INFLUENCE OF COCONUT SHELL ASH (CSA) ON THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH AND DURABILITY OF CONCRETE UNDER DIFFERENT CURING CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT

In the construction of concrete structures, sustainability, environmental impact, durability and cost effectiveness are of utmost importance. The incorporation of coconut shell ash in concrete has the potential to meet these necessities. The goal of this project is to investigate the effects of coconut shell ash on the compressive strength and durability of concrete under different curing conditions (air and water). In order to achieve this, coconut shell ash is used to partially replace cement in concrete at different proportions of 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%. The mix ratio to be employed is 1:2:4. Concrete cubes of 100 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm dimension will be cast under water and air curing conditions. The compressive strength, workability and the durability properties of the cast concrete will be assessed by standard methods. The compressive strengths obtained for the control cubes at 7, 14 and 28 days respectively include 16.09 N/mm2 , 18.87 N/mm2 and 21.52 N/mm2 for air-cured concrete cubes and 19.18 N/mm2 , 22.87 N/mm2 and 25.27 N/mm2 for water-cured concrete cubes. This shows that water-cured concrete is better than air-cured concrete. The values obtained for workability and compressive strength fluctuated, contrary to the expected increase in compressive strength and decrease in workability of concrete with increasing CSA level. The results obtained for the durability of the concrete cubes at different CSA level showed that water-cured concrete is more durable than air-cured concrete by an average difference of 0.35%. Given that no particular trend was observed on the influence of CSA on concrete, an ideal replacement level of cement by CSA can’t be recommended based on this research paper.