EFFECT OF PALM OIL FUEL ASH (POFA) FINENESS ON

THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE

Jeffrey Lau Yong' Lian

TP 684

P3 L366

2014

Master in Engineering (Civil)

2014

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK Grade: _ _ _ __ Please tick (..J) Final Year Project Report

D

Masters

IT]

PhD

D

DECLARATION OF ORIGINAL WORK

This declaration is made on the

28

day of

AUG 2014.

Student's Declaration: I JEFFREY LAU YONG LIAN. 14030081. FACULTY OF ENGINEERING hereby declare that this research project entitled "EFFECT OF PALM OIL FUEL ASH (POFA) FINENESS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE" is the result of my own research project work exclude for quotations and citations which have been duly acknowledged. Besides that, I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted for any other degree or award at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak or other institutions.

Date: 28 AUG 2014

JEFFREY LAU YONG LIAN

(14030081)

Supervisor's Declaration: I DR. DELSYE TEO CHING LEE) hereby certifies that the work entitled "EFFECT OF PALM OIL FUEL ASH (PO FA) FINENESS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE" was prepared by the above named student, and was submitted to the "FACULTY" as a partial fulfillment for the conferment of MASTER OF CIVIL ENGINEERING (CIVIL ENGINEERING> and the aforementioned work, to the best of my knowledge, is the said student's work.

Received for examination by: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ DR. DELSYE TEO CHING LEE

ii

Date: 28 AUG 2014

I declare that Projectfl'hesis is classified as (Please tick (--./»:

D CONFIDENTIAL D RESTRICTED

(Contains confidential information under the Official Secret Act 1972)* (Contains restricted information as specified by the organisation where research was done)*

QJ OPEN ACCESS

Validation of Project/Thesis I therefore duly affirmed with free consent and willingness declare that this said Projectfl'hesis shall be placed officially in the Centre for Academic Information Services with the abiding interest and rights as follows: • This Project/Thesis is the sole legal property of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). • The Centre for Academic Information Services has the lawful right to make copies for the purpose of academic and research only and not for other purpose. • The Centre for Academic Information Services has the lawful right to digitalise the content for the Local Content Database. • The_Centre for Academic Information Services has the lawful right to make copies of the Projectfl'hesis for academic exchange between Higher Learning Institute. • No dispute or any claim shall arise from the student itself neither third party on this Project/Thesis once it becomes the sole property of UNIMAS. • This Project/Thesis or any material, data and information related to it shall not be distributed, published or disclosed to any party by the student except with UNIMAS permission.

rp~

ckt.·~

Student signature _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~~ (28 AUG 2014)

Supervisor signature: _ _ _ _ _ __ (28 AUG 2014)

Current Address:

12E. JALAN TEMEDAK. 96000 SIBU SARAWAK MALAYSIA

Notes: '* If the Project/Thesis is CONFIDENTIAL or RESTRICTED, please attach together as annexure a letter from the organisation with the period and reasons of confidentiality and restriction.

I

,[The instrument is duly prepared by The Centre for Academic Information Services]

iii

------------------:--- ----.-.~-- -.----- -~ -~.-.- -

L

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Delsye Teo Ching Lee for guiding and assisting me throughout the entire research proj ect. Besides that, I would also like to thank everyone who had contributed in conducting the various laboratory experimental tests. In addition, I would also like to express my thanks to Serian Palm Oil Mill Sdn. Bhd for providing the palm oil fuel ash (PO FA) resources for my research project. Moreover, I would like to thank my family for the support.

