Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Palm Oil Fuel Ash (Pofa) Blended – Granite - Gravel Concrete

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATION                                                                                        i

DEDICATION                                                                                            ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT                                                                                iii

LIST OF TABLES                                                                                        vii

LIST OF FIGURES                                                                                      ix

ABSTRACT                                                                                                xi

CHAPTER ONE                                                                                           1

 INTRODUCTION                                                                                       1

  1.1 Background of the study                                                                    1

  1.2 Scope                                                                                               4

  1.4 Justification                                                                                       5

  1.5 Statement of Problem                                                                        5

  1.6 Aim                                                                                                   5

1.7 Objectives                                                                                           5

CHAPTER TWO                                                                                          6

 LITERATURE REVIEW                                                                               6

   2.1 Properties of concrete with POFA                                                       6

    2.1.1 Physical properties                                                                        6

    2.1.2 Chemical Properties of POFA                                                          7

    2.1.3 Mechanical properties of POFA                                                       8

  2.2 Compressive Strength of Concrete with Replaced POFA                        10

  2.3 Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) of Concrete with Replaced POFA           13

  2.4 Workability of Concrete with Replaced POFA                                       14

  2.5 Porosity of Concrete with Replaced POFA                                            16

  2.6 Permeability of Concrete with Replaced POFA                                      18

  2.7 Properties of Cement                                                                         19

    2.7.1 Physical properties of Cement                                                       19

    2.7.2Mechanical properties of Cement                                                     20

    2.7.3Chemical Properties of Cement                                                       20

   2.7.4Cement hydration                                                                           20

CHAPTER THREE                                                                                       22

Study Area                                                                                                22

3.0 Materials Used and Methodology                                                          22

  3.1. Materials                                                                                          22

   3.1.1 Cement                                                                                        23

   3.1.2 Aggregate                                                                                     23

   3.1.3 Granite                                                                                          23

   3.1.4 Gravel                                                                                           23

   3.1.5 Water                                                                                           24

   3.1.6 Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA)                                                               24

 3.2 Methodology                                                                                      25

   3.2.1. Sieve Analysis Procedure                                                               25

   3.2.2 Specific Gravity of Ordinary Portland Cement Determination             26

   3.2.2.1 Experimental Procedure                                                               27

 3.3: Concrete Mix Design                                                                          29

 3.4 Fresh Concrete Workability                                                                  30

 3.5 Density                                                                                              31

 3.6 Determination of Compressive Strength                                               31

CHAPTER FOUR                                                                                         33

 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS                                                                    33

 4.1 Oxides Composition of POFA                                                                33

 4.2 Grain size distributions from sieve analysis                                           34

 4.3 Compressive Strength Test Results                                                      35

 4.4 Optimum Mix Ratio Determination                                                       52

CHAPTER FIVE                                                                                          53

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS                                                    53

 5.1  Conclusion                                                                                        53

 5.2 Recommendation                                                                                54

REFERENCES                                                                                             55 

ABSTRACT

Utilizing Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) in concrete mix is a major way of turning waste to wealth. Gravel as an aggregate is cheaper than granite. Thus, obtaining an optimum combination of these materials in achieving a maximum compressive strength in concrete will go a long way in helping the construction industry.The study was carried out to establish an optimum replacement ratio for Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) blended granite-gravel of concrete. Uniform water/binder (w/b) ratio of 0.5 and mixes ratio of 1:2:4 was utilized. Thirteen runs of experiments plus control were designed using the Central Composite Response Surface method (Design Expert). Based on the analysis, the increase in granite volume led to increase in compressive strength. However, increase in POFA percentage led to decrease in compressive strength at 7, 28, 56 and 90 days curing ages. The study also observed highest compressive strength at 25% POFA replacement and lowest at 35% replacement. Also, for granite, highest and lowest compressive strength were achieved at 100% and 0% replacement respectively. However, for slump height, the higher the percentage of granite or POFA in concrete, the higher the slump height. The optimization analysis showed that, at 29.69% POFA and 98.75% Granite, compressive strength of 24.29 N/mm2 and slump height of 89.36mm were achieved. The optimum strength found is slightly higher than the maximum strength achieved (24.27N/mm2) at 90 days and also, slightly lower than the control (25.33 N/mm2).