Strength development in concrete with wood ash blended cement and use of soft computing models to predict strength parameters

Abstract

In this study, Wood Ash (WA) prepared from the uncontrolled burning of the saw dust is evaluated for its suitability as partial cement replacement in conventional concrete. The saw dust has been acquired from a wood polishing unit. The physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics of WA is presented and analyzed. The strength parameters (compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength) of concrete with blended WA cement are evaluated and studied. Two different water-to-binder ratio (0.4 and 0.45) and five different replacement percentages of WA (5%, 10%, 15%, 18% and 20%) including control specimens for both water-to-cement ratio is considered. Results of compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength showed that the strength properties of concrete mixture decreased marginally with increase in wood ash contents, but strength increased with later age. The XRD test results and chemical analysis of WA showed that it contains amorphous silica and thus can be used as cement replacing material. Through the analysis of results obtained in this study, it was concluded that WA could be blended with cement without adversely affecting the strength properties of concrete. Also using a new statistical theory of the Support Vector Machine (SVM), strength parameters were predicted by developing a suitable model and as a result, the application of soft computing in structural engineering has been successfully presented in this research paper.

A Comprehensive Exploration on Sustainable Supplementary Cementitious Materials Derived from Agro Wastes

“…Several researchers carried out investigations to know the feasibility of WA usage as a SCM in concrete. [39][40][41][42][43][44]. From the results obtained from various tests, it was concluded that WA can be used as a promising SCM in concrete and the optimum percentage of WA addition was found to be in the range of 10-12%.…”

Suitability of sawdust from three tropical timbers for wood-cement composites

“…Therefore, Chen and Biljana (2014) noted that due to the high amount of silica in wood ash, it can replace cement in the manufacture of cement-bonded composites. In a study to determine strength development in concrete with ash-blended cement, Chowdhury et al (2014) reported that wood ash possesses cement properties and it can augment the role cement plays in the production of wood-cement composite. Thomas (2007) explained that wood ash is a pozzolan, which reacts with water and calcium hydroxide released by the hydration of cement to produce various calcium-silicate hydrates (C-S-H) and hardened concrete.…”

Effect of utilizing unground and ground normal and black rice husk ash on the mechanical and durability properties of high-strength concrete

“…Therefore, more calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) was produced. This product was deposited in the pore system, making the cement paste more homogeneous and denser than the control concrete [32].…”

“…The G-BRHA was less reactive due to its higher LOI content and lower SiO 2 content compared with those of RHA. In the case of the U-BRHA concrete, its splitting tensile strength was lower and it could be due to poor bonding in the matrix [32] and also the U-BRHA produced the weakest points in the hardened matrix due to its porous structure [33]. However, even though its improvements in strength were lower than that of control concrete, after 7 days the strength of the U-BRHA increased with increasing age, which indicated a slow pozzolanic reaction.…”