iv

ABSTRACT

(palm oil industry in Malaysia is well known as the most important agricultural industry. Million tonnes of palm oil fuel ash (POF A) is being generated every year without any profitable return. POF A has the potential to be used as recycle materials due to their pozzolanic behaviour. Thus, this research project presents the effect of palm oil fuel ash (POFA) on the mechanical properties of concrete In this research project, POF A was used as supplementary cementing material to replace cement in concrete production. This is because POFA contains siliceous composition which produces a stronger and denser concrete. Three different fineness of POFA (passing through 38j.Ull, 63j.Ull and 75j.Ull) were used to replace ordinary portland cement at 15% by weight of cement throughout this research project. In the mix proportion, a mix design ratio of 1: 1.15:2.95 (Cement: Fine Aggregate: Coarse Aggregate) in term of weight of the components was constant for all mixtures. In this research project, three laboratory experimentai tests were carried out namely slump test, compressive strength test and splitting tensile strength test. The strength of POFA concrete are tested and determined at 3, 7 and 28 days. Workability in terms of slump and strength properties of POFA concrete were studied and compared with control specimen as well. The study revealed that POFA fmeness had significant effect on the workability and strength of concrete. The test results indicated

th~,

higher slump with higher fineness than those with lower fineness.

Compressive strength and splitting tensile strength was found to increase with the increase of POFA fineness. Consequently, it was found that POFA concrete produces lower strength than OPC concrete.

v

ABSTRAK

Industri minyak sawit di Malaysia terkenal sebagai industri pertanian yang paling penting. Juta tan abu bahan api kelapa sawit (POF A) sedang dijana setiap tahun tanpa apa-apa pulangan yang menguntungkan. POF A mempunyai potensi untuk digunakan sebagai bahan

kitar semula kerana tingkah laku pozzolanic mereka. Oleh itu, projek penyelidikan ini memberikan kesan abu bahan api kelapa sawit (POF A) terhadap sifat mekanikal konkrit. Dalam projek kajian ini, POFA telah digunakan sebagai bahan penyimenan tambahan untuk menggantikan simen dalam konkrit. Ini kerana POFA mengandungi komposisi bersilika yang menghasilkan konkrit yang lebih kukuh dan lebih padat. Tiga kehalusan POFA yang berlainan (melalui

38 ,~m,

63!lfl1 dan

75 1~m)

telah digunakan untuk menggantikan simen

portland biasa pada 15% mengikut berat simen sepanjang projek penyelidikan ini. Dalam nisbah campuran, nisbah reka bentuk campuran 1: 1.15: 2.95 (Cement: Agregat Halus: Agregat Kasar) dari segi berat komponen adalah malar bagi semua campuran. Dalam projek penyelidikan ini, tiga ujian ujikaji makmal yang telah dijalankan iaitu ujian kemerosotan, ujian kekuatan mampatan dan membelah ujian kekuatan tegangan. Kekuatan konkrit POFA diuji dan ditentukan pada 3, 7 dan 28 hari. Kebolehkerjaan dari segi kemerosotan kekuatan dan sifat-sifat konkrit POF A telah dikaji dan dibandingkan dengan spesimen kawalan juga. Kajian ini mendedahkan bahawa POF A kehalusan mempunyai kesan yang besar ke atas

.'

kebolehkerjaan dan kekuatan konkrit. Keputusan ujian menunjukkan kemerosotan yang lebih tinggi dengan kehalusan yang lebih tinggi daripada yang dengan kehalusan yang lebih rendah. Kekuatan mampatan dan kekuatan tegangan membelah didapati meningkat dengan peningkatan kehalusan POFA. Oleh itu, didapati bahawa POF A konkrit menghasilkan kekuatan lebih rendah berbanding konkrit OPe.

vi

Pusat Khidmat MakJumat Akademj). Ul'I1VERSITI MALAYSIA SARAW

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARA.TION.........

II II I I . II II • • II • • • II II II II • • • • • • • • II • • II • • I I . II II II • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • II II II II II II II • • • • • • • • • • • • II • • • • • • • •

ACKl"lOWLEDGEMENT,,I

II II II • • II II II II II II II II II • • • • • II • • • • II II II II II II II • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • II I I . II II II II • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • II • • • •

ABSTRA.CT................................

TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.

II • • • • • II • • • • • • • • • • • II II II II • • II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II • •

II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II I I . I I . II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II • • • • • • •

iv V

vii

II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II II • • • • • • •

LIST OF FIGURES ...............

