Research article

Compressive strength of sandcrete blocks produced with spear grass ash as a partial replacement for cement

Nkwocha Samuel Okechukwu, *Chijioke Chiemela and Chukwudi Prince EU

Department of Civil Engineering, Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author E-mail: cchijioke@fpno.edu.ng

Accepted 24, April, 2023

Abstract

This work investigated the compressive strength of sandcrete hollow blocks produced with Spear Grass Ash (SGA) as a partial replacement for cement in sandcrete hollow block production. A total number of 18 sandcrete blocks were produced with a single mix ratio of 1:6 (cement: sand) using a standard mould of 450mm x 225mm x 225mm having two hollow size of 131mm x 154.5mm x 225mm. The river sand used has a fineness modulus value of 2.93 and an average bulk density of 1510.31kg/m3. The percentage replacement of SGA with cement was varied from 10% to 50%. The sandcrete blocks produced were cured and tested for their 28-day compressive strength. The test result shows that the compressive strength value at 30% replacement of SGA with cement gave a highest value of 3.63N/mm2. It was observed that after 30% replacement of cement with SGA, a rapid reduction in the compressive strength of the sandcrete block was observed.

Keywords: Sandcrete Block, River Sand, Spear Grass Ash (SGA), Compressive Strength