Early strength development assessment of concrete produced from cement replaced with nano silica activated Corn Cob Ash

• Published in: Materials today : proceedings 2023, Vol.86, p.36-40
• Main Authors: Oluremi, J.R., Raheem, A.A., Balogun, R.O., Moshood, A.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Compressive strength; Concrete; Corn Cob Ash; Early strength development; Nano silica
• ISSN: 2214-7853; 2214-7853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2023.02.191

The use of agricultural residue like Corn Cob Ash (CCA) as partial replacement for cement has been found useful in mitigating environmental pollution from the waste product. It is highly effective for long term development of concrete strength but, its early strength development is very slow. This study examined the influence of Nano Silica (NS) on early strength development of CCA concrete. Corn Cob Ash was produced by open burning of clean and dried corn cobs sourced from farms within Ogbomoso environs. Nano silica was obtained from Nanotechnology Research Group Laboratory at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. Concrete samples, 150 mm cubes were produced from the mixture of cement, crushed granite (coarse aggregates) and sand (fine aggregates), batched in ratio 1:2:4. A constant amount of 10 % CCA by weight of cement was used for replacement of cement while 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 % NS by weight of cement were added to the mixture to investigate the strength development in concrete. The samples were subjected to compression strength test in accordance to standard procedures. The results revealed that incorporation of CCA as partial replacement for Ordinary Portland cement decreased the early development of compressive and tensile strengths of the concrete. However, addition of NS improved the strength development up to 2 % NS. This optimum value was therefore recommended for improving early strength development of concrete.