Building and Environment 42 (2007) 33993403

Limestone dust and wood sawdust as brick material

Paki Turgut

, Halil Murat Algin

Department of Civil Engineering, Harran University, Osmanbey Campus, Sanliurfa, Turkey
Received 5 July 2006; accepted 21 August 2006
Abstract
The majority of abandoned limestone powder wastes (LPW) and wood sawdust wastes (WSW) is accumulated from the
countries all over the world and causes certain serious environmental problems and health hazards. This paper presents
a parametric experimental study which investigates the potential use of WSWLPW combination for producing a low-cost
and lightweight composite as a building material. Some of the physical and mechanical properties of concrete mixes having
high level of WSW and LPW are investigated. The obtained compressive strength, exural strength, unit weight, ultrasonic pulse
velocity (UPV) and water absorption values satisfy the relevant international standards. The results show that the effect of
high-level replacement of WSW with LPW does not exhibit a sudden brittle fracture even beyond the failure loads, indicates high energy
absorption capacity, reduces the unit weight dramatically and introduces smother surface compared to the current concrete bricks
in the market. It shows a potential to be used for walls, wooden board substitute, economically alternative to the concrete blocks,
ceiling panels, sound barrier panels, etc.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Wood; Limestone; Cement; Waste; Brick; Masonry
1. Introduction
Since the large demand has been placed on building
material industry especially in the last decade owing to the
increasing population which causes a chronic shortage of
building materials, the civil engineers have been challenged
to convert the industrial wastes to useful building and
construction materials. Accumulating of unmanaged
wastes especially in developing countries has resulted in
an increasing environmental concern. Recycling of such
wastes as building materials appears to be viable solution
not only to such pollution problem but also to the problem
of economic design of buildings. The increase in the
popularity of using environmentally friendly, low-cost and
lightweight construction materials in building industry has
brought about the need to investigate how this can be
achieved by beneting to the environment as well as
maintaining the material requirements afrmed in the
standards.
Many previous researches [115] undertaken obtained
valuable results to use the industrial wastes in various
forms of concrete production. For instance, the use of
waste rubber, glass powder and paper waste sludge in
concrete mix has received conscribe attention over the past
years. Some researches carried out in the past used wood
ash wastes as a replacement for cement in concrete mixes
[1,2]. Although these researches are providing encouraging
results, the concrete mixes having both wood sawdust
wastes (WSW) and limestone powder wastes (LPW)
combination hitherto has not been investigated. These
wastes utilized in this research are widely available in large
amount from the forest and limestone industries. This
paper presents some physical and mechanical properties of
the concrete mixes having high level of WSW and LPW as
a replacement for aggregate.
Most of the wastes used in this research are currently
disposed in sanitary landlls or open-dumped into
uncontrolled waste pits and open areas. A perennial
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doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.08.012

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: turgutpaki@yahoo.com (P. Turgut).
dilemma for the industries has been disposal of WSW and
LPW generated. This predicament is not unique to Turkey
or the United States. This is a world-wide energy loss and
environmental disposal problem. Disposal of this product
waste is a major problem for the many small businesses.
Therefore, the acceptable solution of this problem with a
commercial value is crucial.
The physical and chemical properties of wood dust vary
signicantly depending on many factors such as geogra-
phical location and industrial processes. Hardwoods
usually produce more dust than softwoods, and the bark
and leaves generally produce more wood dust than the
inner wood parts of the tree. On average, the wood sawing
results in 510% dust. Currently, the blocks of limestone
are extracted via chain saw, diamond wire and diamond
saws from quarries and then the blocks are cut into smaller
suitable sizes to be used as building material [6]. The
processing limestone which includes crashed limestone
production, results in approximately 20% LPW. The
estimated LPW of 21.2 million tones in the UK, 18 million
tones in Greece and 30 million tones in Turkey is reported
[5,6]. Disposal of LPW causes dust, environmental problem
and pollution because of its ne nature. It contaminates the
air with the storms in the summer and spring seasons and
therefore causes serious health hazards including speci-
cally asthma. The industry suffers to store LPW due to the
costs of storage.
