Experimental Study on Slump and Strength Properties of Concrete by Replacement of Cement Using Banana Leaf Ash

Abstract

Concrete is a composite material, made up of cement, fine aggregates and coarse aggregates. Cement is a basic constituent of concrete and it acts as a binding material. A major drawback in cement is that it emits Carbon dioxide in to the environment. Cement industry serves as the primary producer of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas. This project is directed to replace the cement in concrete partially by naturally available agro based materials. Here, the cement in concrete is replaced using banana leaf ash . Banana Leaf ash is finely powdered in to ash of fineness more or less equal to the fineness of cement. It is then added to the concrete mix of grade M25 partially by replacing 10% to the mass of cement. The properties and performance of the concrete (i.e., fresh and hardened properties of concrete) are examined before and after the replacement of banana leaf ash and reported. Workability, which is a property of fresh concrete, is estimated with the help of slump cone test. The workability value obtained for normal conventional concrete is low and with the banana leaf ash replaced concrete is medium workability. The compressive strength of concrete cubes is tested after period of 7, 14 and 28 days of curing. As a result, the compressive strength of the conventional M25 grade concrete at 7, 14 and 28 days are found to be 16.75Nmm-2, 20.17Nmm-2 and 23.41Nmm-2 whereas for concrete with banana leaf ash, the compressive strength is found to be 9.385 Nmm-2, 16.855 Nmm-2 and 26.37Nmm-2 . The increase in strength in banana leaf ash concrete at 28 th day is found to be 12.64%. The replacement of Banana leaf ash in concrete deteriorates the carbon emission and it is also a type of waste management.