Beneficial Properties of Coal Ashes and Effective Solid

Waste Management
K. Prakash1 and A. Sridharan2
Abstract: Large quantities of coal ashes are being produced by coal fired thermal power plants all over the world. Because of some of
their inherent properties, the coal ashes are proving to be potential hazardous materials causing environmental pollution. The need of the
day is to have practical engineering applications which involve the safe disposal of such so considered hazardous materials. Coal ashes
have been shown to have advantageous properties such as low specific gravity, lower compressibility, higher rate of consolidation, high
strength, high California Bearing Ratio, high volume stability, water insensitiveness to compaction, and pozzolanic reactivity. Coal ashes
can be used as better alternative materials of construction in addition to their bulk use in the field of Geotechnical Engineering.
Geotechnical Engineering Practice helps in the safe and effective disposal of coal ashes in bulk in a more ecofriendly way.
DOI: 10.1061/ASCEHZ.1944-8376.0000014
CE Database subject headings: Fly ash; Bottom ash; Geotechnical engineering; Material properties; Power plants; Solid wastes; Soil
stabilization; Tests; Waste management.

Introduction
Industrialization and urbanization are the two processes that are
going on unabated all over the world. Apart from the advantages
realized due to these processes, one has to look in to their negative impact on the global environment and on social life. Most
important ill effects due to these global processes are
Production of huge quantum of industrial waste by-products
and the problems related with their safe storage and disposal.
Scarcity of good land and materials for constructional activities, which include infrastructure development.
Any well planned developmental activity undertaken by any
public/private sector must consider these two aspects to the core.
The economic development of any country is directly related with
the energy production and consumption of that country and hence,
more thrust is being applied of late on the electrical power generation sector. Due to their inherent limitations, establishing either
the large scale hydroelectric power plants or nuclear power plants
is receiving lesser priority. In this context, the coal based thermal
power plants are being installed world wide, by default. The burning of pulverized coal in thermal power plants results in the production of huge quantum of coal ashes namely fly ash and bottom
ash. The wet disposal of these ashes separately or in combination
in storage ponds results in pond ashes. With the depletion of high
quality coal resources, low quality coals are also being used,
which increase the quantum of coal ashes generated. The current
world wide production of coal ashes is more than 700 million tons
1
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Sri Jayachamarajendra College
of Engineering, Mysore 570 006, India corresponding author. E-mail:
kprakash60@yahoo.com
2
Formerly, Professor in Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore 560 012, India. E-mail: asridhran@yahoo.com
Note. This manuscript was submitted on January 6, 2009; approved
on March 10, 2009; published online on April 1, 2009. Discussion period
open until March 1, 2010; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 13, No. 4,
October 1, 2009. ASCE, ISSN 1090-025X/2009/4-239248/$25.00.

of which about 70% is fly ash. Huge quantum of coal ashes thus
generated coupled with their very low specific gravity has made
the ash handling and disposal problems very acute. The situation
in developing and even in some of the developed countries has
reached such a stage of considering coal ash storage and disposal
problem a national problem.
Any ill planned dry/wet storage of coal ashes leads to many
social and sociomedical problems in the region and pollutes the
environment of the region as well.
Atmospheric pollution:
a.
Being very light, fly ash particles get easily airborne,
thus polluting the atmosphere.
b. Fly ash particles in air can easily enter into the human
respiratory system. This leads to many health disorders
such as silicosis, bronchitis, and pneumonia.
c.
Due to the polluted atmosphere, the visibility even in
the day time gets affected. This poses serious threat to
vehicular traffic in the region, leading to accidents,
which otherwise could have been avoided.
Water pollution:
a.
Fly ash causes the pollution of both surface water and
ground water.
b. Water pollution in the region has a negative impact on
the aquatic and plant life of the region.
Soil pollution:
a.
The deposition of air borne fly ash particles affects the
top soil characteristics drastically.
b. The deposition of fly ash particles on the plants interferes with the metabolic activities of the plants and in
due course of time, this will lead to the destruction of
the plant life in the region.
Other effects:
a.
Vast area of cultivable land used for storing the coal
ashes either in the dry form or in the wet form in ash
ponds becomes useless in due course of time. This will
incur huge capital loss as well.
b. Being alkaline in nature, fly ash corrodes the structural
surfaces with which it comes in contact.

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Table 1. Range of Chemical Composition of Coal Ashes and Soils

Adapted from Prakash and Sridharan 2006
Compounds

Fly ash
%

Pond ash
%

3865
3775
SiO2
1644
1154
Al2O3
0.41.8
0.21.4
TiO2
320
335
Fe2O3
a
0.6
MnO
00.5
MgO
0.011.53
0.10.8
CaO
0.28
0.20.6
0.040.9
0.10.7
K 2O
0.090.43
0.050.31
Na2O
L.O.I.
0.23.4
0.17.91
Note: LOIloss on ignition at 950 C includes
a
Trace.