There are limited numbers of studies about the possible
utilization strategies of LPW in civil engineering industry
[5,6]. The samples with the diameters of 50 and 80 mm
height are produced and their compressive strength,
modulus of elasticity and density are determined by
Galetakis and Raka [5]. The tests are undertaken on the
limited number of cylindrical samples that are not on the
standard brick sample forms. The exural strength and
water absorption values are not determined in this research
[5]. The other engineering properties required by the
international standards such as ASTM C 67-03 [16] need
to be investigated.
Using WSWLPW combination as a ne aggregate in its
natural form has allowed economical, lighter and environ-
mental-friendly new composite material. This paper pre-
sents the research work undertaken to study the properties
of this new composite material which contains the various
levels of WSW, LPW, small amount of cement as binder
and water. The replacement of these wastes as aggregate in
the tested samples dramatically reduces the unit weight.
A better and smother surface is obtained. This combina-
tion provides a unique kind of building material which
exhibits concrete-like appearance but it behaves similar to
widely used autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC). Its
physical and mechanical properties presented in this paper
show that it has a great potential as a low-cost lightweight
building material which may offer signicant savings not
only in labour and transportation, but also in the amounts
of binder and steel reinforcement consumed in the
construction.
2. Experimental program
2.1. Materials
WSW used in this research is generated from the
mechanical processing of raw wood in the sawing process.
The WSW used in the sampling is in its original form and
taken from its disposed area nearby the timber manufac-
tures in the local region. LPW used in the brick samples is
produced during quarrying operations in the region. The
results of chemical and physical analysis of LPW, WSW
and cement are given in Table 1. The grading of the LPW
and WSW is shown in Table 2.
The cement used in this study is Portland cement with
calcite, complies with TS EN 197-1-CEM II/A-L 42.5 R
[17], produced at the Cement Mill in the region. Tab water
is used in the brick samples. The properties of the water
used in this study are pH of 6.2, 5.6 mg/lt sulphate content
and hardness of 3.7.
2.2. Mixing and fabrication of bricks
Four different types of mixtures are prepared according
to the requirements of BS 6073 [18] in the laboratory trials.
The details of mixes are given in Table 3. The cement and
water proportions in the mixes are taken as constant to
determine the effects of various WSWLPW combinations.
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Table 1
Properties of WSW, LPW and cement
Properties LPW WSW Cement
SiO
2
(%) 0.26 1.17 19.20
CaO (%) 56.19 0 52.00
MgO (%) 0 0 1.00
Al
2
O
3
(%) 0.25 2.38 3.70
Fe
2
O
3
(%) 0.30 0.23 0.16
SO
3
(%) 0 0 2.80
Na
2
O (%) 0 0 0
K
2
O (%) 0 0 0.27
CL (%) 0 0 0.006
Loss on ignition (%) 42.65 96.22 8.20
pH 9.9
Density 2.67 3.00
Specic surface area (m
2
/kg) 145 500
Compressive strength for 28 days (MPa) 48
Table 2
Sieve analysis of LPW and WSW
BS test sieve Passing by weight %
LPW WSW
1.18 mm 99.76 91.50
600 mm 97.06 43.50
300 mm 86.39 11.50
150 mm 60.27 1.60
75 mm 44.45 0.00
P. Turgut, H. Murat Algin / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 33993403 3400
In the mixing process of samples, LPW, WSW and
cement contents are placed in a concrete mixer and mixed
for 1 min. It is observed that WSW is uniformly scattered
within the mixes. In order to obtain more homogeneous
mixes, the water is sprayed by air pump onto the mixes
while the mixer is turning. Another 3 min of mixing is
conducted. Afterward, the fresh mixes are fed into the steel
moulds. The total number of samples prepared by this
procedure is 60. Table 4 shows the sample sizes and the
number of samples prepared for the corresponding
compressive strength, the exural strength and the unit
weight tests.
