Performance evaluation of sugar cane bagasse ash on the strength of concrete: A sustainable approach
G. D. Kumara, P.V. Sivapullaiah, A.S.N. Murthy
Abstract
Cement is the most sought material in the world next to water. The manufacturing and utilization of cement is increasing rapidly leading to global warming due to release of CO2. In this research, it is intended to partially substitute the cement with agro-based byproducts i.e. bagasse ash (SCBA) as supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). Meanwhile, effect of SCBA (added at various proportions i.e. 5–30 %) on compressive and tensile strengths of concrete was investigated. Furthermore, SCBA was characterized for SEM, EDX, and XRD analysis to examine the surface morphology and physio-chemical characteristics. From results, EDX analysis indicated that the SCBA was primarily made of oxygen (O) ∼ 51.85 % and silica (Si) ∼ 45.67 % while, XRD analysis, showed the presence of SiO2 in SCBA. Slump value of SCBA blended concrete increased with increase in % of bagasse ash by up to 15 % increment. The compressive and split tensile strength values indicated 15 % replacement of SCBA with cement has performed better than other mixes.