CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study

Concrete is the most widely used material on earth after water. Many aspects of our daily life

depend directly or indirectly on concrete. Concrete is prepared by mixing various constituents like

cement, aggregates, water, etc. which are economically available (Saravanan et al. 2015). The

aggregates typically account about 75% of the concrete volume and play a substantial role in

different concrete properties such as workability, strength, dimensional stability and durability,

Conventional concrete consists of sand as fine aggregate and gravel, limestone or granite in

various sizes and shapes as coarse aggregate. There is a growing interest in using waste materials

as alternative aggregate materials and significant research is made on the use of many different

materials as aggregate substitutes (Ravikumar et al. 2015). Industrial waste materials such as coal

ash, blast furnace slag and steel slag and agricultural waste materials such as coconut shell, palm

kernel shells etc. have been use by many researchers in replacement of aggregate in concrete for

the purpose of recycling industrial and agricultural waste materials. However, palm kernel shells

(agricultural waste) were used in this research to produce concrete in a quest for reducing

environmental pollution.

Palm kernel shells (PKS) or oil palm shells (OPS) are organic waste materials obtained from crude

palm oil producing factories in Asia and Africa (Alengaram et al., 2010). The oil palm industry is

important in many countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Nigeria. Malaysia is one of the world

leaders in the production and export of palm oil and contributes about 57.6% of the total supply of
palm oil in the world. Oil palm shells are produced in large quantities by the oil mills. For

instance, in Malaysia and Nigeria it was estimated that over 4 and 1.5 million tonnes respectively

of oil palm shell (OPS) solid waste is produced annually and only a fraction is used for fuel

(traditionally used as solid fuels for steam boilers at palm oil mills) and other applications (Shafigh

et al., 2010). The main palm oil producing states include Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Oyo, Edo, Cross

River, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ekiti, Akwa-Ibom, Delta and Rivers.

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aims of the report is to analyzed the strength of concrete made from various aggregates

The objectives of the report are as follow:

a) To examine the concrete with percentage of OPS replacement on wet properties.

b) To determine the relationship between densities of concrete and percentage of OPS

replacement.

c) To investigate the relationship between compressive strength of concrete and percentage

of OPS replacement.

1.3 SCOPE OF STUDY

The services provided in fulfilling this project include:

a) Research study from lecturer and building contractors.

b) Online and topic study on compressive strengths of concrete.

c) Analysis and planning of activities for the smooth execution of the project.

d) Purchasing of the aggregates, cement and other materials.

e) Collective effort in preparation and execution of the various tests.

f) Formal presentation of the report findings.

1.4 PURPOSE OF COMPARING COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OFCONCRETE

The primary focus of this report was to document results obtained from laboratory test for the

compressive strength of concrete with coarse aggregate of local gravel and palm kernel shell. The

report will create a basis for comparing which of the two coarse aggregate is suitable for which

work and if one of them can be interchanged for one another in construction works in case of

shortage of material or management of resources without compromising the set standard. The best

method to determine the compressive strength of concrete is to perform the compressive test using

the compressive machine to crush and record the maximum load and unusual feature in the type of

failure that occurs.

1.5 Limitation of the Study

There is no study undertaken by a researcher that is perfect. The imperfection of any research is

always due to some factors negatively affecting a researcher in the course of carrying out research.

Therefore, time constraint has shown no mercy to the research. The limited time has to be shared

among many alternative uses, which includes reading, attending lectures and writing of this

research, also distance and its attendant costs of travelling to obtain information which may

enhance the writing of this study was a major limitation

CHAPTER TWO
2. 0 LITERATURE REVIEW

The OPS is a waste product derived from palm oil mills. Waste disposal is growing and

contributing to environmental pollution if no control measures were organized in the regions

involved. Based on Table 1 shows that the types of waste contained in palm oil mills can be

categorized as fronds, empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm pressed fibers (PPF), palm oil trunks

(POT) and shell. The breakdown of waste from palm oil production was released in 2007 [Okpala,

D. C. (1990). Palm kernel shell as a lightweight aggregate in concrete. Building and

Environment, 25(4), 291–296].

The waste of shell indicates the quantity of waste 4,506 ktonnes. The OPS is a one of the huge

waste producing from palm oil extraction process. As a result, OPS which are light and naturally

sized was ideal for substituting aggregates in OPS concrete construction and water absorption

from OPS is high compared to normal weight aggregates (NWA). Based on previous study from

[Okpala, D. C. (1990). Palm kernel shell as a lightweight aggregate in concrete. Building and

Environment, 25(4), 291–296], the increase of the porosity of the concrete depends on increasing

voids in concrete. As industrial waste material, one such alternative is OPS, which is a form of

agricultural solid waste.

OPS can be used as coarse aggregate on producing lightweight concrete. OPS concrete has

higher porosity in itself due to higher water absorption [Mannan, M. a., & Ganapathy, C. (2002).