U

II II II II II II II • • • • • • • • • • • • • II II II II II II II II II II • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

X

xi

LIST OF APPENDICES ................. ............................................................. xii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 1

1.2 Problem Statement. ......... .. ....................................................... ....... 2

1.3 Research Significance .. ............. ...•... ......................................... . ........ 3

1.4 Aim and Objectives .................. ...................................................... 3

1.5 Scope of Work................ .................... .. ................. ... .... ................ 3

1.6 Thesis of organisation........................................ .. ...................... ...... 4

CHAPTER 2 LITERA.TURE REVIEW

2.1

Introdu~tion ............... .. ........ ...........,' .......... ... .. ................ .. .... ... 6

2.2

Admixture............ ................ .... ... .. . ..................... .... . ............... 6

2.3

Types of Mineral Admixture (by-product material) 2.3.1

Fly ash ........................................................................ 7

2.3.2

Blast-furnace slag ............... .............. .. .................. .. ........ 8

2.3.3

Silica Fume ........ ....... ................ ................... .............. 9

vii

2.3.4

Rice Husk ash .............................................................. 9

2.4 The Physical Properties of POFA 2.4.1

Color. ....... . ............................... ....... .......................... 10

2.4.2

Specific gravity ............................................................. 11

2.4.3

Particle shape and size ................................................... 11

2.4.4

Fineness ..................................................................... 13

2.5

The Chemical Properties of POFA .................................................. 13

2.6

Effect of PO FA on the Fresh Properties of Concrete 2.6.1 Workability..................................... .... ...... ......... ........... 14

2.7

Effect of PO FA on the Hardened Properties of Concrete 2.7.1 Compressive Strength ........................................................ 15

2.7.2 Splitting Tensile Stren&t:h .................................................. 17

2.8

Effect of fineness on the Hardened Properties of concrete ...................... 18

2.9

Concluding Remarks ....... ... ............. .. ........... ...... ....................... 19

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1

General. ..... .. ........................................................ ................. 20

3.2

Material Properties Tests ................... .'......................................... 20

3.3

Materials Used for Research Project

'"

3.3.1 Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) ................................................ 21

3.3.2 Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) .......................................... 23

3.3.3 Fine Aggregate ............................ .... .................... .... ..................... 23

viii

3.3.4 Coarse Aggregate ............................................................ 24

3.3.5 Water..................................... .. ........... ....... .................. . 25

3.4

Concrete Mix Proportions 3.4.1 Concrete Mixing .......... .......... .......... .... ... ...................... ........ 26

3.4.2 Concrete Casting .............................................................. 27

3.4.3 Concrete Curing ................................................................ 27

3.5

Fresh Concrete Test 3.5.1 Slump Test. ................................................................... 27

3.6

Hardened Concrete Tests 3.6.1 Compressive Strength Test .................................................. 27

3.6.2 Splitting Tensile Strength Test. .......... .... .............. .. ............. 28

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1

Introduction........................................... ................. ............... 29

4.2

The Effects of PO FA Fineness on Workability of Concrete......... .. ........ 29

4.3

The Effects of POFA fmeness on Compressive Strength of Concrete.. ........ 30

4.4

The Effects of POF A Fineness on Splitting Tensile Strength of Concre..... 34

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDA nONS

5.1

Conclusions .............. '" ........... ... ...................... ........................ 38

5.2

Recommendations............. ....................................................... 39

REFERENCES ........................................................................... ............. 41

.'

APPENDICES........ ................. ... ........... ~: ...... ............. ..... ....................... , 45

ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Physical properties ofunground and ground POFA (Safiuddin et aI., 2011) ....... 10

Table 2.2: Chemical composition ofOPC and PO FA (Source: Awal, 1997; Tangchirapat,

2007; Eldagal, 2008) ..................................................................................... 14

Table 2.3: Effect of POF A on the workability of concrete (Eldagal, 2008; Sata et aI., 2007;

Tay,1990)................. ................................................................................ 15

Table 3.1: Aggregates Properties Laboratory Tests ................................................. 21

Table 3.2: Chemical composition of OPC ASTM Type 1.. ........................................ 23