Bottom ash
%

Soils
%

2373
1327
0.21.8
311
a
0.3
0.10.7
0.10.8
a
0.56
a
0.3
0.6112.8
H2O +.

4361
1239
0.22
114
00.2
0.54
07
0.32
0.23
517

Some fly ashes are found to contain heavy metals adsorbed on to their surfaces.
The above discussions clearly demonstrate how the projects
such as coal based thermal power plants, which aim in improving
the economic status of a country pose serious threat to the very
civic life of the country itself. However, a proper planning, sensible execution, and good management of coal based thermal
power generation projects will help not only in minimizing the
coal ash storage/disposal problems, but also in achieving many
positives. This requires a better understanding of physical,
chemical, and engineering properties of coal ashes. This paper
intends to critically evaluate these properties in general, the beneficial properties in particular of coal ashes, which have been
hitherto considered as unwanted wastes and to suggest where exactly they can be effectively used in the field of geotechnical
engineering as a part of solid and hazardous waste management
projects.
Most of the experimental data discussed in this paper are the
outcome of the experimental investigation carried out at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, on coal ashes procured from
various thermal power plants distributed all over India. Some of
the data documented in the geotechnical engineering literature
have also been made use of in the discussion.
Considering the huge quantum of coal ashes being produced,
the quantity of coal ashes being used in the nongeotechnical applications is negligible. Coal ashes appear to have attracted limited applications as construction materials except in some
developed countries. Limited applications of coal ashes in the
field of geotechnical engineering field hitherto can be attributed to
lack of better understanding of the beneficial physical, chemical,
and engineering properties of coal ashes and the advantages they
possess over fine-grained soils.
Chemical compositions of coal ashes and soils are essentially
similar Table 1 except for the fact that the type of the trace
elements present in coal ashes and soils can be quite different.
However, coal ashes differ from soils on certain counts which
favor their use as alternate/substitute materials to soil in the field
of geotechnical engineering.
Majority of the fine-grained soils are physicochemically active, which can be attributed to their unbalanced surface charges.
Some of the undesirable properties of these soils such as high
swell-shrink potential, high compressibility, low strength, and low
California Bearing Ratio CBR are essentially due to the surface
charges of fine-grained soils. These surface charges favor the de-

Table 2. Specific Gravity of Coal Ashes from Different Countries

Type of coal ash

Country

Specific gravity

Reference

Fly ash

India
U.S.A.
U.K.
Canada

1.662.55
2.032.49
1.902.37
1.902.90

Thailand

2.272.45

India
U.K.
Poland
India
U.S.A.

1.642.66
2.102.24
1.902.31
1.472.19
2.282.78

Writers files
Martin et al. 1990
Sherwood 1975
Indraratna and Nutalaya
1991
Indraratna and Nutalaya
1991
Writers files
Skarzynska et al. 1989
Skarzynska et al. 1989
Writers files
Seals et al. 1972

Pond ash

Bottom
ash

velopment of diffuse double layer, which in turn can be taken to

contribute to the water holding capacity of soils. As a consequence of this, the volume stability of the soils gets adversely
affected; effective voids volume gets reduced which is responsible for low permeability of such soils; actual void ratio becomes
more than the theoretical which is responsible for higher compressibility; double layer repulsion increases which is responsible
for the lower effective stress and hence, for lesser strength
Sridharan and Venkatappa Rao 1973; Sridharan and Venkatappa
Rao 1979; Sridharan and Jayadeva 1982; Sridharan and Prakash
1999.
On the other hand, coal ashes are not charged particles and
hence, are free from the above said undesirable characteristics.
This coupled with their lower specific gravity, considerable reactive silica and free lime contents and pozzolonic reactivity makes
them highly potential materials from the view point of their bulk
utilization in various geotechnical engineering applications.

Beneficial Properties of Coal Ashes

Specific Gravity
While the values of specific gravity of soils vary over a narrow
range of 2.552.8, those of coal ashes are found to vary over a
wide range i.e., 1.472.78. In addition, it has been found that the
specific gravity of coal ashes is a function of their grain size
Pandian et al. 1998; Trivedi and Sud 2004. Table 2 presents the
representative values of specific gravity of coal ashes from different countries.
The advantages realized as a consequence of lower specific
gravity of coal ashes by using them as the backfill materials in
retaining wall construction, as construction fill materials on weak
compressible soils, as fill materials for low-lying areas and as
embankment materials are
Less lateral pressures on retaining structures;
Less over burden pressures on foundation soils;
Reduction in the settlement of foundation soils;
Reduction in the tendency of weak sub soil to undergo failure;
and
Realization of relatively steep side slopes of embankments.
Pozzolanic Reactivity
Based on chemical composition, fly ashes have been classified
into two groups namely class F and class C fly ashes ASTM

