International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Evaluation of Mechanical properties of

BAGcrete
K.Rekha#1,
1

R.Thenmozhi*2

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Government college of Technology, Coimbatore

641013,Tamil Nadu, India.rekhalec@gmail.com

Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Government college of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu, India. thenmozhiligct@yahoo.co.in

Abstract:The usage of waste materials in making

mineral admixtures in productionof concrete renders

concrete gives a satisfactory solution to some of the

positiveresults to the disposal of waste to land in the

problems

form of landfill. An agro waste product (Bagasse

related

to

waste

management

and

environmental concerns. In the development of blended

Ash) is partially replaced for cement while making

cements, some of the Agro wastes such as sugarcane

concrete. This is here by termed as BAGcrete.

bagasseash,rice husk ash and wheat straw ash are used

These

as pozzolanic materials. Few studies have been reported

by-products

mainly

possess

silica,

alumina iron etc. Whenpozzolanic materials come

on the use of bagasse ash(BA) as partial cement

replacement material. This research aims to study the

and contact with cement, the silica (SiO2)present in

physical and mechanical properties of hardened

these materials get started its reaction with free lime

concrete

partial

released duringthe hydration process and produces

replacement material for cement are reported. The

additional calciumsilicate hydrate (CSH) as new

Portland cement was replaced with BA in the ratio of

hydration products which enhance the mechanical

prepared with bagasse ash

as

0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of weight of cement. The

properties of concrete formulation.While burningthe

compressivestrength, splitting tensile strength and

agro waste materials in controlled temperature

flexural strength of concrete at the age of 28 days were

(Below 700C) for one hour the ashes are

investigated. From the test results it was observed that

produced[8,10]. During this processthe silica content

bagasse ash is an effective mineral admixture, with 5%

present in the ashtransforms intoamorphous phase

as optimal replacement ratio of cement.

and the reactivity of amorphoussilica is directly

Keywords: Bagasse ash; Pozzolanic material; strength

parameters; M sand

1.

proportional to the specific surface area of ash .Thus

the agricultural ash propertiesdepend on burning

Introduction

time,

Ordinary Portland cement is the important

construction

material

in

the

temperature,

cooling

time

andgrinding

conditions.However, it typicallypresents variable and

world.Mineral

coarse particle size distribution, so that theproduction

admixtures are commonly used in manyapplications

of pozzolanic ash from Sugar cane bagasse Ash

in the construction fieldfor structures such as bridges,

requires pulverization or grinding to get mineral

tall building and offshore structures, and many other

admixture in the size of cement.

mass constructions. Some mineral admixturessuchas

In

previous

research

N.B.

Singh

et

al

silica fume, blast furnace slag, fly ash and rice husk

[1]proposed that BA acts as a pozzolonic material

ash are byproductsof industrial or agro industrial

and 10% BA gives higher compressive strength than

processes which are being used as supplementary

control concrete. G.C.Corderio et al[9] investigated

cementitiousmaterials [1-7]. The applicationof these

that in mortar BA provided the highest packing

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

density which renders higher compressive strength

replacement material for cement it has undergone

and pozzolonic activity. Ganesan et al[10] evaluated

burning process to bring down the carbon content to

the optimal replacement of BA for cement as 20%

4.9% then it was ground to required size after

and also studied the physical and mechanical

cooling.The specific gravity of BA is 1.85.

properties of bagasse ash concrete. Studies by

the

2.2 Casting and Testing.Asan initial attempt, a mix

compressive strength and water permeability of

ratio of 1:1.5:3 was tried with w/b ratio as 0.45. In

concrete and they proposed 20% is the optimum level

this mix proportion with five different percentage

of replacement for cement.TayyebAkram et al [12]

replacements were made for cement. With these

reported the effects of BA as ViscosityModifying

mixtures, the standard samples namely cubes of

Agent(VMA) in the production of self compacting

size(150mmX150mmX150mm),

cylinders(150mm

Concrete.

diameter

height)

NuntachaiChusilp

et

al[11]

investigated

300mm

and

Few studies have been reported on the use of BA

prisms(100mmX100mmX500mm) were cast based

as pozzolanic material in respect of cement paste.

on the standard procedures. To understand the

Hence an attempt is made in this paper to find out the

workability characteristics of concrete, the slump test

suitability of BA as supplementary cementitious

was carried out. Then the conventional concrete and

material. From detailed experimentation the optimum

BAGcrete were poured into moulds with proper

level of replacement of BA and the fresh and

compaction.

hardened properties of BAGcrete were evaluated.

specimens were left as such and after 24 hours, the

Immediately

after

casting,

the

2. Experimental investigations

specimens were demoulded and kept in curing. The

2.1Materials used.

Ordinary Portland Cement

details of specimens are given in Table.1. After

confirming to Indian standard code IS 8112-1995

3days,7days and 28 days of maturity, the three

was used. Manufactured sand (M sand) was used as

samples of concrete cubes in each Mix ID were

fine aggregate with specific gravity2.52 and locally

tested for compression in Compression Testing

available crushed granite aggregate of size 20mm

Machine of 300tonnes capacity. Similarly the

down was used as coarse aggregate with specific

cylinders were tested for split tension and the prisms

gravity 2.67 (conforming to IS 383 1970).

were subjected to flexural compression test at the age

Mill fired bagasse ash was collected from Dharani

of 28 days. The graphical representation of test

sugar mills, Vasudevanallur, Tirunelveli District,

results are given below (Fig 2, Fig 3, Fig 4)

Tamil Nadu, India. Before it was used as a

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Table 1 Detail ofSpecimens

S.No

Mix
ID

Slump in
[mm]

