Effect of highland barley straw ash admixture on properties and microstructure of concrete

Abstract This study investigated the activity of highland barley straw ash (HBSA) and proposed methods for preparing active HBSA. In addition, the effects of HBSA addition on the physical and mechanical properties of concrete and the microstructure of concrete with different HBSA contents were investigated. With the increasing HBSA content, the water absorption and concrete porosity first decreased and then increased, while the opposite trend was observed for the compressive and splitting tensile strengths. The concrete with 15% HBSA exhibited the best physical and mechanical properties because HBSA addition changed the composition of hydration products and optimized the concrete pore structure.