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!%

Table 3. Lime Reactivity Values of Typical Indian Coal Ashes

Type of
coal ash

Fresh samples

Aged samples

Vijayawada

FA
3,640
2,186
PA

220
BA

34
2
Ramagundam
FA
4,240
4,026
PA

85
BA

200
3
Farakka
FA
5,237
1,211
PA

119
BA

55
Note: FAfly ash; PApond ash; and BAbottom ash. Source: data
from writers files.

Source of
coal ash

567 8,)1 93):*1; <=>?

Sl. No.

S
5
[

Z
Y

&%

N
!O!P
!O!@
!O #
!O&&
!O P
!O&!
!O%%

KC86B3 C2 R/7 S0*

()*+,- ./+01 2)3/-4
(+?+:8,-+?
(+3E+63/)
F)G+7+9+-+
JKLK
J+-+6M86
=37W3/)

Lime reactivity: kPa

STH; KC)/0 .UC0/),V &P%$4

!OQ

H
HSF
.N

&

\ !OQ

HSF .N
\

"

!O #4

A+136 BC,13,1; D

Fig. 1. Compaction curves of typical fly ashes adapted from Sridharan et al. 2001

1995. While class F fly ashes are pozzolanic, class C fly ashes
have both pozzolanic and cementations properties. The fly ashes
are known for their pozzolanic value as they are sources of reactive silica available in them in the amorphous form and/or as
aluminate in the crystalline form Singh 1996. The pozzolanic
reactivity or lime reactivity is normally expressed as the compressive strength of standard mortar cubes prepared using coal ashes
and tested under specified conditions IS:1727 1967. The lime
reactivity of some typical Indian coal ashes are presented in Table
3. Fly ashes exhibit greater lime reactivity than the pond and
bottom ashes due to their high reactive silica content. Table 3 also
indicates that the lime reactivity reduces with aging.
The engineering performance of fly ashes improves with time,
by virtue of the pozzolanic reaction. This property is responsible
for them to exert lower lateral pressure on retaining structures,
lower over burden pressures on foundation soils; to experience
reduced secondary settlements and permeability and to have an
increased shear strength and CBR with time.

the normalized mode. Table 4 shows the compaction characteristics of typical Indian coal ashes. Table 5 represents the compaction characteristics of coal ashes documented in the literature. The
study of Tables 4 and 5 along with Fig. 2 suggests that the compaction curves and compacted dry unit weights are insensitive to
the water content variation during compaction. Studies of
McLaren and Digioia 1987 indicated less variation between the
results from standard Proctor and modified Proctor compaction
tests. These observations are of primary importance in that the
field compaction does not require much compaction control. This
facilitates the coal ashes to be effectively used in the construction
of pavements and embankments. However, if the fly ash is of
pozzolanic type i.e., class C, then care should be exercised to
avoid delay between mixing and compacting the fly ash in the
field, as the delayed compaction results in lower dry unit weights
and higher optimum moisture content OMC Sivapulliah et al.
1998.

Compaction Characteristics

Shear Strength

Compaction is an important process to which soil is subjected in

the field to achieve the required dry unit weight at specified water
content. The range of specific gravity variation of coal ashes is
more when compared with that of soils, in spite of identical
chemical composition and grain size distribution. Hence, Sridharan et al. 2001 felt that it would not be appropriate to compare
the compaction characteristics of coal ashes with those of soils
obtained through conventional compaction curves and that such a
comparison would not be realistic Fig. 1. They suggested the
plotting of dry unit weights and corresponding water contents of
coal ashes after normalizing with a standard specific gravity. They
suggested that 2.65 be taken as the standard value Gstd as it
represented most of the soils. If dm and wm are the dry unit
weight and corresponding compaction water content of a coal ash
of specific gravity Gm obtained from the compaction test, then the
corresponding normalized dry unit weight and normalized water
content can be calculated using Eqs. 1 and 2

Table 6 gives the typical values of shear strength parameters of

typical Indian coal ashes tested in shear box apparatus in the loose
as well as compacted states, the study of which reveals the following:
Being cohesionless, nonplastic materials, coal ashes owe all
their shear strength to frictional component except in the com-

wn = wm

Gm
Gstd

Fig. 2 represents typical compaction curves of Indian fly ashes in

S
5
[

&%

Z
Y
X

STH; KC)/0 .UC0/),V &P%$4

I
H

HSF
.N

&

N
!O!P
!O!@
!O #
!O&&
!O P
!O&!
!O%%

KC86B3 C2 R/7 S0*

()*+,- ./+01 2)3/-4
(+?+:8,-+?
(+3E+63/)
F)G+7+9+-+
JKLK
J+-+6M86
=37W3/)

