The Study on Properties of Concrete with Cement Partially Replaced by Corn Cob Ash

Abstract

In recent times, instead of cement many alternative materials are being used as the binding material in the construction sector. One such binding material that can be used as a partial replacement for cement is corn cob ash. Corn cob is agricultural waste product obtained from maize or corn. Corn cob is the hard thick cylindrical central core of maize. The tests were carried out on the raw materials to check the suitability of the materials to be used for the research purpose and their properties were determined. M30 grade of concrete is adopted for this research. The concrete mix was designed as per Indian Standards. The specimens were cast with cement replaced by corn cob ash varying from 0 to 30% at 5% interval. The specimens include cubes, prisms and cylinders. The results show that the compressive strength of specimens with 10% of corn cob ash yielded almost the same strength as of the specimens with 0% replacement. The split tensile and flexural strength of all proportions are less compared to a concrete with 0% replacement. The overall results show that corn cob ash can be used in concrete with cement being partially replaced. The percentage of replacement should be limited to 10%.

Keywords: Corn cob ash, compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength