DURABILITY PERFORMANCE OF OIL PALM SHELL LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE FOR INSULATION BUILDING MATERIAL

Abstract

The advantage of oil palm shell (OPS) as coarse aggregate in concrete can be extended to insulation concrete capacity. Thus, this paper will explain the durability of oil palm shell lightweight concrete (OPSLC) for insulation concrete capacity in building. Nine mix designs were developed containing high volume of OPS, which is 30, 32 and 34% from total volume of concrete with three different OPS shapes (raw, crushed and partly crushed). The water absorption and drying shrinkage were examined; besides, thermal conductivity testing that was conducted for confirmation as insulation concrete category. The observation of all the specimens lasted one year for durability performance test and 28 days for thermal conductivity value. The highest water absorption value is 43% from previous study that was designed for structural concrete. Higher OPS volume fraction produced higher air void content and caused water loss and increase of the hydration effects on OPSLC shrinkage. It also affected the microstructure conditions, especially specimens that used 34% of OPS volume fraction which show weak interface bond in cement matrix.