Stimulus of Raw Oil Palm Trunk (OPT) Fibre on Durability Properties of Lightweight Foamed Concrete

Abstract

Lightweight Foamed Concrete (LFC) has gained a huge amount of attention because of its high flowability, low self-weight, lower use of aggregate, low strength, and its thermal insulation. Furthermore, LFC is an environmentally friendly material because of its minimal usage of aggregate and high potential to incorporate waste material such as fibre. This research was conducted to assess the potential utilisation of oil palm trunk (OPT) fibre strengthened LFC in terms of its durability. Two densities of 600kg/m3 and 1200kg/m3, were cast and tested with 4 different percentages of OPT fibre, which were 0.15%, 0.30%, 0.45% and 0.60%. The parameters evaluated were water absorption, porosity, drying shrinkage, ultrasonic pulse velocity. The results revealed that the inclusion of OPT in LFC helps to minimise water absorption and the porosity of LFC. Moreover, the inclusion of OPT also enhances the drying shrinkage and ultrasonic pulse velocity of LFC.