Engineering properties of concrete with oil palm shell as coarse aggregate. Construction and

Building Materials, 16(1), 29–34].

Concrete mixtures can be designed to provide a wide range of mechanical and durability properties

to meet design requirement of a structures. The compressive strength is calculated from the failure
load divided by the cross-sectional area resisting the load and reported in units MPa (SI units). The

previous studies from [Mannan, M. a., & Ganapathy, C. (2002). Engineering properties of concrete

with oil palm shell as coarse aggregate. Construction and Building Materials, 16(1), 29–34], and

[Teo, D. C. L., Mannan, M. a., Kurian, V. J., & Ganapathy, C. (2007). Lightweight concrete made

from oil palm shell (OPS): Structural bond and durability properties. Building Environment, 42(7),

2614–2621] their result from the experimental shown that the compressive strength of OPS

concrete satisfies for lightweight structures. According to [Teo, D. C. L., Mannan, M. a., Kurian,

V. J., & Ganapathy, C. (2007). Lightweight concrete made from oil palm shell (OPS): Structural

bond and durability properties.

Building environment, 42(7), 2614–2621] the durability of OPS concrete influenced by curing

conditions. OPS that were used in this study only are wants to study the effects of OPS as coarse

aggregate replacement on the compressive strength and wet properties of concrete. The alternative

is to use industrial waste material as aggregates for construction. One of the solid waste products

that have increasingly gained researchers’ interest are OPS produced from the processing of palm

oil. Palm oil industry is a fast-growing industry and economically it is able to become the

backbone of the economy. Lightweight Concrete by Using Oil Palm Shell (OPS) OPS are a one of

the huge waste producing from oil palm extraction process (Figure 1). As a result, the OPS which

are light and naturally sized were ideal for substituting aggregates in lightweight concrete

construction. Studies by [10] found that oil palm shells was the organic aggregate which is better

impact resistance compared to normal weight aggregate. Besides, OPS contain many pores and the

water absorption is high compared to normal weight aggregate. Increasing voids in concrete would
probably increase the porosity of the concrete [Okpala, D. C. (1990). Palm kernel shell as a

lightweight aggregate in concrete. Building and Environment, 25(4), 291–296].

Figure 1 Simplified process flow diagram of an oil palm mill [F. Sulaiman and N. Abdullah.

(2013). The Oil Palm Wastes in Malaysia]

Generally, the shape of OPS aggregate varies irregular flaky shaped, angular, circular or polygonal

which depend on the extraction method or breaking of the nut. Basri, Mannan and Zain (1998)

found that the surface texture of the shell was fairly smooth for both concave and convex faces.

Besides, the OPS can be classified as an organic aggregate which contains many pores and high

water absorption. Mannan and Ganapathy (2002) showed that with OPS aggregate sizes ranging

from 14 to 5 mm, water absorption for 24 hour was 23.30 % while water absorption by granite was

0.76% for 24 hour.

The mechanical properties of OPS concrete change depending on the physical properties of OPS.

The established physical properties compared with normal weight aggregate (NWA) are specific

gravity, thickness and shape, surface texture, loose and compacted bulk densities, air and moisture

content, water absorption and porosity. According to [Alengaram U.J, Mahmud H, & Jumaat

M.Z.,(2010). Comparison of mechanical and bond properties of oil palm kernel shell concrete with

normal weight concrete. Int J Phys Sci;5(8):1231–9. ]

Specific gravity of a material expressed as the ratio of the density of that particular material and

that of water. They summarize the value specific gravity for OPS that were reported by previous

researchers in Table 2. Specific gravity for OPS is around 1.17-1.62. The highest value of OPS

was 1.62 by [Ndoke P.N. (2006). Performance of palm kernel shells as a partial replacement for

coarse aggregate in asphalt concrete. Leonardo El J Pract Technol ;5(9):145–52.] who tried to use

the OPS for soil stabilization. Meanwhile, [Basri, H. .Mannan, M. ., & Zain, M. F. . (1999).

Concrete using waste oil palm shells as aggregate. Cement and Concrete Research, 29(4), 619–

622.], [Mannan, M. a., & Ganapathy, C. (2002).

Engineering properties of concrete with oil palm shell as coarse aggregate. Construction and

Building Materials, 16(1), 29–34] and [Teo, D. (2006). Structural concrete using oil palm shell

(OPS) as lightweight aggregate. Turkish Journal of ..., 30, 251–257] was obtained the value of

specific gravity was 1.17.

 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 Materials

The selected materials used in this study are locally available and are used in making concrete;

they are;

1. Coarse aggregate (granite chippings) of maximum size 12.5mm

2. Dangote brand cement (R 42.5, CB 4227)

3. Fine river sand as the fine aggregate.

4. Coconut shell as replacement

Aparatus The equipment used for this study were; 150mm x 150mm x 150mm steel moulds;

slump cone (model HM-40, Gibson Company, USA) which meets the requirement of BS 1882-

102 [9]; Compressive Strength Machine (Model 42070, Chandler Eng. USA) which meets the

requirement of BS 1881-115 [10]; tag sieves, sensitive weighing balance, trowel, curing tank, steel

rod and electric concrete mixer.