=C6?+/)03- -67 8,)1 93):*1; <=>?

dn = dm

Gstd
Gm

!%

"

=C6?+/)03- A+136 BC,13,1; D

!OQ

\ !O#
%4

Fig. 2. Normalized compaction curves for fly ashes adapted from

Sridharan et al. 2001

PRACTICE PERIODICAL OF HAZARDOUS, TOXIC, AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT ASCE / OCTOBER 2009 / 241

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Table 4. Compaction Characteristics of Typical Indian Coal Ashes

Standard Proctors compaction effort
Air-dried compacted state Lowest compacted state
Source

Type of
coal ash

Rihand

FA

2.29

PA

2.13

BA

2.19

FA

2.21

PA

2.45

BA

2.17

FA

2.01

PA

2.10

Kahalgoan

Raebareli

d min kN/ m3

Note: The values within the

w
%

w
%

d kN/ m3

10.3
0.1
14.1
11.9
0.09
163
13.3
0.1
14.0
16.5
0.08
17.4
9.5
2.9
10.2
11.5
2.4
12.3
10.7
0.1
14.0
12.8
0.08
16.8
12.2
0.1
13.4
13.2
0.09
14.5
10.3
0.1
12.4
12.6
0.08
15.1
9.1
0.5
12.8
12.0
0.4
16.9
9.4
1.8
10.2
11.9
1.4
12.9
parenthesis represent the normalized values.

d kN/ m3

6.5
5.6
12.2
9.8
15.3
12.6
6.0
5.0
14.9
13.8
20.7
17.0
8.8
6.7
24.4
19.3
Source: data

Optimum state
w
%

13.6
17.9
15.7
15.5
13.7
18.2
17.0
14.6
9.7
32.0
11.7
26.4
12.7
22.3
15.2
18.6
11.4
29.4
12.3
27.2
10.8
26.0
13.2
21.3
12.5
20.6
16.5
15.6
9.6
39.9
12.1
31.6
from writers files.

Compacted and saturated state

d kN/ m3

w
%

d kN/ m3

14.9
17.2
14.4
17.9
10.4
12.6
13.5
16.2
12.2
13.2
11.2
13.7
13.0
17.1
10.2
12.9

20.7
17.9
20.7
16.6
36.8
30.4
24.5
20.4
30.6
28.3
29.3
24.0
25.7
19.5
42.0
33.3

14.6
16.9
14.3
17.8
10.7
12.9
13.2
15.8
12.1
13.1
11.6
14.2
12.9
17.0
10.1
12.7

Table 5. Compaction Characteristics of Coal Ashes from Literature

Standard Proctor compaction
Type of coal ash

Country

OMC
%

d min kN/ m3

Fly ash

India
8.015.5
U.K.

Canada

Thailand

Pond ash
India
7.815.8
Bottom ash
India
7.612.6
U.S.A.
8.8913.29
Note: The values of dry unit weight and OMC, except for fly ash from

d max kN/ m3

Reference

15.559.9
9.217.1
25
12.56
12.9137.21
10.2320.22
12.4215.16
16.0117.98
14.636.8
12.217.1
21.358.1
7.713.7
14.223.2
12.9817.10
U.K., are normalized values.

Writers files
Sherwood 1975
Indraratna and Nutalaya 1991
Indraratna and Nutalaya 1991
Writers files
Writers files
Seals et al. 1972

Table 6. Typical Values of Shear Strength Parameters of Indian Coal Ashes at Different States Adapted from Sridharan et al. 1998
Loose state
Source of coal ash
Raebareli

Type

eloose

dry

degrees

res

degrees

FA
2.36
31
PA
1.38
32
BA
2.60
32
Vijayawada
FA
1.53
33
PA
1.39
33
BA
1.98
34
Badarpur
FA
1.52
32
PA
2.59
33
BA
2.09
34
Note: FAfly ash; PApond ash; BAbottom ash; and

Compacted state
sat

degrees

e at 95% d max

c
kPa

29
30
0.66
23
30
30
0.96
16
31
31
1.51
17
32
31
0.58
16
31
32
1.03
13
32
33
1.12
10
31
30
1.01
26
32
31
1.25
14
33
33
1.38
19
the values indicated are from box shear tests.

