International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN 6480(Print),

, ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 7, November December (2013), IAEME

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (IJARET)

ISSN 0976 - 6480 (Print) ISSN 0976 - 6499 (Online) Volume 4, Issue 7, November-December 2013, pp. 20-24 IAEME: www.iaeme.com/ijaret.asp Journal Impact Factor (2013): 5.8376 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com

IJARET
IAEME

STRENGTH PROPERTIES OF COCONUT SHELL CONCRETE

Dewanshu Ahlawat1,
1 2

L.G.Kalurkar2

Post Graduate Student, JNEC, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India Asst.Prof. in Civil Engineering Dept, JNEC, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT Continuous extraction of aggregates from natural resources will lead to its depletion. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the effect of replacing granite with coconut shell on the tensile strength and workability of concrete. Forty five cylinders were casted of M 20 grade of concrete. The slump cone and compaction factor test were done to assess the workability of concrete. The tensile strength of cured concrete was evaluated at 7, 14 and 28 days. Increase in percentage replacement of granite lowered tensile strength, but increased workability. Concrete produced by 2.5%,5%,7.5%,10% replacement attained 28 days tensile strength of 1.31,1.25,1.16 and 1.09 respectively. The results showed that coconut shell concrete can be used in construction. Keywords: Coconut Shell, Coarse Aggregate, Split Tensile Strength, Workability, waste utilization. INTRODUCTION Concrete is the premier civil engineering construction material. Concrete manufacturing involves the mixing of ingredients like cement, sand, aggregates and water. Among all these ingredients, aggregates form the big share [1]. Inert materials such as sand, granite forms the major part of aggregates. Traditionally, aggregates have been readily available at economic prices and in different forms to suit all purposes [2]. However, the continuous extraction of aggregates from the natural resources has been questioned because of the depletion of quality aggregates and greater awareness of environmental protection. In light of this, non availability of natural resources to the future generation has been realized [3]. The challenge in making light weight concrete is in decreasing the density, while maintaining the strength and durability. Introducing different types of light aggregates (Pumice, Taclite, Coconut shell, sawdust, coal slag, straw) into the mix design is a common way to lower the density of concrete [4]. The crushed stone and sand are the components that are usually replaced with light weight aggregates to produce light weight concrete. One of the fine examples of light weight aggregate is coconut shell. Coconut shell has good durability, high
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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 7, November December (2013), IAEME

toughness, abrasion resistance; hence it is suitable for long standing use [5]. Utilization of Coconut shell as coarse aggregate will be an important step towards sustainable development. The study on replacing waste material in concrete is not new. In India, 90% coconut production is in South India. Tamil Nadu leads in coconut production in India because of high productivity of soil [6]. METHODOLOGY Selection of grade of concrete, method of mix design, trial mix and final mix proportions. Estimating total quantity of concrete required. Estimating quantities of cement, water, sand and coarse aggregates. Evaluating the physical properties of ingredients of concrete.

MATERIALS AND METHOD Cement: Ordinary Portland cement, conforming to I.S 12269-1987[10] is the most commonly used binder for the concrete production. The standard consistency was 29%.The initial and final setting time was 55 mins and 270 mins respectively. The specific gravity of cement was 3.14.The basic field tests on cement were conducted. Fine Aggregate: River sand, conforming to Grading Zone- II as per I.S 383-1970[11] was used in the study. The bulk density, specific gravity and fineness modulus of sand were determined. The sand was air dried and sieved to remove any foreign material, prior to mixing. Coarse Aggregate: Crushed granite stone and coconut shell were used as coarse aggregate. Various physical and mechanical properties of coarse aggregates were checked and they included bulk density, specific gravity, water absorption, aggregate impact test, crushing test, abrasion test,particle size distribution. Coconut Shell: Coconut shell were collected from the local temples, cleaned, sun dried, removed fibers to analyze its properties. Coconut shell requires no pre treatment, except for water treatment. Coconut shell has high water absorption. Due to this property, coconut shells were pre soaked in potable water for 24 hours. Water: Potable water was used for mixing and curing. The permissible limits were checked as per the I.S 456-2000[12].Water should be free from oil, salt, sugar, acid, alkali. The quality of water is important because contaminants can adversely affect the strength of concrete and cause corrosion of steel reinforcement. Physical Property Max.size Moisture Content (%) Water Absorption (%) Specific Gravity Impact Value (%) Crushing Value (%) Abrasion Value (%) Bulk Density(kg/m3) Fineness Modulus Coconut Shell 12.5 4.10 25 1.4 7.9 2.6 1.7 800 21

