Durability properties of oil palm shell lightweight aggregate concrete containing fly ash as partial cement replacement

Abstract Environmental degradation resulting from waste disposal from coal industry and palm oil mills along with greenhouse gasses released by cement manufacturing industry needs to be resolved. Realizing that the use of free granite lightweight aggregate concrete is rewarding in terms of environmental sustainability and construction cost reduction through reduced foundation size, the present research delves further in oil palm shell (OPS) lightweight concrete research. The influence of fly ash as partial cement replacement on compressive strength, porosity and acid resistance of OPS lightweight aggregate concrete were investigated. Five types of concrete mixes were casted by replacing fly ash from 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by weight of cement. All the cubes were subjected to air curing for 28 days. The compressive strength and porosity of concrete were conducted 28 days of curing age. The acid resistance of concretes was evaluated by measuring the mass loss of the cubes after immersed in sulphuric acid solution for 1800 h. The findings show that OPS lightweight aggregate concrete exhibit strength reduction and increment in porosity value when more fly ash is used. Concrete produced with lesser quantity of fly ash experience lower mass loss and strength drop after immersed in acidic environment.