BOTTOM ASH: AN ENGINEERING MATERIAL

THE PROPERTIES AND USES OF BOTTOM ASH, A BY-PRODUCT FROM BURNING COAL IN POWER PLANTS, ARE DISCUSSED. SELECTED SAMPLES OF BOTTOM ASH FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA AND THE SURROUNDING AREA WERE SUBJECTED TO ENGINEERING IDENTIFICATION, CLASSIFICATION, AND PROPERTY TESTS. IDENTIFICATION TESTS THAT WERE CONDUCTED INCLUDED GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION, SPECIFIC GRAVITY, AND CHEMICAL ANALYSES. TESTS CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE BOTTOM ASH AS AN AGGREGATE AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL INCLUDED SULPHATE SOUNDNESS, LOS ANGELES ABRASION, RELATIVE DENSITY, STANDARD PROCTOR COMPACTION, CONSTANT HEAD PERMEABILITY, ONE DIMENSIONAL COMPRESSION, AND SHEAR STRENGTH. IT WAS FOUND THAT BOTTOM ASH FROM SEVERAL OF THE SOURCES SATISFIED SPECIFICATIONS RELATED TO THE USE OF THE MATERIAL AS AN AGGREGATE. IN COMPARING THE BEHAVIOR OF BOTTOM ASH TO THAT OF SAND, IT WAS FOUND THAT THE CHARACTERISTICS WERE QUITE SIMILAR. /AUTHOR/