The steel mould is over-lled with the mixes using the
mixture proportions given in Table 3. The initial depth
covering the mould is approximately 150mm. The pressures
are applied for 4h to compact the material in the mould. The
amount of pressures (P) applied to the material is given in
Table 3. Subsequently, the formed brick samples are removed
from the mould. No damage was observed on the bricks
while demoulding. All brick samples are cured in room
temperature for 24h. Afterwards, the bricks are cured for a
period of 28 days in the cure tank lled with lime-saturated
water at 221C. Then, the brick samples are dried for 24h
in a ventilated oven at 105 1C. The water absorption is
obtained from the samples prepared for the unit weight tests.
The ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) tests are also conducted
on the samples made for the exural strength tests.
2.3. Test methods
A series of tests are carried out according to ASTM C
67-03a [16] to determine the water absorption, the unit
weight, the compressive strength and the exural strength
values of the brick samples.
After 28 days of curing, the brick samples are tested for
water absorption. They are taken out of the curing tank
and allowed to drain the surface water by placing them on
a metal wire mesh. The visible surface water is removed
with a damp cloth and the samples are weighted
immediately. After obtaining the saturated weight content,
they are placed into an oven at 105 1C, dried to a constant
mass for 28 h, and then taken out from the oven and
weighted at room temperature. The water absorption of
wet and dry weight of samples is calculated. The brick
samples are cooled at room temperature and their unit
weights are obtained by dividing the mass of the bricks by
their overall volume.
The dry compressive strength of brick samples is
determined by using the servo-controlled compression test
machine with a maximum capacity of 800 kN. The
compression load is applied onto the face of the sample
having a dimension of 105 90 mm
2
. The compressive
strength is determined by dividing the maximum load with
the applied load area of the brick samples. The dry exural
strength of samples is determined by the three-point
bending test with a supporting span of 180 mm, a height
of 75 mm and a width of 105 mm. The direct UPV
measurements are also taken for each brick sample
according to BS 1881 [19]. The direct path length for the
direct UPV is measured through the brick length of
225 mm.
3. Test results and discussion
Table 5 shows the averaged test results obtained from
the tests. Twenty brick samples with dimensions of
105 225 75 mm
3
are used for the exural strength and
UPV tests. Another 20 samples with dimensions of
105 90 75 mm
3
are tested for the compressive strength.
An additional 20 block samples of the same dimensions are
tested for the unit weight and water absorption. All of
these tests are conducted in accordance with ASTM C 67-
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Table 3
Mixture proportions for one brick sample
Mix no. Cement (g) Water (g) LPW (g) WSW (g) Total (g) Pressure (P) (MPa)
Control mix 376 188 2936 3500 17
LW-10 376 188 2706 54 3324 8
LW-20 376 188 2405 108 3077 4
LW-30 376 188 2117 162 2843 2
Table 4
Sample sizes and the number of samples prepared
Mix no. For the compressive strength test sample size: For the exural strength test sample size: For the unit weight test sample size:
105 mm90 mm75 mm 105 mm225 mm75 mm 105 mm90 mm75 mm
Control mix 5 5 5
LW-10 5 5 5
LW-20 5 5 5
LW-30 5 5 5
Total number
of samples
20 20 20
P. Turgut, H. Murat Algin / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 33993403 3401
03a [16]. The obtained test results show that the minimum
compressive and exural strength requirements in BS6073
[18] are obtained (see Table 5).
3.1. Water absorption and unit weight
The two water absorption terms corresponding to the
volume and the mass of samples are calculated. Fig. 1 shows
that the water absorption and the percentage WSW values
are proportionate. An improvement of 30% in the WSW
content increases the initial water absorption value of about
50%. In this WSW content, 29% of water absorption by
mass is in relatively acceptable limit compared to the widely
used lightweight building materials such as AAC which has
an approximate water absorption value of 60% [20].
