Construction Materials and Testing 2018

FINAL EXPERIMENT
TITLE: “A study on the Effect of Glutinous Rice Flour on the Compressive Strength of Concrete
as Admixture to Cement”
Objectives:

This study generally aims to analyze the structural performance of glutinous rice flour and
concrete in terms of compressive strength
1. To determine the compressive strength of concrete using glutinous rice flour by
means of split compressive strength test at 7, 14, and 28 curing days.
2. To determine the compressive strength performance of concrete cylinder compared
to concrete cylinder with glutinous rice flour in terms of compressive strength.
3. To determine the mixture that would give the highest compressive strength.
4. To determine the comparative compressive strength of concrete cylinder compared
to concrete cylinder with Glutinous Rice Flour?

5. To determine what percentage of glutinous rice flour will be added in order to know
the effect of glutinous rice flour on the compressive strength as partial replacement
of cement.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs):

The students shall be able to:
 Articulate concrete mix design considerations that reflect to the field.
 Understand all principles governs under construction materials and testing especially in
the field of concrete
 Have detailed knowledge about compressive strength in concrete.
 Put material together to form a new whole production of unique concrete.
 Apply all standards set by ASTM
 Produce a sample product using glutinous rice flour as partial substitute to cement
Discussion:
Chapter One:

The Problem and its Background

Introduction:

Concrete the most widely used construction material in the world due to versality,
strength, durability and its ease to place into forms and shapes. Concreting in the construction
industry to place into forms and shapes. Concreting in the construction industry today is
consuming about 11.5 billion tons of concrete every year and it’s expected that this may reach
18 billion tones in the year 2050. The use of concrete ranges from its utilization in the
construction of buildings to its versatility in highway construction particularly in the construction

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of roadways (Ishaya et al., 2016). Moreover, the performance of concrete plays a vital role in
the development of infrastructures including residential, commercial and the industrial sectors
(Dumme,2014).

In testing Compressive Strength or Compression Strength, it was refers to the capability

of a material or structure to bear up loads in an effort to minimize size, as against tensile
strength, which bears up load in an effort to extend.

Glutinous Rice Flour known as sticky rice, sweet rice or pearl rice, is a form of short-
grain rice that has a higher starch content than its medium- or long-grain cousins and it has a
very low amylose content.

Statement of the Problem:

In this study, a concrete cylinder with Glutinous Rice Flour as concrete mixture is tested
for its mechanical properties in terms of compressive strength. Will the added glutinous rice
flour contribute to improve the compressive strength of the concrete cylinder? Is it possible for
the glutinous rice flour to replace cement?

The following questions would be answered according from the glutinous rice flour data and
results of the tests;

 What is the compressive strength of concrete cylinder with glutinous rice flour 7, 14 and
28 curing days?

 What is the comparative compressive strength of concrete cylinder compared to

concrete cylinder with Glutinous Rice Flour?

 What mixture (0%, 1%, 3%,5%,7% and 10%) would give a significant increase in the
compressive strength?

 What mixture of Glutinous Rice Flour filler attains the highest compressive strength?

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Significance of the Study:

This study will give a low cost of structure in an allowable strength of loadings:

 Economy – it will benefit the economy, by using Glutinous Rice flour as a partial
substitute for cement. Cheaper construction cost without affecting the quality.

 Profession – this study will help civil engineering profession advancement by utilizing
new products to be adopted as engineering materials.

 Research – to acquire broader and additional knowledge in the field of engineering

materials and reinforced concrete design as a part of BS Civil Engineering curriculum.

 Society – it will serve as an informative study that will help in continuing search for new
products in engineering materials and eventually in the field of civil engineering

Conceptual Framework:

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Portland Cement Mixing
Test results of the
Sand Molding cylindrical
Gravel Curing concrete of their
Water Testing tensile strength in
Glutinous Rice Flour 7, 14 and 28 days

wa

Scope and Delimitation

This study would focus on the compressive strength of glutinous rice flour as partial
substitute to cement in concrete mixture. The test would be done using Universal Testing
Machine (UTM). The mixture would be an glutinous rice flour with percentages in weight. (0%,
1%, 3%,5%,7% and 10%). Curing days are 7, 14, and 28 days.

