IMPACT OF PALM KERNEL SHELL ASH (PKSA) ON THE STRENGTH AND WATER ABSORPTION PROPERTIES OF EARTH BLOCKS

Ajayi A. S.^1*, Oluwoye J.², Olutoge F. A.³, and Peter Coker A. O.³

¹Department of Architecture, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria; Center for Urban and Rural Research, Alabama A & M University, Normal, Alabama, USA.

²Department of Community and Regional Planning, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, Normal, Alabama, USA.

³Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

* Corresponding Author’s Contact Detail: Email address ✉: ayangadeanthonia@googlemail.com

Accepted October 19, 2019

The availability of housing for under-developed and developing countries is one of the most important needs of low-income groups. Housing is a very expensive requirement to meet. However, since land and construction costs are mostly beyond the means of both the rural and urban poor. Due to the exorbitant cost of steel, cement and crushed stone aggregate, including energy and importation costs, the development and use of other locally available materials are now being emphasized. The purpose of this paper is to examine the strength and water absorption of Palm Kernel Shell Ash (PKSA) when partially replaced with cement in Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB). An extensive review of literature reveals that limited study has been done in this area, leaving a research gap to be filled, hence the purpose of this paper. The results revealed that the higher the PKSA content, the longer the water absorption and setting time. This paper concludes that PKSA, a material found to have high pozzolanic substance can not only be used as partial cement replacement in concrete but also feasible to replace cement partially and increase the compressive strength and durability of compressed stabilized earth blocks in earth construction.

Key words: Compressive strength, palm kernel shell ash (PKSA), agro-wastes, earth construction, water absorption.

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