Concrete-like polymer composites with fly ashes – Comparative study

The modern trend of disposing industrial wastes and by-products into building materials that complies with the implementation of sustainable development enables reducing material cost of expensive composites materials, e.g. polymer concretes (PCs). The high material cost of polymer concretes is one of the main contraindications of their widespread use despite of their advantages – very good mechanical properties and high chemical resistance. The cost may be reduced by substituting expensive components with cheaper equivalents, including fly ashes, the by-products of coal combustion. paper the results of studies concerning polymer concretes containing fly ashes were discussed. The polymer concretes contained fly ashes of various types, origin, combustion technology and chemical composition. The considered data were the results of studies available in literature as well as results of own research study. The influence of fly ash type and content on PC mechanical properties, such as compressive strength, flexural strength and tensile strength but also on chemical resistance were investigated and analyzed. Moreover fly ashes were compared against the material often applied as very fine-grained filler to concrete-like polymer composites, the raw substance – quartzite meal.