Experimental Study of Self-Compacting Concrete Using Plantain Leaf Ash and Polycarboxylate Ether Solution as Superplasticizer
Mmeka Paschal Tochukwu
Department of Civil Engineering, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Nigeria.
Ugwu Stephen Emeka *
Department of Civil Engineering, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Nigeria.
Iwenofu Alvin Chisomnazu
Department of Civil Engineering, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Concrete is a binding material, made up of constituent of cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water. Self-Compacting Concrete is an innovative concrete that does not require vibration for placing and compaction. It is able to flow under its own weight, completely filling formwork and achieving full compaction, even in the presence of congested reinforcement. The study also intended to quantify the amount of plantain leaf ash to be added to the concrete according to the value of concrete properties measured. For such purpose, the fresh concrete must possess intense fluidity and great cohesiveness. Plantain leaf ash is waste and is causing threat to environment in terms of odour and to reduce this problem of this material the project has been undertaken so that it can be used for construction purpose. The following points were attempted for the resdearch;
i. To replace cement by different percentage of Plantain leaf ash,
ii. To prepare concrete by replacing the cement by Plantain leaf ash,
iii. To compare the fresh properties of self-compacting concrete containing varying amounts of plantain leaf ash with that containing commercially available superplasticizer,
iv. To study the compressive strength of normal conventional concrete and self-compacting concrete.
Keywords: Admixture, nonconventional concrete, plantain leaf ash, superplasticizer, Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC)