The properties of concrete containing coconut shell as fine aggregate

• Main Author: Leman, Alif Syazani
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: TH1000-1725 Systems of building construction. Including fireproof construction, concrete construction
• Online Access: http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/885/

Green environments or environmentally friendly buildings have become a main focus among researchers. It refers to the concept of reusing waste materials to improve or make new products. Therefore, this study aims to examine the use of fine coconut shell (FCS) as a partial replacement of sand and its low thermal conductivity applications. The first part of the research focused on the characterisation properties of fine coconut shell and sand through sieve analysis, laser diffraction sieve, specific gravity tests, bulk density tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and water absorption test. Next, the mechanical properties of fine coconut shell as a partial replacement of sand in concrete were determined through slump tests, compressive strength tests, flexural strength tests, modulus of elasticity tests, splitting tensile strength tests, water absorption tests and water permeability testing. The second part of the research focused on low thermal conductivity applications of fine coconut shell concrete through the thermal conductivity test (k-value) and thermal resistance (r-value) calculations. After collecting the data, a relationship analysis was conducted to find the optimum percentage of fine coconut shell replacement. Next, from the optimum percentage, a wall panel was constructed to check the temperature that penetrated the house. A validation of temperature data from real monitoring was then conducted using Autodesk Ecotect software. The results showed that FCS was finer (≤ 600 μm) than sand (4.25 mm - 150 μm). In terms of mechanical properties, concrete containing fine coconut shell as a partial replacement of fine aggregate demonstrated better performance than normal concrete. Apart from that, the thermal conductivity values for specimens containing coconut shell were lower compared to normal concrete. 50 % of fine aggregate with fine coconut shell was found to be the optimum replacement percentage as it fulfilled all the requirements set by the British Standard and also that of previous research.