The Effect Of Admixtures On Properties Of Concrete: Case Studies Of Sugar, Cow Bone Ash, Groudnut Shell Ash, And Lime Stone Powder

The project titled “The effect of admixtures on properties of concrete: case study of sugar, cow bone ash, groundnut shell ash, and lime stone powder” was carried out with the aim of knowing the effect the of the various types of admixtures used on the properties of concrete, in term of the workability of concrete, durability of concrete and the concrete strength.

The material used are cow bone ash, groundnut shell ash, sugar and lime stone powder. The cow bone was sourced along Sobi road, Akerebiata area, Ilorin East local government area and the groundnut shell was sourced from Oja-Oba, Ilorin west local government. The cow bone was sun –dried after careful separation from flesh, tissues and fats, the ash was carried out by incinerating the bone at a temperature of 900⁰C in a furnace. Also the groundnut shell ash was obtained by burning groundnut shell on an iron sheet in the open air under normal temperature while sugar and lime stone powder were bought from market (chemical store) along Taiwo road, Ilorin Kwara state. The method adopted was; batching of concrete materials, mixing of concrete materials, production of cubes, curing of cubes (for 14days and 28days) while the test carried out during and after the concrete cubes are produced or casted are; sieve analysis test, slump test and compressive strength test.

          From the sieve analysis test carried out on both fine and coarse aggregates, it was discovered that the coefficient of uniformity (C_u) obtained are less than 4, hence they are both “well-graded” aggregates. The slump test shows that there is increase in the slump value from sugar-concrete, GSA-concrete, CBA-concrete and LP-concrete, likewise the compressive strength test increases from sugar-concrete, GSA-concrete, CBA-concrete and LP-concrete.

          Based on the result of this investigation, the conclusion I made was that admixtures affect properties of concrete like its slump value, density, compressive strength, etc  and that admixtures generally decreases the slump value of concrete which in turns decrease the workability of the concrete.I there by recommend that further research should be carried out using 20%-50% of LP, CBA and GSA as admixture at an interval of 10% for the same experiment. Also the experiment should be carried out using some other mix ratio like 1:3:6, 1:4:8 and soon.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page                                                                                          i

Declaration                                                                                                 ii

Certification                                                                                      iii

Dedication                                                                                         iv

Acknowledgement                                                                             v

Abstract                                                                                            vi

Table of Contents                                                                             vii

List of Tables                                                                                     x

List of Figures                                                                                   xi

List of Plates                                                                                     xii

CHAPTER ONE                                                                                      

• Introduction   1
  • Statement of the Problem    2
  • Aims and Objectives of the Study  3
  • Justification of the Study    3
  • Scope of the Study    4

CHAPTER TWO

• literature Review     5
  • Concrete in Practice     6
  • Types of Admixtures      9
  • Selected Agent                                                                               12
  • Material for concrete                                                                      16
    • Aggregates           16
    • Cement 18
      • Physical Properties of Cement 19
    • Water                                                                                              21
      • Quality of Water 22
      • Properties of Water  22

2.4.4           Curing                                                                                               22

CHAPTER THREE

• Project Methodology  24
  • Procurement of Material  25
  • Preparation of Material                                                                      26
  • Material Used                                                                                     27
  • Batching of concrete                                                                           28
  • Mixing of Concrete                                                                             32
  • Tests  33
    • Sieve Analysis Test                                                                                   33
    • Slump Test                                                                                                34
  • Production of Cubes  38
  • Curing of Cubes                                                                                  38
  • Compressive Strength Test on Concrete Cubes                                  39
    • Procedure for Compressive Strength Test                                                 41

CHAPTERFOUR

• Results Analysis 42

4.1 Sieve Analysis Test Result                                                                             42

4.2 Slump Test Result                                                                                46

4.3 Discussion on the Result                                                                      66

CHAPTER FIVE

• Conclusion                                                                                          69
  • Recommendation 70                                                                                           71

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1: Data Analysis for Fine Aggregates (Sand)                                 42

Table 4.2:  Data Analysis for Coarse Aggregate (Granite)                                   44

Table 4.3: Slump Test Result for GSA Concrete                                        46

Table 4.4:  Slump Test Result for CBA Concrete                                                47

Table 4.5:  Slump Test Result for Sugar Concrete                                               48

Table 4.6:  Slump Test Result for LP Concrete                                          49

Table 4.7:  Summary of Slump Test Result for Various

Concrete Admixtures                                                               50

Table 4.8:  Compressive Strength Test Result of Normal Concrete           51

Table 4.9:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 5%

Cow Bone Ash Concrete                                                                   52

Table 4.10:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 10%

Cow Bone Ash Concrete                                                                  53

Table 4.11:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 15%

Cow Bone Ash Concrete                                                                 54

