Partial Replacement of Sand with Sawdust in Concrete Production

Abstract

The rising costs of building construction in developing countries have been a source of concern to government and private developers. This study investigated the use of sawdust as partial replacement for fine aggregates in concrete production. Sawdust was used to replace fine aggregates from 0% to 50% in steps of 10%. Concrete cubes measuring 150 x 150 x 150mm were cast and their compressive strengths evaluated at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Increase in percentage of sawdust in concrete cubes led to a corresponding reduction in compressive strength values. From the results, the optimum sawdust content was obtained at 10% and its corresponding compressive strength at 28 days is 7.41 N/mm2 which falls within the characteristic strength of plain concrete (7 – 10 N/mm2). This concrete cannot be used for structural applications.