THE EFFECT OF WALNUT SHELL ASH ON THE PROPERTIES OF CEMENT PASTE AND MORTAR: A STUDY ON PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF CEMENT

Authors

Ali Shebli, Faculty of Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Debbieh, LebanonFollow
Jamal Khatib, Faculty of Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Debbieh, LebanonFollow
Adel Elkordi, Faculty of Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Debbieh, LebanonFollow

Keywords

Sustainable, Agricultural waste, Cementitious, Walnut Shell Ash, Agro residues

Disciplines

Agriculture | Architecture | Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology | Engineering | Life Sciences | Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Abstract

In the pursuit of a more sustainable future, the utilization of agricultural waste in cementitious products has emerged as a popular and effective solution. The current study explores the feasibility of incorporating ash derived from walnut nutshells, considered agro residues, into eco-friendly blended cement paste and mortars to examine its impact on their properties. A range of blended cement mixtures was formulated by incorporating walnut shell ash (WSA) in three varying proportions of 5%, 10%, and 15% relative to the weight of the cement. Tests were conducted to investigate the properties of the blended cement paste and mortar incorporating WSA, covering consistency, setting time, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), water absorption, and drying shrinkage. The addition of 5%, 10%, and 15% of WSA led to an increase in water demand by 33.6%, 37%, and 39%, respectively, compared to the control mix, which is 30%. Additionally, as the WSA content increased, the initial and final setting times decreased. For 15% WSA, the initial and final setting times reduced by 91.28% and 70.76%, respectively, compared to the control mix. WSA-blended mortars showed lower UPV values compared to the control mix at all ages. The addition of WSA to the mortar resulted in a reduction of compressive strength at all ages. At 28 days, mortar with 5%, 10%, and 15% of WSA showed a reduction in compressive strength by 11%, 22.6%, and 53.2%, respectively. WSA-blended mortar demonstrated greater drying shrinkage compared to the control mix at all ages, with 10% WSA exhibiting the highest shrinkage after 90 days. Mortar containing 10% WSA showed the highest water absorption after 28 days of curing, at 13.15%, which is 33.8% higher than the control mix.

Author ORCID Identifier

Ali Shebli https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9606-4134

Jamal Katib https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4393-6728

Adel Elkordi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1487-8469

Recommended Citation

Shebli, Ali; Khatib, Jamal; and Elkordi, Adel (2023) "THE EFFECT OF WALNUT SHELL ASH ON THE PROPERTIES OF CEMENT PASTE AND MORTAR: A STUDY ON PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF CEMENT," BAU Journal - Science and Technology: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54729/2706-784X.1121

ISSN

2706-784X