Ambiga et al, International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Studies
E-ISSN2249–8974
Research Paper
STUDIES ON STRENGTH OF CONCRETE BY PARTIAL
REPLACEMENT OF SAND WITH SAWDUST
*K.Ambiga, P.Meenakshi
Address for Correspondence
Asst.Prof.(S- II), Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, SCSVMV University, Enathur INDIA
ABSTRACT
This project work on the use of sawdust in production of solid concrete cubes was carried out in order to investigate a
possible solution. The project work understudies the weight vis-a-vis compressive strength. Production of solid concrete
cubes was made by partial replacement of sand with a varying proportion (10%, 20%, 30% )of sawdust. The strength of each
block was determined to ascertain conformity with the minimum acceptable standards. Equally, the weights were checked
and compared with blocks devoid of sawdust. The tests were carried out on the 7 and 28 days after production. From data
gathered, recommendations were given which will be beneficial to the construction industry and general populace in respect
of low cost and light weight concrete cubes.
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, home ownership for the middle and
low income earners of the society is turning to be a
mirage as building material, construction costs and
other factors have constantly put housing
developments at a very high cost. In developed
countries, accommodation and home ownership are
easier as government and financial institutions have
planned and effective housing policies and programs
to aid the citizenry in home ownership at affordable
rates. In the developing world, especially in
metropolitan African cities, scarcity of living
accommodation has always been an issue. The
available housing stock is diminishing by the day due
to the high level of rural drift to urban centers.
Checking scarcity and high cost of building materials
and the need to drastically reduce critical housing
shortages, especially in the urban areas (and
developing modern housing setups in the rural areas),
have encouraged the search for alternative,
innovative and cost effective building materials.
Aside, concrete is a major component of buildings
and other engineering structures, concrete cubes
forming a major part to be recognized and put under
consideration. Concrete cubes comprise of natural
sand, water and binder. Cement, as a binder, is the
most expensive input into the production of concrete
cubes. This has necessitated producers of concrete
cubes to produce blocks with PPC (pozzolona
Portland cement) content that will be affordable to
people and with much gain. The first objective of the
present work was to investigate the use of sawdust as
a partial replacement for sand in production of solid
concrete cubes in order to reduce production cost.
The second objective was to understudy in line with
the previous objective, to also produce light weight
solid concrete cubes for use in High rise buildings.
MATERIALS
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material
composed of finely divided rock and mineral
particles. The composition of sand is highly variable,
depending on the local rock sources and conditions.
The sand used was collected from Kanchipuram,
Sharp River sand that was free from clay, loam, dirt
and organic matter of any description and was sand
passing through the 4.75 mm zone of British
Standard test sieves. The sand had a specific gravity
of 2.57. The type of cement used in this research is
the pozzolona Portland cement, which happens to be
the most commonly used in construction works.
Sawdust (SD) is composed of fine particles of wood.
The physical and chemical properties of sawdust vary
significantly depending on several factors, especially
the species of wood. SD used in this research is a
mixture of wastes from both hard and soft woods.
Tests conducted include: particle size analysis of
sand, specific gravity test on Sawdust and sand. The
majority of the fine particles of sawdust passed
through 4.76 mm BS test sieve. The water used was
potable water from borehole, which was fresh,
colorless, odorless and tasteless water that was free
from organic matter of any type. The minimum
acceptable compressive strength of a good and well
vibrated concrete block is 3.2N/mm2 at 28days. For
the purpose of this work 150mm x 150mm x150mm
cubes were used. The mix ratio used was 1:1.5:3, at
different replacement levels of sand and sawdust. For
each replacement levels about 06 block samples were
cast.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Compressive Strength of Test Samples: The
variations of compressive strength with age at curing
are presented in Table 1 and figure 1. At the 28 days
hydration period, only cubes made with 100% sand
and 0% sawdust (20.8N/mm2) met the required
standard for concrete cubes. Few samples, at the 10%
replacement, came closer to the standard and this
could be taken as the optimum replacement level of
sand with sawdust for strength criterion. At the 28
days hydration period, the range of strength obtained
was between 20.8 N/mm2 (for 0% sawdust content)
shown in figure 1. Test result indicates that the
compressive strength decreases with increase in
sawdust content for all ages at curing.
Table 1: Compression Test Values For 7 And 28 Days
Int. J. Adv. Engg. Res. Studies/IV/III/April-June,2015/01-03
Ambiga et al, International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Studies
E-ISSN2249–8974
Figure 1 : Compression Stength Graph For 7 And 28 Days
Cubes Weights: The results obtained shows that the introduction of sawdust reduced the unit weight of the
concrete cubes according to the percentage added in Table 2. There was, however, a significant decrease in
samples with 10%, 20%, 30% sawdust replacement. Figure 2 shows the unit weight of each cubes after 7 &
28days hydration. Details of Stress and Strain variation for 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% saw dust replacement of
concrete as shown in table 3.
Table 2: Weight of the Cubes for 7 and 28 days
Figure 2: Graph for Weight of the Cubes for 7 & 28 days
Table 3: Details of Stress Vs Strain
Figure3: Determination of compressive strength of cube mould
using compression testing machine.
Int. J. Adv. Engg. Res. Studies/IV/III/April-June,2015/01-03
Ambiga et al, International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Studies
CONCLUSION
The volume of sawdust required to meet up with the
replacement percentage required made proper mixing
very tedious. Increase in the replacement level also
increases the water ratio used.
The project work confirms that the presence of tannin
in sawdust acts as retarder, adversely affecting cube
strength. Though, as the percentage sawdust content
increases in the mix, the compressive strength
decreases. But, for the cubes manufactured with 10%
replacement level however, the sawdust replacement
did not appear to have a significant effect on the
compressive strength of the concrete cubes. The
water /cement ratio increases as the percentage of
sawdust increases. At 10% sawdust replacement,
there is about 10% reduction in weight and 3%
reduction in production cost. It could, therefore, be
concluded that: To achieve a better result in the use
of sawdust for concrete cubes production, the
percentage replacement of sand should not be more
than 10%.
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Int. J. Adv. Engg. Res. Studies/IV/III/April-June,2015/01-03
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