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 The sand used was collected from Kanchipuram,
In recent years, home ownership for the middle and Sharp River sand that was free from clay, loam, dirt
low income earners of the society is turning to be a and organic matter of any description and was sand
mirage as building material, construction costs and passing through the 4.75 mm zone of British
other factors have constantly put housing Standard test sieves. The sand had a specific gravity
developments at a very high cost. In developed of 2.57. The type of cement used in this research is
countries, accommodation and home ownership are the pozzolona Portland cement, which happens to be
easier as government and financial institutions have the most commonly used in construction works.
planned and effective housing policies and programs Sawdust (SD) is composed of fine particles of wood.
to aid the citizenry in home ownership at affordable The physical and chemical properties of sawdust vary
rates. In the developing world, especially in significantly depending on several factors, especially
metropolitan African cities, scarcity of living the species of wood. SD used in this research is a
accommodation has always been an issue. The mixture of wastes from both hard and soft woods.
available housing stock is diminishing by the day due Tests conducted include: particle size analysis of
to the high level of rural drift to urban centers. sand, specific gravity test on Sawdust and sand. The
Checking scarcity and high cost of building materials majority of the fine particles of sawdust passed
and the need to drastically reduce critical housing through 4.76 mm BS test sieve. The water used was
shortages, especially in the urban areas (and potable water from borehole, which was fresh,
developing modern housing setups in the rural areas), colorless, odorless and tasteless water that was free
have encouraged the search for alternative, from organic matter of any type. The minimum
innovative and cost effective building materials. acceptable compressive strength of a good and well
Aside, concrete is a major component of buildings vibrated concrete block is 3.2N/mm2 at 28days. For
and other engineering structures, concrete cubes the purpose of this work 150mm x 150mm x150mm
forming a major part to be recognized and put under cubes were used. The mix ratio used was 1:1.5:3, at
consideration. Concrete cubes comprise of natural different replacement levels of sand and sawdust. For
sand, water and binder. Cement, as a binder, is the each replacement levels about 06 block samples were
most expensive input into the production of concrete cast.
cubes. This has necessitated producers of concrete RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
cubes to produce blocks with PPC (pozzolona Compressive Strength of Test Samples: The
Portland cement) content that will be affordable to variations of compressive strength with age at curing
people and with much gain. The first objective of the are presented in Table 1 and figure 1. At the 28 days
present work was to investigate the use of sawdust as hydration period, only cubes made with 100% sand
a partial replacement for sand in production of solid and 0% sawdust (20.8N/mm2) met the required
concrete cubes in order to reduce production cost. standard for concrete cubes. Few samples, at the 10%
The second objective was to understudy in line with replacement, came closer to the standard and this
the previous objective, to also produce light weight could be taken as the optimum replacement level of
solid concrete cubes for use in High rise buildings. sand with sawdust for strength criterion. At the 28
MATERIALS days hydration period, the range of strength obtained
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material was between 20.8 N/mm2 (for 0% sawdust content)
composed of finely divided rock and mineral shown in figure 1. Test result indicates that the
particles. The composition of sand is highly variable, compressive strength decreases with increase in
depending on the local rock sources and conditions. 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 E-ISSN2249–8974

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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