Compacted, saturated state

degrees

c
kPa

degrees

34
31
32
37
33
34
32
30
31

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

33
30
31
35
32
33
32
29
30

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Table 7. Shear Strength Parameters of Compacted and Saturated Coal Ashes from Triaxial Shear Tests
Consolidated drained tests Consolidated undrained tests
Placement condition

Type of coal ash

cd
degrees

ccd
kPa

FA
PA
BA

3343

00

Compacted to 95% d max on dry side

cu
ccu

degrees kPa degrees

2041
2534
2435

00
056
027

2639
2836
2435

c
kPa
1696
28101
2855

Note: Source: data from writers files.

pacted unsaturated state where apparent cohesion is also

present which reduces to zero upon saturation.
Coal ashes exhibit higher angle of shearing resistance, at both
peak and residual stress levels, even in the soaked conditions.
Coal ashes have angle of shearing resistance varying in the
range 2534, even under loose conditions. The strength loss
upon saturation is very small.
In spite of their low unit weights which is primarily due to
low specific gravity, coal ashes exhibit high shear strengths
when compared with natural soils.
Some typical results obtained from triaxial shear tests on Indian coal ashes are summarized in Table 7. The study of the shear
strength behavior of Indian coal ashes in triaxial testing apparatus
both at the peak and at the residual stress levels have indicated the
following Gray and Lin 1972; Sridharan et al. 1998; Pandian et
al. 2001a,b; Sridharan et al. 2002.
Variation of effective friction angle is negligibly small, irrespective of whether it is observed in consolidated undrained
tests or consolidated drained tests.
Variation of effective friction angle of fly ash with initial dry
density is not appreciable.
Peak and residual shear strength parameters are comparable.
High to very high shear strength parameters of coal ashes both
at peak and residual stress levels, both in the loose condition and
compacted/compactedsaturated condition favor their use in the
field as all the problems concerned in the field with bearing capacity, slope stability of embankments, design of pavements and
retaining structures are dependent on shear strength characteristics.

California Bearing Ratio

Both class F and class C fly ashes exhibit higher CBR in the
unsoaked condition. These higher CBR values are due to capillary
forces, which exist in the partly saturated state. The CBR of class
F fly ash tends to reduce drastically upon soaking as the capillary
forces reduce to zero. However, class C fly ashes retain very high
CBR values even when tested after soaking, which can be attributed to pozzolanic reaction Indraratna and Nutalaya 1991. Normally, the design practice is to prefer soaked CBR values.
However, it is justifiable to use soaked CBR values in low-lying
areas with poor drainage facilities where the submergence of
roads is very frequent. For areas that have good drainage facilities
such that the roads will not get submerged even in the worst rains,
it is justifiable to use the unsoaked CBR in the design of pavements.
The CBR of soils belonging to groups OH, CH, MH, and OL
have been observed to vary in the range 07% Bowles 1988. It
is also observed that the CBR of coal ashes are much more than
those of many fine-grained soils Table 8. This characteristic
makes them suitable for use as sub-base materials in the construction of pavements.
Compressibility and Consolidation Characteristics
Compressibility characteristics namely compression index Cc
and coefficient of volume change mv of fly ashes depend upon
their initial dry unit weight, degree of saturation, self hardening
characteristic, pozzolanic reactivity, and mixing time Gray and

Table 8. Values of CBR of Compacted Coal Ashes and Soils

CBR: %
Sl. No. Source of material Type of material
1

Thailand

Raichur

Vijayawada

FA
class C
FA

Testing condition
Compacted at
OMC
Compacted at 0.95% d max,
on the dry side
Compacted at 0.95% d max,
on the dry side

FA
PA
BA
4
Raichur
PA
-do5
Badarpur
PA
-doBA
6
Kahalgoan
PA
-doBA
7
Davanagere
Black cotton soil
-do8

Heavy clay
Compacted at OMC
Note: FA:fly ash; PApond ash; and BAbottom ash.

Unsoaked condition Soaked condition

325

280

References
Indraratna and Nutalaya 1991

6.9

3.5

Krishna 2001

20.6
10.5
6.8
10.1
11.1
11.3
8.9
9.7
4.15
7.8

0.2
0.9

6.0
4.4
8.5
4.6
5.9
1.83

Writers files

Writers files
Writers files
Writers files
Writers files
HMSO 1957

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Table 9. Cc as a Function of Placement Void Ratio Adapted from Yudbir and Honjo 1991
Placement void ratio

Placement condition

Cc

Comments

0.31.0

Conditioned compacted and conditioned grab placed

Very dense to medium dense

1.02.0

Hydraulically placed in lagoons

2.03.0

Lagoon fly ashes to loose dumps

0.1 0.7
to
0.225 0.15
0.225 0.16
to
0.4 0.21
0.4 0.21
to
0.625 0.26

Lin 1972; Yudhbir and Honjo 1991. Their values along with the
placement conditions are more meaningful while judging their
suitability in the field than just their numerical values as depicted
in Table 9.
The coefficient of consolidation cv of fly ashes is so high that
it is extremely difficult to record time-compression readings in the
laboratory consolidation testing to determine cv using curve fitting procedures. In addition, it is observed that the values of cv

