Application of sugarcane ash as an additional cementitious material in concrete

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The use of agricultural materials has increased in demand as of years progress in both rural and urban industrial zones. Hence, the disposal of agricultural waste of fibre materials increased in environment. The concrete structures made from cementitious materials often defected from settlements and static loads. Furthermore, the sugarcane fibres commonly tossed as wastes led to pollution in the environment. In this research, sugarcane was processed and burned at 500 °C into sugarcane ash (SCA) and implemented in the mix proportion of lightweight concrete and concrete mortars. Lightweight concrete specimens with dimensions 100x100x100-mm were casted according to dosage of SCA at 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% while a specimen consisting of SCA and lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) at dosage of 15% and 40% respectively. The fineness and consistency tests were performed experimentally through the Blaine air permeability and Vicat apparatus. Moreover, the cube compression test for specimens were performed on a Universal Testing Machine (UTM). The appropriate fineness and consistency results were achieved by specimens with 15% SCA and controlled mortar that at 183.31 m2/kg and 0.35 water-cement ratio, respectively. Additionally, the optimum compressive strength was obtained for specimen with 5% SCA at 32.78 MPa. Overall, both the mechanical and physical properties of the concrete were fully enhanced.