Water Absorption And Mechanical Strength Of Gum Arabic-Sawdust Ash Concrete

Augustine U. Elinwa*, Maibuiangu Mustapha M, Okpo Isaiah A, Abubakar, Salisu

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Civil Engineering Dept., PMB 0248, Bauchi, (NIGERIA)

PAGE NO: 10-26 – DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47204/EMSR.2.1.2021.10-26

ABSTRACT

The thrust of this research was to evaluate the effects of low-impact materials sawdust ash (SDA), and gum Arabic (GA)], on the water absorption, and size effects of the specimens, on the mechanical strengths of concrete. Four concrete mixtures designated as M-00SDA/GA, M-00SDA/0.5%GA, M-10SDA/0.5%GA, and 30SDA/0.5%GA, respectively, were used. The Mix with M-00SDA/GA, was the mix control (containing no GA and SDA). The mix proportion was 1: 2.24: 2.71, with cement content of 370 kg/m3, and water-cement ratio of 0.5. The other mixes contain either GA (only), or GA with 10 % SDA or 30 % SDA replacement by wt. % of cement. The results on water absorption showed that GA increased the water absorption and mechanical strengths of the concrete samples, while the addition of SDA decreased water absorption and also decreased the mechanical strength of concrete samples. These behaviors are believed to be tied to the mineral compounds formed during hydration of the cement, and also the sizes of the test samples. The work established limits of replacements of SDA when used with GA, and regression models for water absorption and mechanical strengths were developed.