EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF COARSE AGGREGATE BY COCONUT SHELL : REVIEW

Abstract

Concrete is the Preliminary construction material around the world. It is a man-made product, essentially
consisting of a mixture of cement, aggregates, water and admixtures. Traditionally aggregates have been readily
available at economic prices and of qualities, but the use of natural aggregate in highly increasing rate leads to a
question about the preservation of natural aggregates sources. In light of this, few studies identified that coconut
shells, the agricultural by product can also be used as aggregate in concrete as India occupies premier position in the
world for the production of coconut. Limited research has been conducted on mechanical properties of concrete with
coconut shells as aggregate replacement. However, further research is needed for better understanding of the
behaviour of coconut shells as aggregate in concrete. The aim of this work is to examine the strengths of coconut
shell concretes at different coconut shells (CS) replacements with constant w/c ratio. Utilising coconut shell as
aggregate in concrete production not only solves the problem of disposing this solid waste but also helps conserve
natural resources. The other benefit of using CS is that it makes the concrete light weight as compared to ordinary
concrete. It has been observed from the previous research data that the overall strength decreased with CS
replacement increased when compared to ordinary concrete, but after all the CS concrete resulted in acceptable
strength required for structural concrete.