INNOVATIVE APPLICATION OF SAWDUST WASTAGE USED AS ALTERNATIVE SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

Abstract

This paper presents a preliminary experimental study which carried out in the purpose to determine thepotential of natural fiber from sawdust used as alternative green construction material. The concrete mix ratio1:2.25 was prepared using water-cement ratio of 0.35 with 0% to 70% sawdust replacement as partial replacement for fine aggregate. Four variable parameters were investigated namely; concrete quality, exposureperiod, size specimen and curing period. The experiment result indicated that the compressive strength, Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) and density values decreased with increasing of sawdust replacement. However, the strength obtained at 30% of sawdust inclusions have meet the minimum specified requirement of 40 Mpa for high strength lightweight aggregate concrete at 28 days. Thus, preliminary results showthat usingwith or without sawdust can be opted as construction material with acceptable strength and density propertiesof concrete