EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF FINE AGGREGATE IN CONCRETE WITH GROUNDNUT SHELL POWDER

The suitability of groundnut shell as a constituent material in concrete was investigated by replacing proportions by volume of fine aggregate with groundnut shell powder. The physical properties of cement groundnut shell powder and aggregates were determined. Three various concrete mixes with groundnut shell powder replacement of 0%, 15%, 20% and 25% to the fine aggregate were prepared for M25 grade of concrete with a water cement ratio of 0.44. The effect of groundnut shell powder on workability of fresh concrete was determined by the slump and compaction factor test. Compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength of concrete specimens were evaluated at 7days, 14days and 28 days at different percentage replacement. The experimental test results indicate that up to 20% replacement of groundnut shell powder with fine aggregate attains higher strength and decreases gradually if the percentage of groundnut shell powder increases.