Table 4.12:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 5% Sugar Concrete                56

Table 4.13:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 10% Sugar Concrete    57

Table 4.14:  Compressive Strength Test Result of  5%

Groundnut Shell Ash                                                              58

Table 4.15:  Compressive Strength Test Result Of 10%

Groundnut Shell Ash                                                              59

Table 4.16:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 15%

Groundnut Shell Ash                                                              60

Table 4.17:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 5%

Limestone Powder                                                                            61

Table 4.18:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 10%

Limestone Powder                                                                            62

Table 4.19:  Compressive Strength Test Result of 15%

Limestone Powder                                                                   63

Tables 4.20:   Summary Table for the Compressive Strength of Cube                 65

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1: The graph of sieve analysis for Fine Aggregate (Sand)             43

Figure 4.2: The graph of sieve analysis for Coarse Aggregate

(Granite).                                                                                 45

Figure 4.3: The graph of slump test result for GSA Concrete                    46

Figure 4.4: The graph of slump test result for CBA Concrete                               47

Figure 4.5: The graph of slump test result for SUGAR Concrete                        48

Figure 4.6: The graph of slump test result for LP Concrete                        49

Figure 4.7: The graph for summary of slump test result for                                various Concrete Admixtures                                                     50

Figure 4.8: The Average compressive strength of CBA-concrete

at various percentages for 14 and 28days of curing.                         55

Figure 4.9: The Average compressive strength of Sugar concrete                        at various percentages for 14 and 28days of curing.                      58

Figure 4.10: The Average compressive strength of GSA-concrete

at various percentages for 14 and 28days of curing.               61

Figure 4.11:          The Average compressive strength of LP-concrete

at various percentages for 14 and 28days of        curing.                  64

Figure 4.12:          The summary of Average compressive strength for                                    various Admixture concretes at various percentages for 14                       and 28days of curing.                                                                  66

LIST OF PLATES

Plate 3.1: Groundnut Shell  and  Cow Bone                                                          26

Plate 3.2: Burning of Groundnut Shell and Cow Bone                               27

Plate 3.3: Cow bone ash, Groundnut shell ash, Limestone powder

and Sugar.                                                                               28

Plate 3.4:      Batching of Concrete                                                             32

Plate 3.5:    Type of Slump                                                                        37

Plate 36:     Cube Production                                                                     38

Plate 3.7:    Curing of Cubes                                                                       39

Plate 3.8:    Crushing Machine                                                                             41

CHAPTER ONE

1.0.    INTRODUCTION                                                                                                           The importance of understanding various types of materials used in Civil Engineering is widely recognized. There has been tremendous increase in the latest research and practical achievement to improve on concrete technology. Free exchange for technical knowledge at international conferences in many countries and worldwide exchange of technical paper, upgrading of internet information on how concrete can be improved in a situation where needed and bulletins has led to a general polling and shifting of information and recently to the publication of many new code and standard.                                    Concrete is a composite material which is formed by mixing in good proportion, cement, water, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate, air and at times admixture. Freshly prepared concrete is called Wet or Green concrete. Concrete is used in substructure and superstructure work in civil engineering, for a meaningful work to take place in a construction industry, concrete must be available. However, the properties and performance of this concrete are being influenced by the introduction of some materials called admixture.                    Admixtures have been in use almost since the inception of the art of concreting. It is reported that the roman builders used oxblood as an admixture in their concrete and masonry structure. Research has shown that oxblood is an excellent air entraining agent. During the early part of this century it was a common practice to add gold dust, soap to concrete as water proofing agent.        Admixtures are materials other than water, cement, aggregate and additives like pozzolana or slag and fibre reinforcement, used as an ingredient of concrete or mortar and added to the immediately before or during its mixing to modify or alter one or more  properties of the concrete in the plastic or hardened state.

Admixtures can also be said to be substances introduced into concrete mixes in order to alter or improve the property of the fresh or hindered concrete or both in general.

Admixtures are classified as either mineral admixture which may be introduced as blended materials such as fly-ash (FA), silicate fume (SF), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), meta kaolin (MK), and rice husk ash (RHA) or chemical admixture which are typically added during the mixing process of concrete production, its include accelerators, retarders, air entrainer, plasticizer or water reducer, water proofers and pigments (colourants).

In view of the above facts the project title “the effect of admixtureson the properties of concrete”    is carried out with the aim of knowing the effect of the various types of admixture used on the properties of concrete, in term of the workability of concrete, setting        time of concrete, durability of concrete and the concrete strength. The test also compared the effect of various admixtures on the setting to the hardening time of concrete as well as the slump and trowel test to know the degree of workability.