3.2 Methodology

Laboratory Test

Two major laboratory tests are carried out in the course of this investigation. They include

a) Slump test: - To determine the workability of the concrete used.

b) Compressive Strength test: - To determine the compressive strength (that is load on failure) of

concrete cubes from various Aggregate.

c) Sample A – crushed stone, Sample B Coarse aggregate (granite chippings) of maximum size

12.5mm,
Sample C – Fine river sand as the fine aggregate

3.3.1 The slump test

Objective: Slump test is used to determine the workability of concrete.

Procedures: The apparatus for this test consists of a hollow frustum of a cone which has a

diameter at the top 100 mm and the bottom 200mm and a vertical height of 300 mm; the cone is

fitted with two handles on the sides for lifting. This equipment is also available in a more elaborate

design. This has the same basic conic shape which is held in a steel frame and allowed to side

freely up and down. The whole of the apparatus rests on a steel base. The tapping bar is a 16 mm

diameter rod, 600 mm long, with a bullet nosed end. The test is carried out by placing the metal

plate on a level surface. The cone is held down by placing the feet on the metal plate and the cone

is filled in form of district layers. Compaction is achieved by tapping each layer of the concrete 25

times. When the cone is filled, the top is smoothened off with the rod and lifted the cone with a

clean upward sweep. Then the cone is placed alongside the concrete and the reduction in height is

measured. If the range of the slump is between 70-140 mm, the concrete is said to be good and

okay in consistency but beyond that range, it is not okay. The test is repeated for various

aggregate.

3.2 Compressive Strength Test

Objective: This is aimed at determining the compressive strength of concrete made from different

brands of cement.

Procedures: The apparatus for this test consists of cubes (150 mm), the bullet-nosed rod

(600x16mm) and the steel plate and float. The samples are collected and filled in a clean concrete

cube. When the cube is half-filled, the concrete is compacted by tapping with a rod 25 times. This
was also repeated when the cube is filled. After compacting, the cube is put in a cool dry place to

sit for at least 24 hours. The concrete cube is then sent to the laboratory where it is cured and

crushed to test the compressive strength. Samples were tested at 7, 14 and 28 days.

The study maintained a 1:2:4 design mix for all the various aggregate and achieved that through

batching by weight.

Dimension of mould = 150 x 150x 150 mm

Actual Concrete Weight for 1 mould = 8.65 kg

CEMENT- 1/7 * 8650 g = 1.2 kg

12 moulds * 1.2 kg= 14.4 kg (cement)

SAND- 2/7 * 8650 g = 2.47 kg

12 moulds * 2.47 = 29.66 kg (sand)

AGGREGATE- 4/7 * 8650 g = 4.9 kg

12 moulds * 4.9 kg = 59.31 kg

Aggregates comprises of crushed stone, top soil, gravel and

Thus for Coarse Aggregates (15/22 mm) - 60% of 59.31 kg = 35.6 kg (coarse aggregates)

Fine Aggregates (5/15 mm) – 40% of 59.31 kg = 23.7 kg (fine aggregates).

3.2.1 Experimental Design This study involved workability and compressive strength tests on

concrete specimen using crushed glass to systematically replace coarse aggregate and fine

aggregate. This partial replacement was done using 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% and

40% for both experiments. A constant mix proportion of 1:2:4 and water cement (w/c) ratio of 0.6

was employed for all concrete mixtures used in this research study.
3.3.2 Concrete Batching, 2Mixing and Curing The concrete components (coarse aggregate,

fine aggregate, and cement) were thoroughly mixed together in the electric concrete mixer using

1:2:4 design mix, after which water at 0.6 water-cement ratio was added. The aggregates were

prepared in accordance with the requirements of BS 1017[11]. The concrete specimens produced

from both methods were cured in a curing tank and subjected to two tests; workability and

compressive strength at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days.

3.3.3 Workability Tests The slump tests was employed as the measure of workability of the

fresh concrete specimen. Two sets of workability tests (glass-granite concrete and glass-sand

concrete) were performed for each percentage replacement. The slump mould was filled in three

layers, with each layer compacted by a steel rod with 25 blows before pouring the next layer. The

surface of the slump cone was levelled after filling the cone and allowed for about 2 minutes. The

slump cone was then lifted off the concrete, thus allowing the pile of unsupported concrete to

collapse. The difference between the initial and the final height of the concrete was measured and

recorded as the slump3

.3.4 Compressive Strength Test The compressive strength of the concrete was determined

using Equation (1) (1) Where, P = Failure load in N A = Cross – sectional area of test cube in

mm2 = Compressive strength in N/mm2 the load at which the concrete fails was recorded and the

compressive strength calculated using equation (1).