REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

CRUSHED TILES

The CT is an industrial waste material, and then reuses it in the construction fields will reduce
the concrete costs and reduce the environmental pollution. The general properties, such as the
specific gravity, water absorption and water content of the natural crushed aggregate and the CT
aggregate were tested and compared with natural aggregate. Three different replacement
percentages of CT aggregates (0%, 50% and 100%) were used in the concrete mix, in each
replacement percentage; W/C and G/S were changed as a parametric study to investigate their
effects on slump and compressive strength.
OIL PALM FIBER
Oil palm fiber (OPF) extracted from the empty fruit bunches is proven as a good raw material for
biocomposites. The cellulose content of OPF is in the range of 43%–65% and lignin content is in
the range of 13%–25%. A compilation of the morphology, chemical constituents and properties
of OPF as reported by various researchers are collected and presented in this paper. The
suitability of OPF in various polymeric matrices such as natural rubber, polypropylene, polyvinyl
chloride, phenol formaldehyde, polyurethane, epoxy, polyester, etc. to form biocomposites as
reported by various researchers in the recent past is compiled. The properties of these
composites viz., physical, mechanical, water sorption, thermal, degradation, electrical properties,
etc. are summerised.
STRENGTH OF THE CONCRETE

Strength is usually the basis for acceptance or rejection of the concrete in the structure. The
specifica-tions or code designate the strength (nearly always compressive) required of the
concrete in the several parts of the structure. In those cases in which strength specimens fail to
reach the required value, further testing of the concrete in place is usually specified. This may
involve drilling cores from the structure or testing with certain nondestructive instruments that
measure the hardness of the concrete.

The code and specifications state the strength that is required in the several parts of the
structure. The required strength is a design consideration that is determined by the structural
engineer and that must be attained and verified by properly evaluated test results as specified.
Some designers specify concrete strengths of 5000 to 6000 psi, or even higher in certain
structural elements. Specified strengths in the range of 15,000 to 20,000 psi have been
produced for lower-floor columns in high-rise buildings. Very high strengths, understandably,
require a very high level of quality control in their production and testing. Also, for economy in
materials costs, the specified strength of very high-strength concrete is based on 56- or 90-day
tests rather than on traditional 28-day test results. To give some idea of the strengths
that might be required, Table 3.1 is included as information only. Remember that the plans and
specifications govern. Note that the ACI 318 Standard (Section 19.2.1.1) indicates a minimum
specified compressive strength of 2500 psi for structural concrete. Simply stated, no structural
concrete can be specified with a strength less than 2500 psi. Other properties of the concrete
can be significant for concrete exposed to freeze-thaw conditions, sulfate exposure and chloride
exposure (effects of chlorides on the corrosion of the reinforcing steel). Strength, however,
remains the basis for judgment of the quality of concrete. Although not necessarily dependent
on strength, other properties to improve concrete durability are related to the strength.
Concrete that fails to develop the strength expected of it is probably deficient in other respects
as well.

Properties of Ceramic Tiles as a Coarse Aggregate

The important specifications of coarse aggregate are its shape, texture and the maximum size.
Ceramic waste aggregate are found to be smoother in texture than that of ordinary crushed
stone aggregate. Surface texture and mineralogy affect the binder between the aggregates and
the paste as well as the stress level at which micro cracking begins; the aggregate strength
becomes influential in the case of higher-strength concrete. Ceramic wastes retain
characteristics suitable for use as pozzolanic materials and thus are suitable for use in the making
of concrete.

Workability of Partially Replaced Ceramic Tile Concrete

Harry and Ekop investigated the compressive strength characteristics of concrete made with
ceramic tile waste as coarse aggregates and concluded from a slump test that workability of
concrete decreases with increasing tile waste content. However, Hemanth in his study on the
effect of waste ceramic tiles in partial replacement of coarse and fine aggregate of concrete
noted that there were minor increases in workability when crushed tiles were used to replace
granitic aggregate.
Effect of Curing Time on the Strength Properties of Partially Replaced Ceramic Tiled Concrete

Torgal examined the feasibility of using ceramic wastes in concrete. The results obtained
indicated large differences in compressive strength in early curing ages and smaller differences
in compressive strength at long curing age. Nevertheless, the strength performance is higher for
concrete mixtures with ceramic sand beyond 14 days curing.