The test is limited to selected admixtures as a result of time factor, likewise the properties of concrete on which the test are based are limited but the most important and most interesting area are selected such as limestone powder(LP), sugar, groundnut shell ash(GSA) and cow bone ash(CBA).

1.1.   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM                

    Not all admixtures are economical to employ on a particular project. Also some characteristic of concrete, such as low absorption, can be achieved simply by consistently adhering to high quality concreting practices.

The chemistry of concrete admixture is a complex topic requiring in depth knowledge and experience. A general understanding of the options available for concrete admixture is necessary for acquiring the right product for the project base on the climatic condition and project requirement.

1.2.      AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY                     

The aim of this project is to determine the effects of limestone powder(LP),sugar, groundnut shell ash(GSA)and cow bone ash(CBA) admixtures on the properties of concrete.

The objectives of the study are alighted below:

1. To know how admixtures affect concrete in term of its workability, setting time, durability and strength.
2. To enable one to know the cost of using the various admixtures.

• To be able to compare concrete with admixture and concrete without admixture in term of their strength, workability.

1.3.    JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY                                                                 Admixture has been in use for a very long time, suchas          calcium chloride to provide a cold-weather setting concrete. Others are more recent and represent an area of expanding possibilities for increased performance. These types of admixtures are available in two forms, which are mineral or chemical admixture. Admixture like fly-ash, silicate fume, slag comes in category of mineral admixture, while chemical admixtures are super plasticizers, accelerator, water reducer, retarder and air entrainer.                                          Admixtures are used to modify the properties of concrete such as to improve workability, curing temperature range, setting time, increase strength, retard or accelerate strength development, reduce segregation, decrease or reduce permeability, increase bond of concrete to steel reinforcement, increase durability or resistance to severe condition of exposure. Generally, an admixture will affect more than one properties of concrete and its effect on all the properties of the concrete must therefore be considered.                                       Admixture may increase or decrease the cost of concrete by reducing cement quantity required for a given strength changing the volume of the mixture, or reducing the cost of concrete placing and handling operations. Control of setting time of concrete may result in decreasing waiting time, repetition in the preparation of concrete in a large construction and therefore eliminating construction joint.                                                                        

1.4.       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope and limitation of this project is basically the effect of admixture on the properties of concrete. In view of the above facts, the extent at which some of the admixture hamper or enhances the properties of concrete is a motivating factor on this project. In this project limestone powder(LP), sugar, groundnut shell ash(GSA), cow bone ash(CBA) will be considered. The first three are retarding admixtures and consistency test of cement such as sieve analysis, slump, and compressive strength etc. would be carried out on the samples.

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0         CONCLUSION

Based on the results of this investigation, the following conclusion is drawn;

Admixtures affect properties of concrete like its slump value, density, compressive strength, etc.

Admixtures generally decrease the slump value of concrete which in turns decrease the workability of the concrete, since normal concrete(0% concrete) has a slump value of between 55-60mm while concrete with admixture has slump value lesser than that of normal concrete.

LP-concrete has higher slump value(52,48 and 44mm for 5,10 and 15% respectively), followed by CBA-concrete(50,46 and 41mm for 5,10 and 15% respectively) and GSA-concrete(45,42 and 38mm for 5,10 and 15% respectively) while Sugar-concrete has the least slump value(30,26 and 22mm for 5,10 and 15% respectively).

Generally, concrete slump value is used to find the workability, which indicates water-cement ratio i.e, the ease at which the wet concrete flow / spread across the formwork.   LP-concrete has more workability than others (CBA-concrete > GSA-concrete) while Sugar-concrete has a lesser workability compare to others.

LP-concrete and CBA-concrete has higher compressive strength, followed by GSA-concrete while Sugar-concrete has the least compressive strength.

5.1                   RECOMMENDATION

From the analysis of the results obtained, I thereby recommend that;Since it is ascertained that the slump test exhibits a true slump for             LP-concrete, CBA-concrete and GSA-concrete and since they also have  high compressive strength; therefore it’s within specification and they  can be used for concrete involving light weight aggregate for construction. Except that of Sugar-concrete ,has it does not have a better workability and compressive strength.

Further research should be carried out using 20% – 50% of LP, CBA and GSA as admixture at an interval of 10% for the same experiment.

Further research should be carried out  on sugar as an admixture in concrete with decrease in percentage of sugar added say 1.0% – 2.0% at an interval of 0.2% and compare their strength with that of the earlier result obtained(i.e to that of 5,10 and 15%).

Number of curing days should be increase from 28days to at least 56days to ensure continuity.

Further research should be carried out on the same investigation using  admixture like sugar cane ash, wood ash, rice husk ash, etc.

The experiment should also be carried out using some other mix ratio like 1:3:6, 1:4:8 and so on.