Degree of
workability as
per IS 4562000

BA0

80

BA5

No of Cubes
Days 3

Days
7

Days
28

Medium

185

Very High

BA10

201

Very High

BA15

209

Very High

BA20

217

Very High

15

15

15

15

15

Total specimens

BAGcrete is very high as per the codal

provision, i.e. the slump value increased
dramatically, say 131%.This phenomenon may
be due to more surface area of BA. Beyond this
level, at 10% and more replacement levels, there
is no such rapid increase in workability, only a
very moderate difference alone in the increasing
trend was observed. Hence 5% replacement of
BA is considered to be optimum level of
replacement for having adequate workability

3. Results and Discussion

No of
No of
Cylinders
Prisms
Days
28

3.1Workability Characteristics. The trend in

slump value for different mix proportions is
given in figure 1. It is found that as the
percentage replacement of BA increases the
slump value gets increased. For conventional
concrete (without BA), the degree of workability
of concrete is found to be medium. When 5%
BA is added the degree of workability of

Slump in mm

250
200
150
100
50
0
BA0

BA5

BA10
Mix ID

BA15

BA20

Figure1. Slump values vs different % replacement of BA

3.2. Strength Characteristics.For the 5%
replacement of BA for cement, the characteristics
strength of BAGcrete increases by 30% whereas
when 10% replacement is used, thestrength of
BAGcretegets increased only to 17%. It is a known
fact that for a rapid development of strength, more
fineness is essential. This phenomenon may be a
cause for more strength with the use of BA.

From15% replacement onwards, the strength gets

reduced. The behavior in split tension as well as in
flexural compression also in line with cube
compression strength characteristics. It can be seen
from the results that maximum values of compressive
strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength
occur at the optimum workability of the mix.

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Compressive Strength in
N/mm2

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0

10

15

20

25

% replacement of BA

Tensile Strength in N/mm2

Figure 2. Compressive strength vs. % replacement of BA

3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0

10

15

20

25

% replacemet of BA

flexural strength in N/mm2

Figure3. Tensile strength vs. % replacement of BA

5
4
3
2
1
0
0

10

15

20

25

% replacement of BA

Figure 4.Flexural strength vs. % replacement of BA

4. Conclusions
In this paper, an attempt has been made to
find out the strength parameters of BAGcrete.
From workability test results it can be concluded
that 5% is the optimum replacement level and
found that BAGcreteis a workable mix. As it is a
more workable mix, that too without any

segregation, it is having self compacting ability.

So the usage of super plasticizers and VMA can
be avoided, which may lead to an economical mix
preparation.
The strength characteristics on
BAGcrete increases with higher dosage of BA. It
is found that the density of BAGcrete is
comparatively lesser than conventional concrete,

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

which helps to reduce overall economy of the

structure. More usage of this Supplementary
Cementitious Material in Construction Industry
may lead to reduction in the manufacture of
cement, which automatically leads to reduction of
green house gases. Hence this agro waste
product can effectively be used in construction
after subjected to durability tests.
5. References
[1]N.B. Singh, V.D.Singh, SaritaRai, Hydration of
Bagasse
Ash

blended
Portland
CementCement and Concrete research
30(2000) 1485-1488
[2]M.A.Tantawy,A.M.EI-Roudi,A.A
Salem,
Immobilization of Cr(IV) in bagasse ash
blended cement pasteconstruction and
Building materials 20(2012)218-223
[3]R.Srinivasan, K. Sathiya, Experimental study on
Bagasse ash in concrete International
journal for Service and learning in
Engineering vol.5, no.2.pp 60-66, Fall 2010
ISSN 1555-9033
[4]PiyanutMuantong,
SuvimolSujiavanich,
Sansaneeboonsalee, Effects of fine bagasse
ash on the workability and compressive
strength of mortars Chiang Mai J.
Sci.203;40(1):126-134
[5] G.C. Corderio, R.D.ToledoFilho, L.M. Tavares,
E.M.R. Fairbairn, Pozzolonic activity and
filler effect of sugar cane bagasse ash in
Portland cement and lime mortar cement
and concrete composites 30(2008)410-418
[6]GuilhermeChagasCorderio , Romildo Dias
Toledo filho,Luis Marcelo Tavares,Eduardo
de MoraesRego Fairbairn, Ultrafine

ISBN 978-93-80609-17-1
1439

grinding of Sugar cane bagasse ash for

application as pozzolonic admixture in
concrete Cement and Concrete Research
39(2009)110-115
[7] RattaponSomna, Chai Jaturapitakkul, Amde M.
Amde, Effect of ground fly ash and ground
bagasse ash on the durability of recycled
aggregate concrete cement and concrete
composites 34(2012)848-854
[8]M.Sivakumar, Dr.N.Mahendran, Experimental
studies of Strength and Cost Analysis of
concrete Using bagasse ASH IJERT,
ISSN:2278-0818, vol.2 Issue 4, April 2013
[9]G.C.
Corderio,
R.D.ToledoFilho,E.M.R.
Fairbairn, Effect of calcination temperature
on the pozzolonic Activity of sugar cane
bagasse ash Construction and Building
Materials 23(2009)3301-3303
[10]K.Ganesan,K.Rajagopal,K.Thangavel,
Evaluation
of
bagasse
ash
as
supplementary
cementitious
materialcement and concrete composites
29(2007)515-524
[11]NauntachaiChusilp,
Chai
Jaturapitakkul,KraiwoodKiattikomol,
utilization of bagasse ash as a pozzolonic
material in concrete construction and
Building materials 23(2009)3352-3358
[12]TayyebAkram,
Shazim
Ali
Memon,
HumayunObaid, Production of low cost
Self Compacting Concrete using bagasse
ashconstruction and Building materials
23(2009)703-712.