Coarse Aggregate 12.5 0.25 2.8 11.2 6.5 1.9 1650 2.73

Fine Aggregate 2.6 1600 2.80

International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 7, November December (2013), IAEME

PRODUCTION OF CONCRETE MIX The production of concrete mix of M-20 grade of concrete is done in the laboratory. For mix design, I.S 10262-1982[9] method was used. Coconut shell concrete is produced by adding coconut shell in different percentage (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%).The ingredients of concrete were tested as per I.S codes. A total of 45 cylinders were tested for split tensile strength and workability of concrete and results were compared with conventional concrete. Batching is done as per mix proportioning. Mixing is done in a tilting machine mixer. The mixing time is 2-3 minutes after mixing of water. Compaction is done by tamping rod and table vibrator. Concrete cylinders are left for 24 hours to set. After 24 hours, cylinders are demoulded with spanners and placed in curing tank. It is being cured in potable water at room temperature for a period of 7, 14 and 28 days. After 28 days, these cylinders are removed from curing tank and are ready to be tested for split tensile strength test. WORKABILITY TESTS Slump Cone Test: Workability is defined as the ease with which concrete can be compacted 100% with respect to mode of compaction and placing. Unworkable concrete requires more efforts to be compacted and honey comb structure is bound to occur. It is most widely used test for workability. The apparatus used are slump cone, base plate, tamping rod, oil and scale. The types of slump are as follows: Collapse: Here, concrete collapses completely. Shear: Here, top portion of concrete shears off and slips sideways. True: Here, concrete subsides, keeping more or less to shape. Compaction Factor Test: This test is used to determine workability of fresh concrete as per IS: 1199-1959.This test is suitable for medium and low workability, but not for very low workable concrete (below 0.71).It gives more information than slump test. It is used for maximum size of aggregates up to 20mm.A large apparatus if size of aggregates is 40mm.The apparatus consists of a rigid frame that supports two conical hoppers vertically aligned above each other, mounted over a cylinder. The top hopper is slightly larger than bottom hopper, while the cylinder is smaller in volume than both hoppers. Split Tensile Strength Test: Concrete cylinders (150mm diameter x 300mm height) are casted. Once the curing is done, the cylinders are cleaned and dried properly, before placing it in Universal Testing Machine (U.T.M).The plate is lowered and allowed to touch the top surface of the cylinder. The force is applied and is increasing continuously. The load at which splitting of the cylinder takes place is recorded and split tensile strength is calculated. The concrete does not resist the direct tension because of its low tensile strength and brittle nature. As we know that concrete is weak in tension. However, determination of split tensile strength is necessary to determine the load at which the concrete members may fail. Calculations: T= 2P/ dL Where, P = Maximum load d = Diameter of specimen L = Length of specimen

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 7, November December (2013), IAEME

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1. Split tensile strength: The maximum tensile strength of 2.1 N/mm2 was attained at 0%

replacement, while minimum tensile strength of 1.74 N/mm2 was attained at 100% replacement. The split tensile strength was found to be reducing with increasing coconut shell percentage. The same was observed by the earlier researchers [7], [8]. The results of split tensile strength are shown in table 01. Table 01. Tensile Strength of Coconut Shell Concrete (N/mm2) 0% 2.5% 5% 7.5% 1.40 1.31 1.25 1.16 1.89 1.74 1.70 1.56 2.1 1.97 1.88 1.81

No. of Days 07 14 28

10% 1.09 1.51 1.74

2. Workability of Concrete: The results of workability of concrete are shown in table 02.There
is 30% cost reduction for concrete produced using coconut shell [8]. Table 02. Workability of Coconut Shell Concrete 0% 2.5% 5% 7.5% 85 61 67 73 0.910 0.910 0.917 0.920

