Efficacy of palm oil fuel ash as filler on mechanical properties of aerated concrete

The addition of pozzolanic materials into concrete enhances the different properties of concrete matrix. The by-product from palm oil (PO) industries palm oil fuel ash (POFA) can be utilized into aerated concrete (AC) due to its pozzolanic properties. The study presents the effects of POFA on strength in compression and flexure, toughness and, elasticity modulus of aerated concrete with 1300 ± 50 kg/m³ density. The AC samples were prepared, namely control mix AC with 100% sand (AC-CM), AC with 10% POFA (AC-FA₁₀), and AC with 20% POFA (AC-FA₂₀) for experimental testing and kept in water for curing. Also, the modeling of all specimens was carried out in ANSYS Workbench software to estimate stress–strain results. The performance of AC integrated with POFA as replacement filler (AC-FA₁₀, AC-FA₂₀) represents superior results in comparison with control mix (AC-CM) in terms of toughness, compressive, and split-tensile strength. Depending on the 56 days results, the percentage of increase in compressive strength for AC-FA₁₀ and AC-FA₂₀ was 16.37% and 3.96%, and the split-tensile strength of AC-FA₁₀ and AC-FA₂₀ was 14.64% and 22.02% greater than AC-CM, respectively. The present study highlights the potential of POFA as an efficacious pozzolanic material which attains the aspects of economical and sustainable concrete.