What is ASC (Alternate Super-Recommended Construction)?
A blog about fly ash concrete, lightweight fly ash concrete, foam concrete and other alternative building materials.
This blog is dedicated to alternate construction techniques using fly ash based products and other alternative building materials. Fly ash concrete is a type of alternative construction material that has been proven to be effective in road construction and building construction particularly in the field of precast concrete products. Fly ash concrete is also referred to as green or eco-friendly concrete.
Fly ash is a non-metallic by-product of coal-fired power plants that can be used in the manufacture of cement, bricks and other building materials. In certain quantities, it can replace cement as a binder for sand and gravel thus reducing cement consumption by up to 70%. Fly ash can also be used as an aggregate replacement or additive to reduce the density of concrete which makes fly ash ideal for lightweight construction.
Fly ash concrete is one of the most significant innovations developed in the last hundred years. For example, in the US alone, 65 million tons of fly ash was used to make concrete in 2012 and this number is increasing steadily every year. ASC (alternate super-recommended construction) is a blog that provides information about this awesome new technology.
The science behind fly ash concrete is very simple. The hydroxide ions from the calcium are released into the water. This causes the cement paste to solidify which leads to an increase in strength. A small amount of lime is added to the mix which reacts with the excess sodium hydroxide produced by the reaction between sodium carbonate and sulfuric acid forming sodium sulfate crystals in solution.
When cement particles come into contact with water molecules, they form long chains called polymers. The chains become entangled like spaghetti on a plate forming what we call “gel”. This gel binds together sand grains or aggregate particles making them stick together like glue.. This process also occurs when you add any type of liquid such as milk or juice to your morning cereal and stir it up until all of those little flakes are stuck together forming one big clump.”
The concrete industry is undergoing a revolution with the emergence of Alternate Super-Recommended Construction (ASC). ASC has been praised in many articles and even in government documents. This blog will not only talk about ASC, but also some of the other ASC-related technologies that are being used on construction sites and their implications for the industry.
A few years ago I saw an article in Chemical Engineering News titled “The Future of Concrete” that talked about fly ash concrete and its potential. Fly ash is a byproduct of coal burning. It’s basically made up of silica, iron oxide, and aluminum oxide. The problem with fly ash is that it contains large amounts of sulfur compounds that can react with the cement to form sulfuric acid, which can cause corrosion problems in steel reinforcement. Also, when the water evaporates from fly ash concrete, the leftover ash particles can clog pores in the concrete and lead to cracking if there isn’t enough water present to wash them away.
The idea behind ASC is to use fly ash as a replacement for portland cement (the most common binder in concrete). The key difference is that portland cement cures much more slowly than fly ash concrete does. So if you mix them together you get a product that cures faster than normal concrete
If you are not familiar with the term Alternate Super-Recommended Construction (ASC), then you may not know that it is a process for making concrete. You may also not know that ASC was developed in the late 1990’s by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as an alternative to using coal ash in concrete.
In ASC, fly ash is combined with cement, sand and water to make an aggregate or concrete mixture. When fly ash is combined with cement and sand, the resulting material has a high surface area. The surface area of the aggregate is increased by approximately 10 times when fly ash is used in place of cement. This high surface area causes the concrete to crack more easily than conventional concrete mixes.
The use of fly ash in ASC can reduce costs by up to 30%. Fly ash is a fine powder that is produced by burning coal at power plants. The fly ash particles are very small and they are able to pass through the filters in the air pollution control equipment used at power plants.
Fly ash can be recycled and used as a substitute for other materials such as fly ash concrete, asphalt, gypsum wallboard, mortar, and structural steel reinforcement bars (rebar). Fly ash can also be used in place of cement to make bricks and tiles for
The concrete that is used in most construction (including housing, commercial buildings and bridges) is called Portland cement concrete, or PCC. It consists of portland cement, water and aggregate (gravel and sand). About 10% of the cement in PCC is fly ash.
The concrete that is being promoted as ASC (Alternate Super-Recommended Construction) is the same as that used in PCC with the exception that it uses up to 100% fly ash in place of the portland cement. The fly ash content of ASC can be adjusted to produce a concrete with the necessary strength, durability and workability for the job at hand.
The reason for adjusting the fly ash content is because there are three different types of fly ash with varying properties. Type C fly ash, which is produced by burning lignite or subbituminous coal, has a low calcium content and has been used extensively in concrete at levels less than 15%. Type F fly ash, which comes from combustion of bituminous coals or anthracite coals, has a higher calcium content and can be used at higher levels in concrete.
The Alternate Super-Recommended Construction (ASC) is a new concept in green building. ASC is the leading alternative to traditional construction design methods, and its use has increased dramatically over the past decade.
The ASC concept was originally developed as an alternative to conventional building techniques that have been found to be harmful to the environment. In order to reduce the amount of pollution caused by burning fossil fuels and other sources of toxic materials, a new method was needed for building structures.
Although ASC has not been used in the United States since its inception, it has been used in other parts of the world for many years. The concept was first introduced by Dr. John Davenport of Australia during his time as an engineer with the Australian National University. Since then, it has been adopted by other countries around the world and is currently being used in several cities throughout Europe and Asia.
As the name implies, ASC is a construction method that uses fly ash concrete. Some geotechnical engineers are aware of the existence of fly ash concrete (it can be used for the foundations of buildings or roads, etc.), but few people know that it can also be used to build houses or even apartment buildings.
Recently, I heard about this “alternative construction” from a client. He told me about a house that had been built with fly ash concrete and was very interested in this topic. So I took some time to study this new technique in more depth and I will share my findings with you here.
It might seem strange to build houses with concrete and a bit like a contradiction in terms, but concrete has several advantages:
– First of all, it is non-combustible and therefore very fire resistant.
– Then, it is also environmentally friendly because it is made from materials that would otherwise be disposed of as waste.
– Finally, it is an insulator so there is no need for additional insulation.