EFFECT OF PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF FINE AGGREGATE WITH SAWDUST IN LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE PRODUCTION USING BIDA NATURAL STONE AS COARSE AGGREGATE

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of sawdust as partial replacement for Fine Aggregate in light weight concrete production. Sawdust was used to replace Fine Aggregate from 0% to 40% in steps of 5%. 150 x 150 x 150mm concrete cubes were cast for each replacement level, the concrete was cured and the compressive strengths were determined at 7, 21 and 28days curing period respectively. Increase in percentage of sawdust in concrete led to a constant reduction in the compressive strength values with a corresponding reduction in weight. From the result obtained, 5% replacement of Fine Aggregate with sawdust gave a maximum compressive strength 13.11 N/mm2. It was however concluded that the optimum replacement level of 5% can be used as plain concrete for blinding works.