Table 3.3: Physical properties of fine aggregate ........ ...... ......... ..... ............. . ... .... ... 23

Table 3.4: Physical properties of coarse aggregate .......... ........ .......................... .. ..... 24

Table 3.5: Mix Proportion .......... .. .............................. .. ............................ ...... 26

Table 4.1: Slump ... ......... ... . .. ........................................... ...... ........ . . .. . . . ........ 29

Table 4.2: Compressive strength for 3, 7 and 28 days ........ .................... . ................. 31

Table 4.3: Splitting tensile strength for 3, 7 and 28 days ........ ...... ............................ 35

x

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: OPC (Chindaprasirt et aI., 2007) ....................................................... 12

Figure 2.2: Unground POF A (Jaturapitakkul et aI., 2007) ....................... .. ............... 12

Fjgure 2.3: Ground POFA Jaturapitakkul et aI., 2007) ............................................ 12

Figure 2.4: Particle size distribution ofunground and ground POFA and OPC (Sata et aI.,

2004).............. .. ............... . ........ .. ..................... . ...... .. ............... .. ............ 12

Figure 2.5: Effect ofunground POFA on the compressive strength of concrete at 28 days (Tay,

1990)... . ...... .. ........ . ............. .... .. ................. ... ................ . . .. ................ ..... 17

Figure 2.6: Effect of ground POF A on the compressive strength at different test ages

(Tangchirapat et aI., 2009) .... . .................................... ................................... 17

Figure 2.7: Effect of ground POFA on the splitting tensile strength of concrete (Sata et aI.,

2007)..................................... .. .............................................................. 18

Figure 3.1: POFA.......... ...................... .. : .................... .. ...................... . ...... 22

Figure 3.2: Sieved POFA ..... .... ............... .. ........ . ................... . ........................ 22

Figure 3.3: Sieve analysis for sand ......................... .. ... .................. .. .............. . . 24

Figure 3.4: Sieve analysis for coarse aggregate ............................ . .......... .... .. ...... . 25

Figure 4.1: The Slump ..... . ...... ,... . .......... .. . .. . .. ................. .... ................. .. ...... 30

Figure 4.2: Compressive Strength for 3, 7 and 28 days ........................................... 33

Figure 4.3: Splitting Tensile Strength for 3, 7 and 28 days ....................................... 37

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX A Processes of Specific Gravity of Coarse Aggregate ........................... 45

APPENDIX B Processes of Specific Gravity of Fine Aggreagte ............................... 46

APPENDIX C Processes of Concrete Mixing, Casting and Curing .................... . ..... .. 48

APPENDIX D Processes of Slump Test.. .......................................................... 50

APPENDIX E Processes of Compressive Strength Test.. ............... ........................ 51

APPENDIX F Processes of Splitting Tensile Strength Test. .................................... 52

xii

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1.

Introduction

Concrete is usually a composite material that is used in civil engineering construction work. It is typically a mixture of cement, water, aggregate and also other admixtures. Concrete is strong in compression because the aggregate has the ability to carry the compression load; however it is extremely weak in tension. Cement consists of adhesive and cohesive properties which enable it to bond mineral fragments into a solid mass. Cement contains silicates and aluminates of lime which are made from blended and ground limestone and clay. According to Dobrowolski (1998), portland cement is the most commonly used hydraulic

~ement

for making concrete around the world. It

is considered as the most significant component of hydraulic cement which hardens due to hydration, a chemical reaction between cement powder and water. In concrete design and quality control, strength is the property usually specified. The water-cementitious materials

ratio, the extent of hydration, the curing and environmental conditions are the main factors that influence the strength of concrete. The ultimate compressive strength and rate of strength development of concrete are also greatly dependent on the chemical and physical properties of the cement. Higher demands for construction works have contributed to augmentation of cement production as one of the main components of concrete manufacture. As a result, the production of cement leads to increase the concern of global warming as CO2 emission is released to atmosphere. However, the variety of studies about various supplementary