Loose to medium dense

Very loose

calculated from the curve fitting procedures from the laboratory

very much underestimate the actual field behavior. Hence, it is
preferable to calculate the value of cv from the measured value of
coefficient of permeability k and coefficient of volume change
from Eq. 3
cv = k/mvw

Table 10 lists the values of cv of coal ashes compacted at OMC

Table 10. cv of Coal Ashes Compacted at OMC

Country

cv a
cm2 / s

Reference

0.082
0.143.25
0.9610
1.4310.15
9.51 103 19.03 103
9.5 104 6.34 103
3.2 104 7.61 103

Kaniraj and Gayathri 2004

Writers file
Writers file
Writers file
Yudbir and Honjo 1991
Yudbir and Honjo 1991
Yudbir and Honjo 1991

Type of coal ash

India

FA
FA
PA
BA
Hong Kong
FA
U.K.
FA
Thailand
FA
a
cv calculated from measured coefficient of permeability using Eq. 3.
Table 11. Values of k for Coal Ashes from Different Countries
Country
India

Thailand
U.K.
Japan
U.S.A.

Type of coal ash

Testing condition of the coal ash

FA
PA
BA
FA
FA
FA class C
FA
FA

Compacted at d max and saturated

Compacted to 0.95 d max and Saturated

d max
Compacted at OMC
d max
Slurry
ei = 0.85 to 1.02
Relative density= 50%
d max

BA
Low carbon, high
calcium FA class-C
High carbon, low
calcium FA class-F
FA
BA
Poland
PA
Canada
FA
BA
Silt

Note: FAfly ash; PApond ash; and BAbottom ash.

k
cm/s

Reference

8 10 1.87 10
5 105 9.63 104
9.9 105 7.07 104
1.4 105 4.23 104
4.6 106 6 106
107
5 107 8 105
105 104

Pandian and Balasubramonian 1999

Kaniraj and Gayathri 2004
Indraratna and Nutalaya 1991
Gray and Lin 1972
Porbaha et al. 2000

5 103 0.094
1 107 2 107

Seals et al. 1972

Yudbir and Honjo 1991

d max

6 105 2 106

d max
d max

In situ

1.8 105 1.2 104

1.2 103
1.5 105 5 105
107 104
3.4 103 4.8 103
1 107 1 103

Writers files

Martin et al. 1990

Skarzynska et al. 1989
Toth et al. 1988

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Table 12. Variation of k of Typical Indian Coal Ashes with Effective Consolidation Pressure
Coefficient of permeability - 104
mm/s
Effective consolidation pressure
kPa
Sl. No

Source

1
1
1
2
1
0
3

Korba

Type of coal ash

6.25

12.5

FA
0.91
0.72
0.67
PA
2.96
2.86
2.86
BA
3.20
2.87
2.78
Ramagundam
FA
1.06
0.80
0.75
PA
7.08
6.73
6.42
BA
4.40
4.29
3.94
Farakka
FA
1.65
1.65
1.52
PA
2.28
2.20
2.13
BA
7.07
6.74
6.16
Note: FAfly ash; PApond ash; and BAbottom ash. Source: data from writers files.

from different countries. It has been observed that the values of cv

of fly ashes from Hong Kong calculated using the field permeability with the help of Eq. 3 are about 310 times higher than
those listed in Table 10 Yudhbir and Honjo 1991. This lends
support to the suggestion that the realistic values of cv can be
obtained from Eq. 3. In addition, the values of cv of fly ashes,
which are silt sized particles, calculated from Eq. 3 are in the
range of values that corresponds to silts. Pond ashes and bottom
ashes exhibit much higher cv values owing to their coarser size.
The higher values of cv of coal ashes signify an important fact
that the primary consolidation of structures founded on coal ashes
will be practically over during the period of construction itself.
This feature makes the coal ashes superior for use as foundation
base materials, as reclamation fills and as materials of construction for embankments and dams.
Permeability
Table 11 presents the values of k of coal ashes from different
countries. The values of k of most of the fly ashes are in the range
of k of silts. Table 12 suggests that the permeability of coal ashes
remains almost constant over a wide range of over burden pressure. These observations indicate that the coal ashes are normally
freely draining materials, and are best suited for use as backfill
materials behind the retaining structures, as sub-base materials in
pavements and as embankment shell materials. The self cementing and pozzolanic fly ashes i.e., class C type exhibit lower
permeability than class F fly ashes, and their permeability tends to
reduce appreciably with time in the filed refer Table 11. Such fly
ashes can be more effectively used as liner materials in waste
containment structures and as additives in the construction of effective seepage cutoffs like impervious blankets and cores in
water retaining earth structures.
Swell and Shrink Potential
Coal ashes exhibit high to very high volume stability i.e., low
swell and shrink potential, which can be attributed to their nonplastic nature and uniform gradation. In the field of geotechnical
engineering, the degree of expansivity of soils can be judged
based on free swell ratio FSR Sridharan and Prakash 2000a. It
is defined as