Workability Slump (mm) Compaction Factor Value

10% 79 0.924

Bar Charts: The bar charts are drawn for compressive strength results. These are drawn between compressive strength and percentage replacement of coconut shell concrete at 7, 14 and 28 days to observe the variation of results.
1.5 Tensile Strength MPa 2

7 days
1.3 Tensile Strength MPa` 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2

14 days

1.1

0.9 0% 2.50% 5% 7.50% 10% % of coconut shell

0% 2.50% 5% 7.50% 10% % of coconut shell replacement

2.3

28 days
Tensile strength MPa 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.5 0% 2.50% 5% 7.50% 10% % of coconut shell replacement

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 7, November December (2013), IAEME

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION It is concluded that Increase in percentage replacement by coconut shell reduces split tensile strength of coconut shell concrete. Slump of concrete increases as percentage of coconut shell increases. Compaction Factor increases as percentage of coconut shell increases. Coconut shell can be used as partial replacement of coarse aggregate in concrete. The following recommendations are made at the end of study. The effect of temperature on Coconut Shell Concrete is studied. Durability aspects of Coconut Shell Concrete are studied. Drying shrinkage property of coconut shell concrete is studied. REFERENCES 1. Amarnath Yeramala,Ramchandrudu.C,(2012),Properties of concrete with coconut shell as aggregate replacement,International Journal of Engineering Inventions,Vol.1,Issue6, pp21-31 2. Gunasekaran.K, Kumar P.S, Laxmipathy.M, (2011),Mechanical and Bond Properties of Coconut Shell Concrete, Construction and Building Materials, 25(1), pp 92-98. 3. Gunasekaran.K, Kumar P.S,(2008),An agricultural waste as aggregate in light weight concrete, Proceeding of sixth structural engineering convention,Chennai,pp 1079-1087 4. Abdullah A.A.A,(1984),Basic strength properties of light weight concrete using agricultural waste as aggregate, International conference on low cost housing in developed countries, Roorkee, India, pp 624-636 5. Osei.D.Y, Experimental study of Palm Kernel shell as coarse aggregate in concrete, International Journal of scientific and engineering research,3(8)2012. 6. Manpreet Kaur,Maninder Kaur, A review of utilization of coconut shell as aggregate in concrete, International Journal of Applied Engineering Research,7(11),2012. 7. G.C.Behera,R.K.Behera,(2013),Coconut shell as coarse aggregate.International Journal of engineering research and technology,Vol.2,Issue6,June 2013,pp 2405-2415. 8. Kulkarni V.P,Kumar .S, 2013,Comparitive study on coconut shell aggregate with conventional concrete, Vol.2, Issue 12, pp 67-70 9. I.S 10262-1982:Recommended guidelines for concrete mix design, 1982 10. I.S 12269-1987:Specifications for 53 grade Ordinary Portland Cement, 1987 11. I.S 383-1970:Specifications for coarse and fine aggregates, 1970 12. I.S 456-2000 Indian Standard: Plain and Reinforced Cement Concrete Code of practice. 13. Balraj Bhaskar More, Merits of C4 (Coated Coconut Cover Crush) Block over Aggregate Block, International Journal of Civil Engineering & Technology (IJCIET), Volume 4, Issue 4, 2013, pp. 98 - 105, ISSN Print: 0976 6308, ISSN Online: 0976 6316. 14. Ghassan Subhi Jameel, Study the Effect of Addition of Wast Plastic on Compressive and Tensile Strengths of Structural Lightweight Concrete Containing Broken Bricks as a coarse Aggregate, International Journal of Civil Engin eering & Technology (IJCIET), Volume 4, Issue 2, 2013, pp. 415 - 432, ISSN Print: 0976 6308, ISSN Online: 0976 6316. 15. P.J.Patel, Mukesh A. Patel and Dr. H.S. Patel, Effect of Coarse Aggregate Characteristics on Strength Properties of High Performance Concrete using Mineral and Chemical Admixtures, International Journal of Civil Engineering & Technology (IJCIET), Volume 4, Issue 2, 2013, pp. 89 - 95, ISSN Print: 0976 6308, ISSN Online: 0976 6316.

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