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Vol. 8 No. 2 (2027): March 2027

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2026-09-19
Accepted
2026-10-04
Published
2026-10-10
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Eco-mechanical performance of fly ash-modified concrete blocks: strength development and CO2 emission assessment

  • Basirul Alam Sarker Ovy
    basirul.ovy.iifs@gmail.com
    Department of Farm Structure and Environmental Engineering, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
    https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2889-632X
    • Conceptualization
    • Methodology
    • Investigation
    • Writing – Original Draft Preparation
    • Writing – Review & Editing
  • Md. Abul Bashar
    abmbau@gmail.com
    SAARC Agriculture Centre, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh
    https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5770-4090
    • Supervision
    • Resources
    • Writing – Review & Editing
  • Md. Al Imran Hossan
    alimranbau1996@gmail.com
    Department of Farm Structure and Environmental Engineering, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
    https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3272-9678
    • Formal Analysis
    • Data Curation
    • Visualization
    • Writing – Review & Editing

Corresponding Author(s) : Basirul Alam Sarker Ovy

Journal of Applied Materials and Technology, Vol. 8 No. 2 (2027): March 2027

https://doi.org/10.65794/Jamt.8.2.75-82 Crossmark

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Copyright (c) 2026 Basirul Alam Sarker Ovy, Md. Abul Bashar, Md. Al Imran Hossan

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.




Abstract

Fly ash is a waste product from coal combustion and can be used as a partial substitute for cement, thereby aiding in the production of lower-carbon-footprint concrete. Most studies have focused only on mechanical or environmental performance, and fewer studies are available that integrate properties of fly ash concrete in terms of mechanical performance, water absorption and CO2 emissions at low replacement rates (£20%). Accordingly, this study aims to meet this need by developing an integrated eco-mechanical evaluation to identify a practical replacement criterion based on three indicators. Five mixtures with varying amounts of fly ash (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) were developed. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and water absorption after 28 days were tested in the laboratory, while the cradle-to-gate CO2 emission was calculated by calculating the CO2 emission from every constituent of the concrete. These results indicate that the 5% fly ash was able to achieve about 94.3% compressive strength of the control mixture, while also reducing CO2 emissions by 4.71%, yielding the best strength–carbon balance of the mixtures. Increased replacement levels resulted in higher emission reduction, up to 18.85% at 20% fly ash, while producing more significant strength reductions. The findings serve as the basis for policy and specific specifications that would be associated with appropriate utilization of locally available fly ash in accordance with strength and durability requirements. It could be encouraged through material availability, transport, processing, quality control and the possibility of cement savings at the project level, through financial incentives or procurement preferences and performance-based standards.

Keywords

Fly ash Concrete blocks Mechanical performance Waste utilization Eco-efficient concrete
How to Cite
Eco-mechanical performance of fly ash-modified concrete blocks: strength development and CO2 emission assessment. (2026). Journal of Applied Materials and Technology, 8(2), 75-82. https://doi.org/10.65794/Jamt.8.2.75-82
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