Physical and Mechanical Characteristics of Ash Concrete from Palm Nut Shells: Pouzzolanic Effect

The use of agricultural waste in construction is an advantage favorable to environmental sanitation, the preservation of non-renewable resources but also to the execution of an ecological work. The objective of this work is to study the influence of the addition of palm nut cockles ash as an adjuvant on the physico-mechanical properties of concrete. For this study, ordinary concretes and ash concretes were made and subjected to physical and mechanical characterization tests at different maturation periods. The results of the tests carried out indicate that the presence of ash reduces the workability and porosity of the concrete and then increases the density of the concrete to 6.3%. In addition, we found that incorporating the ash improves the mechanical strength of the concrete compared to the control concrete. Thus, the compressive strength of ash concrete is 32.07 MPa and that of splitting is 2.76 MPa at 28 days, which is satisfactory vis-à-vis the threshold of construction projects for ready concrete for use, which recommends a minimum of 25 MPa (compression) and 2.6 MPa (splitting) at 28 days. This improvement in mechanical performance can be attributed to the pozzolanic effect of the constituents of the ash. Therefore, the ash from palm nut shells can be used to improve the mechanical properties of concrete.

Influence of Plastic and Coconut Shell (Cocos nucifera L.) on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of the 8/6 Composite Rafter

In this paper, the authors aim to propose the use of waste plastics as a binder in a coconut shell reinforcement for the development of an 8/6 size composite rafter to replace the natural 8/6 size backbone in construction. Following a study into the choice of the best proportions, a total of 30 size 8/6 composite rafters with different proportions of 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40% and 50% plastic content were developed. All the 8/6 composite rafters were subjected to mechanical (3-point bending strength and Monnin hardness) and physical (bulk density and water absorption) characterization analyses. The results show that flexural strength increases from 27.56 MPa to 33.30 MPa for proportions ranging from 20% to 35% plastic content. Above 35% plastic, the strength drops to 19.60 MPa for a 50% plastic content. Similarly, the Monnin hardness drops from 9 mm to 5 mm when the plastic content varies from 20 to 50%. As for the results of the physical characterisation, the values obtained for apparent density vary from 0.89 to 1 for proportions varying from 20% to 35% plastic content and drop to 0.94 for 50% plastic content. As for water absorption, values drop from 6.82% to 2.45% when the plastic content increases from 20% to 50%. These mechanical strengths stabilise at 35% plastic content. The development of an 8/6 chevron composite material based on plastic and coconut shell could therefore be a way of recovering waste and solving the problem of deforestation.

A Review on Utilization of Light Weight Fly Ash Cenosphere as Filler in both Polymer and Alloy-Based Composites

Fly Ash Cenospheres(FACs)are obtained from the coal power plants in the form of hollow spherical particles by burning the coal.FAC was started to use in early 1980-1985 as lightweight filler material in producing composites of cementitious and at present many researchers are focusing on use of FAC as filler in polymer and metals.In this paper,the systematic review on research activities and application of FAC in manufacturing light weight products are done.The influence of FAC on the physical and mechanical properties of incorporated polymer and alloy-based composites were summarized.Prospects of future for its use were also suggested and summarized in this paper.