Use of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash as Supplementary Cementitious Material

Introduction

This project evaluates the effect of the incorporation of sugarcane bagasse ash sand (BS) as a partial replacement to silica sand on the properties of engineered cementitious composite (ECC). ECC mixtures with different replacement levels of sand (including 0%, 25%, and 50% by volume) with BS are produced. Compressive and uniaxial tensile tests are carried out to characterize the mechanical properties of all produced ECC mixtures. The experimental characterization of BS reveals that it consists of a combination of different particle sizes and shapes (i.e., spherical, prismatic, and irregular shown below) and a high content of silica. In the context of ECC properties, while 25% sand replacement with BS did not increase in compressive strength, the ECC mixture with 50% sand replaced with BS demonstrates higher compressive strength than control ECC. Moreover, ECCs implementing 25% and 50% sand replacement with BS exhibited higher tensile strength and strain capacity compared to the control ECC. While the improved compressive and tensile strength can be attributed to the filler effect and potential pozzolanic activity of BS, the enhanced tensile ductility is likely ascribed to an enhanced fiber dispersion and a reduction in the matrix fracture toughness due to the fine particle size of BS.

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Related Publications

  • Arce GA, Hassan MM, Gutierrez-Wing MT and Barbato M (2019). “Use of Bagasse Ash as a Concrete Additive for Road Pavement Applications.” Rep. No. 18CLSU03, Transportation Consortium of South Central States (Tran-SET), Baton Rouge, LA (USA).
  • Subedi S, Arce GA, Hassan MM, Kumar N, Barbato M and Gutierrez-Wing MT (2019). “Influence of production methodology on the pozzolanic activity of sugarcane bagasse ash.” Proceedings (full paper), 2019 Tran-SET Conference, April 11-12, 2019, San Antonio, TX (USA). MATEC Web of Conferences, 271:07003. (Link)
  • Subedi S, Arce GA, Hassan MM, Barbato M, Gutierrez-Win MT, Kumar N (2020). “Use of bagasse ash as a partial replacement of cement in concrete in pavement applications.” Proceedings (abstract), 2020 Transportation Research Board 99th Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, Washington, DC (USA).
  • Noorvand H, Arce GA, Subedi S, Hassan MM, Barbato M and Bigdeli Y (2021). “Development of Engineered Cementitious Composites with Post-Processed Sugarcane Bagasse Ash as Sand Replacement.” Tran-SET 2020 Conference, January 2021, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Virtually via Zoon). (Link)

 

Funded Projects Supporting this Research

  • A novel pozzolanic concrete additive based on sugarcane bagasse ash

PI: Barbato, M. (July 2018-August 2018)

Co-PI: None

Sponsor: Louisiana Board of Regents, NSF EPSCoR, through LSU Graduate School

Program: Economic Development Assistantships (EDAs) 2017-2018

Period: July 2018 - June 2022