Investigation of structural characteristics of palm oil clinker based high-strength lightweight concrete comprising steel fibers

Abstract

The application of waste materials in the concrete composite is a great contribution to preserving natural resources and enhancing sustainable greener development in the construction industry. This study used Palm Oil Clinker (POC) and steel fibers to manufacture high-strength lightweight concrete (HSLWC). The POC is basically a byproduct of a palm oil industry, which was utilized as coarse aggregates and supplementary cementitious materials in the concrete. The noteworthy brittleness and lower tensile strain and strength of HSLWC were overcome by adding hooked end steel fibers. A total of six different concrete mixes by varying the volume of hooked end steel fibers, e.g., 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.50% of the total volume of the concrete were prepared. The HSLWC with 0% steel fibers was used as a reference. The physical and mechanical characteristics of the HSLWC, such as workability, density, compressive and splitting tensile strength, modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), stress–strain characteristics along with UPV, sorptivity and water absorption test were conducted. Compared to the reference specimen, the HSLWC increased the compressive and tensile strength, MOR, and MOE by 19%, 172%, 176% and 40%, respectively. Besides, the HSLWC exhibited ductility and had enough energy absorption capacity before failure.