Oil palm Fibre (OPF) Concrete Additive

Pordesari investigated the use of agricultural wastes from oil palm industry such as oil palm
shell, palm oil fuel ash and palm oil fibre in concrete mixture. The author denoted that the
addition of oil palm fibre in the mixture moderately increased the density of the lightweight
concrete.

METHODOLOGY
Ordinary Portland Cement

The type of cement used in this study is Ordinary Portland cement (OPC); brand name is Dangote
3x. It is a grade 42.5R cement; meaning that the cement achieves 42.5MPa strength in 28 days’
setting time. Also it has a higher yield (about 8% more) than grade 32.5 cement and a rapid
setting characteristics (R). Ordinary Portland cement is the main component in producing
concrete. It is a mixture that contains calcium, silicon, aluminium, iron, and also a small quantity
of other components. This type of cement will go through hydration in order to create a new
solid formation in the presence of water.

Aggregates

Granite is the coarse aggregate that was used in this study. There are various sizes of granite
aggregate that available in market. In this study, the minimum size of granite aggregate used is 5
mm while the maximum size is 20 mm confirming to BS 1377-2-1990. Locally available free of
debris and nearly riverbed sand is used as fine aggregate. The tiles were crushed uniformly to
about 20mm size manually using hammer and sieved through 20mm BS Sieve. The various test
conducted on the ceramic tiles are specific gravity, water absorption and impact test.
Two of the characteristics of aggregate particles that affect the properties of concrete are
particle shape and surface texture. Particle shape affects the workability of the concrete, and the
surface texture mainly affects the bond between the matrix and the aggregate particles and thus
the strength of the concrete. Generally, crushed aggregates consist of rather angular particles
having a rough surface texture resulting in a concrete of lower workability but higher strength
compared with a similar mix made with uncrushed aggregates. The crushed tiles are angular in
shape. The surface texture on a face is smooth and rough on the other face; also the splitting
edges are rough.

Oil Palm Fibre

The oil palm fibre was gotten from Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) also in Benin
City, Edo state. It is a by-product of oil palm nut whereby the oil in it was extracted and the fibre
was manually separated from the nut by threshing, squeezing and washing process. The washed
fibre was then air dried before application to the concrete.

Laboratory Testing of the Aggregates Properties

The tests on the aggregates include the particle size distribution; the test consists of dividing up
and separating by means of a series of test sieves, the aggregates into several particle size
classifications of decreasing sizes. The test was carried out to BS EN 933-1:2012.
The aggregate crushing value test was used to determine the relative measure of the resistance
of an aggregate to crushing under gradually applied compressive load as per BS 812-110:1990.
The aggregate impact value test was done to determine the aggregate impact value of the
coarse aggregates using Impact testing machine conforming to BS 812-112:1990. Two of such
tests were carried out and the mean of the results reported
.
Samples Preparation

The concrete material was mixed at a ratio of 1:2:4 at various percentage of granite
replacement, namely 0%, 10%, 20% and finally, a 0.6% of oil palm fibre additive for each
percentage replacement. A total of 45 cubes (100 x 100x 100 mm) and 15 beams (100 x 100 x
500 mm) were cast and cured in a curing pond/tank at a temperature of 20 ± 2°C for the
specified period of 7 – 28 in accordance to BS EN 12390-2:2009.
Tests on Samples

At the end of the curing period, the cubes were removed and wiped to remove surface moisture
in readiness for compression test in accordance to BS EN 12390-3:2009. The cubes were then
placed with the cast faces in contact with the platens of the testing machine. The load was
applied at a constant rate of stress of to failure. The readings on the dial gauge were then
recorded for each cube.
The flexural test was carried out on the 28day beam of size 100x100x500mm in accordance to BS
EN 12390-5:2009 using a flexural test machine.