A New Mixing Method for Lightweight Concrete with Oil Palm Shell as Coarse Aggregate

Abstract

Oil Palm Shell (OPS) is the solid waste product from the palm oil sector of the agricultural industry. The substitution of coarse aggregate in concrete with OPS to produce lightweight concrete (LWC) had been researched since two decades ago. The author has discovered fluctuation on the performance of OPSLWC. One of the factors is the workability. As an initiative to enhance the performance of OPSLWC, the author proposes a new mixing method (NMM) modified from the mix design of self-compacting concrete (SCC). The effects of the NMM on the workability, uniformity, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength are investigated. The workability of the NMM is 25.5% higher than the conventional method (CM). The compressive strength shows an improvement of 5.76%; while the splitting tensile strength is increased by 22.35%. The new findings of this research have shown a positive impact on the concrete industry.

Keywords

• Oil palm shell
• New mixing method
• Lightweight concrete
• Compressive strength
• Splitting tensile strength