The test results conrm that the unit weight values are
inversely proportional with the percentage WSW replace-
ment with LPW content (see Fig. 1). A 20% reduction in
the unit weight of control mix is obtained from the 30%
WSW replacement. This is an expected result owing to the
water absorption nature of WSW. By assuming the average
unit weight of ordinary concrete brick as 2.3 g/cm
3
, the
mixture having 30% of WSW content provides a 65%
lighter concrete (see Table 5). This reduction in unit weight
is a useful result which exhibits the potential of
LPWWSW combination to be used in the lightweight
building material applications.
3.2. Compressive strength
Table 5 shows the results of the compressive strength
values obtained from the tests. The average compressive
strength values are inversely proportional with the
percentage WSW replacement (see Fig. 1). The strength
dramatically decreases with an increase in the replacement
level of WSW. A 71% reduction in the strength of control
mix is obtained from the 30% WSW replacement (LW-30
mix) which attains the average result of 7.270.9 MPa
complied with BS6073 [18]. It is also observed that the
WSWLPWcement composite even in this compressive
strength value can easily be cut with simple handheld saw.
3.3. Flexural strength
Fig. 2 shows the relationship between the average
exural strength and the compressive strength values that
are inversely proportional with the WSW content in the
test samples. BS6073 [18] requires 0.65 MPa as a minimum
exural strength for the building materials to be used in
structural applications. All the samples tested for the
exural strength satisfy this requirement (see Table 5 and
Fig. 2).
3.4. Direct UPV measurement
The direct UPV values are measured on the exural
strength samples having 225 mm direct path length
required by BS1881 [19]. Fig. 2 shows the comparative
relationships of the UPV, the compressive and exural
strength values. Since the UPV is lower through the voids
which are produced by the WSW content in the samples,
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Table 5
Test results
Mix no Compressive
strength (MPa)
Flexural strength
(MPa)
Unit weight (g/cm
3
) Absorption (mass)
(%)
Absorption
(Volume) (%)
UPV (m/sn)
Control mix 24.972.1 3.9470.34 1.8870.01 12.470.0 23.371.0 2718731
LW-10 16.670.9 3.6570.17 1.7070.06 13.971.2 23.571.5 2627769
LW-20 11.070.2 3.5070.54 1.6670.02 15.170.9 25.071.2 2383767
LW-30 7.270.9 3.0870.13 1.5170.02 19.270.5 29.070.4 2083790
Fig. 1. Graphical representation of the results in Table 5.
P. Turgut, H. Murat Algin / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 33993403 3402
the reduction in the strength values causes the UPV to be
decreased. The results suggest that the WSW content, the
compressive and exural strength values may approxi-
mately be determined without a destructive testing by using
the non-destructive UPV measurements.
4. Conclusions
The physical and mechanical properties of brick samples
with WSW and LPW are investigated. The test results show
that the WSWLPW combination provides results which
are of potential to be used in the production of lighter and
economical new brick material. The observations during
the tests show that the effect of 1030% WSW replace-
ments in WSWLPW matrix does not exhibit a sudden
brittle fracture even beyond the failure loads and indicates
high energy absorption capacity by allowing lower labour-
ing cost. This composition produces a comparatively
lighter composite which is about 65% lighter than the
conventional concrete bricks. Concrete with 30% replace-
ment level of WSW which attained 7.2 MPa compressive
and 3.08 MPa exural strength values, satises the require-
ments in BS6073 for a building material to be used in the
structural applications. However, the complete investiga-
tion of brick samples with LPW and LPWWSW combi-
nation should include further durability tests.
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Fig. 2. Comparative relationship between the average compressive strength, exural strength and UPV values.
P. Turgut, H. Murat Algin / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 33993403 3403