Effects of Oil Palm Stalk Fibre Biomass Waste Addition on Engineering Properties of Lightweight Foamed Concrete

Abstract

The growth of agricultural waste in Malaysia has been one of the focal points today. Generally, the undue agricultural waste is discarded in the landfill without any consideration to the environment. Previous research has found that waste containing highly reactive silica can react with calcium hydroxide in concrete resulting in a compact concrete microstructure. Thus, this paper focuses on the potential utilization of oil palm stalk fibre (OPSF) as an additive in lightweight foamed concrete (LFC) for engineering properties enhancement. The engineering properties evaluated were compressive strength, bending strength, tensile strength, shrinkage and ultrasonic pulse velocity. Four different dosages of OPSF fibre of 0.15%, 0.30%, 0.45% and 0.60% were used as an additive to the LFC mix. The results revealed that the addition of 0.45% OPSF in LFC gave the best results of compressive strength, bending strength, tensile strength, shrinkage and ultrasonic pulse velocity of the LFC. OPSF's surface roughness was proved beneficial for fibre to matrix interfacial bonding since a coarser surface permits OPSF fibre and matrix interlocking in the hardened cement matrix.