25

50

100

200

400

0.62
2.83
2.56
0.75
6.42
3.63
1.52
2.13
6.16

0.58
2.80
2.51
0.74
6.01
3.51
1.40
2.13
5.68

0.53
2.72
2.28
0.62
6.01
3.51
1.40
2.06
5.06

0.49
2.35
1.84
0.57
5.63
2.98
1.29
1.91
4.55

0.40
1.59
1.58
0.51
5.07
2.86
1.07
1.78
4.10

FSR =

Vd
Vk

where Vd is the equilibrium sediment volume of 10 g of ovendried soil passing 425 m sieve placed in a 100 ml jar containing
distilled water with an initial volume of soil-water mixture equal
to 100 ml after 24 h of equilibration, and Vk is the equilibrium
sediment volume of an identical soil sample in carbon tetra chloride or kerosene. Fine-grained soils can be classified as per the
criteria given in Table 13. The Indian fly ashes, pond ashes, and
bottom ashes have been observed to have FSRs in the ranges
0.5130.95, 0.6471.1 and 0.81.16, respectively, indicating negligible degree of expansivity or swell potential.
The shrinkability of soils is normally judged by their shrinkage
limit. The nonplastic nature of coal ashes does not allow their
shrinkage limit to be determined in the laboratory. However, it
can be inferred that they exhibit high shrinkage limit owing to
their uniform gradation Sridharan and Prakash 2000b.
Low to very low swell and shrink potential of coal ashes can
be taken the best advantage of in the construction of pavements,
embankments, dams, and as foundation base materials.
Prakash and Sridharan 2006 have developed a geotechnical
classification system for coal ashes. This classification system
helps in judging the suitability of coal ashes belonging to different
groups for different field applications. Table 14 presents important
engineering properties of different groups of coal ashes at a
glance, which helps in selecting appropriate group of coal ashes
for a specific use in the field of geotechnical engineering.

Table 13. Soil Classification based on FSR Adapted from Sridharan and
Prakash 2000a
Free swell ratio
1.0
1.01.5
1.52.0
2.04.0
4.0

Clay type

Soil expansivity

Nonswelling
Mixture of swelling and nonswelling
Swelling
Swelling
Swelling

Negligible
Low
Moderate
High
Very high

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Table 14. Beneficial Engineering Properties of Coal Ashes Adapted from Prakash and Sridharan 2006
Engineering properties

Description of the coal ash groups

Permeability
when compacteda

Group symbol

Shear strength
when compacted and
saturatedb

Compressibility
when compacted and
saturatedc

Well-graded gravel size fractions, mixtures of

GW
High
Excellent
Negligible
gravel sizesand size fractions, few or no fines
Poorly-graded gravel size fractions, mixtures of
GP
High
Very good
Negligible
gravel sizesand size fractions, few or no fines
Nonplastic silty gravel size fractions, poorly graded mixture
GMN
Medium
Good
Negligible
of gravelsand-silt size fractions
Well-graded sand size fractions, gravelly sand size fractions,
SW
High
Excellent
Negligible
few or no fines
Poorly-graded sand size fractions, gravelly sand size fractions,
SP
High
Good
Very low
few or no fines
Nonplastic silty sand size fractions, poorly graded mixture of
SMN
Medium
Goodfair
Low
sand-silt size fractions
Nonplastic inorganic coarse silt size fractions
MLN
Low
Goodfair
Mediumlow
Nonplastic inorganic medium silt size fractions
MIN
Low
Fair
Mediumlow
Nonplastic inorganic fine silt+ clay size fractions
MHN
Low to very low
Fair
Mediumlow
a
k 1 mm/ s high; 0.01 mm/ s k 1 mm/ s medium; 104 mm/ s k 0.01 mm/ s low; and 106 mm/ s k 104 mm/ s very low.
b
20 25 fair; 25 30 good; 30 35 very good; and 35 excellent.
c
Cc 0.05 negligible; Cc = 0.05 0.1 very low; Cc = 0.1 0.25 low; and Cc = 0.25 0.5 medium.