1

cementing material involved in concrete production has been conducted in recent years. Nowadays, the use of various supplementary cementing materials such as Fly Ash, Blast­ Furnace Slag, Silica Fume, Rice husk Ash and other fiber and pozzolanic material are gaining popularity due to increasingly stringent environmental legislation. In addition, the use of various supplementary cementing materials is also a common practice since they are significantly reducing the cement content and improve the ultimate strength of the concrete. In this study, the study about the use of Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POF A) as a supplementary

cementing material in concrete production is carried out. The influence of POFA and its degree of fmeness on the mechanical properties of concrete is investigated. In Malaysia, palm oil industry is considered as the most important agro industries. POF A is a by-product which is generated from the combustion of palm oil plant residues. In this study, POF A is used as a pozzolanic material and also a replacement of cement in concrete to produce cementitious properties. Pozzolan is defined as a siliceous or siliceous and aluminous material where the particles react with calcium hydroxide from the cement to produce cementitious properties. The utilization of pozzolanic material in concrete would reduce the negative environmental effect and landfill volume for the disposal of wastes.

1.2.

Problem Statement

The presence of palm oil wastes has created a major disposal problem due to a large amount of solid waste materials is produced such as palm fiber, nutshells and empty fruit bunches from palm oil industry which is burnt at temperatures of about 800-1000 °C as fuels to provide steam for electricity generation in palm oil mills. After the burning process, an ash by-product are obtained, which is about 5% by weight of the residues known as palm oil fuel ash (pOFA). It has been reported that around 4 million tons/years of POFA are produced in

2

Malaysia only (Zarina, 2012). While the quantity of POFA is rising annually, its utilization is limited and basically disposed of as a waste in landfills without any profitable return. It can also affect environmental problems such as health hazards and financial loss.

1.3.

Research Significance

There are several significances in this research project. Firstly, PDFA is incorporated as supplementary cementing material in the concrete mix as to promote the use of agricultural waste and create a more sustainable environment besides its own ability to improve strength development of concrete. Next, it is also important that to obtain a mix proportion to produce concrete incorporated with PDF A and studies the mechanical properties of concrete in term of compressive strength and splitting tensile strength.

1.4.

Aim and Objectives

The aim of this research project is to conduct an experimental testing program to determine the effects of PDF A fineness on the mechanical properties of concrete. The objectives of the research project are:

1.

To obtain a mix proportion containing different PDF A fineness which can achieve a targeted strength of 30 N/mm 2 at 28 days and slump of 60mm-180mm

II.

To study the mechanical properties of

concr~te

by using POFA with 3 different

fineness which are passing through 38wn, 631!m and 751!m

1.S.

Scope of work

The study focuses on the effect of PDF A fineness on the mechanical properties of concrete. The study only limited to test for three types of PDF A fineness which are 381!m, 631!ffi and

3

75JlM with 15% PDFA replacement. Three laboratories experimental tests is carried out, namely slump test, compressive strength test and splitting tensile strength test. The slump test is carried out to detennine the workability of fresh concrete. The concrete sample is cured in the water and tested for 3 days, 7 days and 28 days strength. Consequently, two mechanical properties of concrete such as compressive strength and splitting tensile strength will be tested in this study.

1.6.

Thesis Organisation

This report contains five chapters which are introduction, literature review, methodology,

result and discussion and conclusion respectively.

Chapter I discuss the general background of the research, problem statement, scope of work,

aim and objectives and thesis significance.

Chapter 2 discuss the admixture which is also one of the components of concrete mix. Besides that, a general background for four types of pozzolanic materials such as fly ash, blast furnace slag, silica fume and rice husk ash will be discussed in this chapter. In addition, the properties of PDFA such as physical and chemical composition will also be discussed in this chapter. Moreover, a previous study about the effect of PDF A on the mechanical properties of concrete will be studied. Lastly, a previous research about the effect of fineness on properties of concrete will be also discussed.

Chapter 3 explain various laboratory tests will be carried out in this chapter. In this chapter, three laboratory experiments will be conducted such as slump test, compressive strength test and splitting tensile strength test. In addition, experiment setups will be stated in this chapter.

4

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