Influence of bagasse ash with different fineness on alkali-silica reactivity of mortar

This research aimed to study the effect of finenesses of bagasse ash (BGA) on the alkali-silica reaction of mortar. The BGA sample was ground to have particles retained on a sieve No. 325 of 33±1% and 5±1% by weight. Ground BGA samples were used separately to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) at rates of 10, 20, 30 and 40% by weight of binder to cast mortars. The compressive strengths and the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) of mortars were investigated. The results showed that a large particle size of BGA is not suitable for use in lowering ASR because it results in a low compressive strength and high expansion due to ASR. The mortars containing BGA with higher fineness exhibited higher compressive strength and lower expansion due to ASR than the mortars containing BGA with lower fineness. The results also suggested that the ground BGA retained on a sieve No. 325 of less than 5% by weight is suitable to be used as a good pozzolan which provides high compressive strength and reduces the expansion of mortar due to ASR even though it contains high LOI. The obtained results also encourage the utilization of ground BGA effectively which leads to reduce the disposal of bagasse ash.