Soil Stabilization
The poor gradation with silt/sand sized particles of fly ashes and
their high to very high frictional strength even in the loose condition make them good mechanical admixtures in the field of soil
stabilization. Addition of fly ash to cohesive soil will increase the
strength of the resulting mix by virtue of the enhanced frictional
strength and pozzolanic reactions.
Fig. 3 shows the variation of CBR of a black cotton soil wL
= 56%; w P = 23%; and wS = 10.3%; clay size fraction= 45.9%,
which is an expansive soil, with the addition of different fly ash
contents to the soil. The addition of class F type of fly ash to the
soil has resulted in a mix having more CBR than those of soil and
fly ash alone. Both the curves, corresponding to soaked and unsoaked conditions of testing, exhibit two peaks.
The first peak represented by A and A corresponds to soil
stabilization. This peak is a consequence of the following mechanisms.

&!

Addition of fly ash provides coarser particles to improve the

gradation of fine-grained soil. This will help in achieving better compacted density and hence, more strength.
Fly ash provides frictional component of shear strength to cohesive soil which has cohesive shear strength component already. This is responsible for the improved strength and CBR
of the mix.
These two mechanisms together help the stabilized cohesive
soils in the field to exhibit a better performance from the strength
point of view. The second peak represented by B and B corresponds to fly ash stabilization. This peak is due to the following
mechanisms.
The deficiency of finer particles in the fly ash is made up by
the addition of fine-grained soil particles. This results is a better compacted density and hence, more strength.
Cohesive shear strength imparted by the addition of cohesive
soil to fly ash has helped the resulting mix in achieving higher
strength and CBR.

*,0C+<3- BC,-)1)C,
KC+<3- BC,-)1)C,

S'

&

J'

*,0C+<3- BC,-)1)C,
KC+<3- BC,-)1)C,

&#

6J(; D

6J(; D

&!

"

"

"

(+)B*86 2/7 +0* BC,13,1 ), 1*3 ?)A; D

&

Fig. 3. Variation of CBR of BC soil-Raichur fly ash class F fly ash

mixtures adapted from Pandian et al. 2001

"

=37W3/) 2/7 +0* BC,13,1 ), 1*3 ?)A; D

&

Fig. 4. Variation of CBR of soil-Neyveli fly ash class C fly ash

mixtures adapted from Krishna 2001

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These two mechanisms together help the stabilized fly ash to

exhibit higher strength and higher CBR. The CBR of class F fly
ash can also be improved by the addition of coarser soil to it
which results in a better grain size packing.
The addition of class C type fly ash to a fine-grained clayey
soil will continue to increase the CBR of the resulting mix with
time due to the pozzolanic reaction Fig. 4. In addition, the fly
ashes when used as mechanical admixtures to stabilize expansive
soil reduce the swell-shrink potential of expansive soils, thus providing them an improved volume stability. Apart from knowing
these beneficial characteristics of coal ashes, one has to be aware
of their certain undesirable properties also.
Class F fly ashes are highly dispersive. With the result, they
are easily erodible.
At very low compacted densities, they exhibit high collapse
potential.
Their frost susceptibility is high.
However, these undesirable properties can be improved by
treating them with chemical admixtures such as lime or cement
Sherwood 1975 or lime-gypsum and/or with mechanical admixtures such as soils.

Conclusions
The common understanding among the people is that the coal
ashes, which are by-products of thermal power generation industry, are waste materials which are harmful to the environment and
to the people of the region as well. However, the study of the
physical, chemical, and engineering properties of coal ashes
shows that the coal ashes are potential materials from the geotechnical engineering applications view point. The present paper
has discussed many properties of coal ashes which can be used
with advantage in various geotechnical engineering applications.
They are low specific gravity, lower compressibility, higher rate
of consolidation, higher frictional strength, higher CBR, negligible swell-shrink potential, water insensitiveness of compaction
characteristics, and pozzolanic reactivity.
The ever increasing demand for lands for constructional activities is responsible for the initiation of many land reclamation
projects. This requires the development of low-lying areas and
stabilization of lands containing soils with unfavorable properties
from the constructional activities view point. The beneficial properties of coal ashes discussed in this paper encourage their use as
Fill materials for low-lying areas.
Construction fill materials on weak compressible soils.
The ever increasing scarcity for good materials in various geotechnical engineering projects can also be overcome by the large
scale use of coal ashes as
Backfill materials in retaining structures;
Foundation base materials;
Subbase materials for pavements;
Construction of earth embankments; and
Mechanical admixtures in stabilizing expansive and cohesive
fine-grained soils.
It is hoped that the bulk use of coal ashes in various geotechnical engineering applications becomes a part of good and effective solid waste management projects taken up by both public and
private sector undertakings in various infrastructural development
programs.

Acknowledgments
The first writer thanks the Indian Academy of Sciences for providing the summer fellowship to him. The second writer wishes to
thank the Department of Science and Technology, Government of
India, for sponsoring the project on Characterization of fly ashes,
which was carried out at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

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