed by replacing 50% of Cement with Fly Ash ? an industrial waste generated from burning coal at thermal power plants. Apart from Cement and Fly Ash, the construction of Concrete Pavement requires fine and coarse aggregates, water and a chemical admixture, which is used to increase the workability of concrete and also to reduce the water content, thereby increasing the durability of concrete pavement. During the laboratory investigations, with 50% Cement replaced with Fly Ash, the characteristic compressive strength of 40MPa and a Flexural Strength of 4.5MPa was achieved. The results are at par with the Concrete Pavement constructed on major roads and National highways, where a maximum of 20% of cement is replaced with Fly Ash. However the durability aspects are to be investigated.
Mr Raghunath Patil, Assistant General Manager (Technical) NUVOCO Vistas Corp Ltd, visited the campus along with his team member to witness the construction of sustainable concrete pavement. The project was carried out by Prof Hemanth Kamplimath (PI) and Prof Vineet Kothari (Co-PI), under the mentorship of Dr Urmil Dave, Professor and Head, Civil Engineering Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University.