Effect of dosage of superplasticizer on earth concrete

Abstract

The environmental load put forth by the construction industry is tremendous. Being a major contributor to the present-day environmental situation, the construction industry must embrace the necessary changes. Sustainable development, effective utilization of resources and responsible engineering are of utmost priority. There are several alternative construction materials on the rise, adhering to such new requirements, in addition to the benefits of the materials that are already being employed. Earth concrete is one such emerging construction material. In earth concrete soil along with other constituents are made into a flowable form that can be cast into various shapes using forms and cured to attain certain desired strength characteristics. Binders, coarse aggregates and admixtures for earth concrete are selected on the basis of the characteristic requirements of the resulting matrix. In the present study, laterite soil is used to produce earth concrete, cement acts as binder, crushed stone as coarse aggregate and a naphthalene-based admixture helps in achieving the required workability characteristics. By the incorporation of Ceraplast 300, a naphthalene-based super plasticizer, the density, workability and the compressive strength of earth concrete have been enhanced. The paper considers the effect of dosage of super plasticizer on the workability, density and strength characteristics of earth concrete. Through parametric experimental study of earth concrete specimens, the optimum dosage of the naphthalene based super plasticizer has been determined. 1 % dosage of the super plasticizer with earth concrete exhibited the best results for the selected matrix. In the experimental program, earth concrete capable of sustaining 47.7 MPa stress at failure was achieved, which accentuates the possibilities and need for further studies on earth concrete.