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Chapter Two:

Review of Literature

Literature and Studies

EFFECT OF USING CORN STARCH AS CONCRETE ADMIXTURE

Admixtures are used to alter the properties of concrete. There are numerous benefits
available through the use of admixtures such as: improved quality, coloring, greater concrete
strength, increased flow for the same water-cement ratio, enhanced frost and sulphate
resistance, improved fire resistance, cracking control, acceleration or retardation in setting
time, lower density and improved workability. The specific effects of an admixture generally
vary with the type of cement, mix proportion and dosage. Starch can be used in concrete as
admixture. In this particular study used corn starch. The workability of concrete is tested using
slump test. The starch is added for testing with different percentages of cement. The
workability of concrete/ cement increases with the addition of starch admixtures. Density of
concrete increases in the addition of 1% of corn starch further increase in the addition of starch
admixtures reduces the density. Compressive strength of concrete increases in the addition of
1% of corn starch further increase in the addition of starch admixtures reduces the
compressive strength. The starch admixtures such as corn starch can replace the use of
chemical admixtures. It also reduces the additional cost of using chemical admixtures.

(Suhad M Abd1 , Qasssim Y Hamood1, Alaa S Khamees1 and Zainab H Ali1 Vol. 5, No. 3, August 2016)

http://www.ijerst.com/ijerstadmin/upload/IJEETC_57a1bbd7db349.pdf

THE POTENTIALS OF CASSAVA FLOUR AS A SET-RETARDING ADMIXTURE IN

CONCRETE

The potentials of cassava flour as a set-retarding admixture in concrete were investigated.

Concrete mix proportion of 1:2:4 by weight of cement, sand and coarse aggregate and,
water/cement ratio of 0.46 was made with six different dosage levels of cassava flour as
admixture. The properties tested include setting time, workability of the fresh concrete and
compressive strength of the hardened concrete. These properties were compared with those
of similar concrete mix made without cassava flour admixture. It was observed that cassava
flour considerably improved the workability of the fresh concrete and delayed the setting time
of cement by up to 6 hours. Results of the tests also show that while cassava flour reduced the
early strength of concrete, the long-term strength was improved. Cassava flour dosage level of
3% was also found to be the optimum level of addition of the admixture.
(F. O. Okafor Department of Civil Engineering University of Nigeria, Nsukka Nigerian Journal Of Technology, Vol. 27 No.1,
March 2008)

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Microstructural insights into the lime mortars mixed with sticky rice sol–gel or water: A
comparative study

This paper is dedicated to studying the effect of sticky rice sol–gel on the microstructure
(including pore structure and texture) and properties of lime mortar. Uniaxial compressive
strength tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP)
were utilized to investigate the macroscopic behaviors and microstructure, respectively. Based
on the MIP data, a surface fractal dimension analysis is performed to study the impact of sticky
rice sol–gel on pore structure. The addition of sticky rice sol–gel is demonstrated to improve
the uniaxial compressive strength of lime mortar. The SEM, MIP and surface fractal dimension
analysis results show that the addition of sticky rice sol–gel facilitates the formation of compact
texture, fine pore structure and elevates the bonding strength of the lime mortar. A
microstructrual mechanism is proposed to explain how properties of the lime mortar are
affected by the addition of sticky rice sol–gel. This work presents a comparison study on the
behaviors of the lime mortar mixed with distilled water (WLM) and lime mortar mixed with
sticky rice sol–gel (SLM). The 7-d, 28-d uniaxial compressive strength and uniaxial
compressive strength after 6 freezes–thaw cycles of SLM are higher than those of WLM, which
confirms the favorable effect of sticky rice sol–gel in improving the mechanical behavior of lime
mortar.

(Microstructural insights into the lime mortars mixed with sticky rice sol–gel or water: A comparative study
Rongwei Yang, Zhiling Zhang, Meijie Xie, Kefei Li)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950061816313836

USE OF STARCH MODIFIED CONCRETE AS A REPAIR MATERIAL

Corn is a rich source of carbohydrate, starch extracts and a source staple food for majority
of sub-Saharan African population. Starch and its derivatives have been widely described as
rheology-modifying admixtures; in an ongoing research the effect of using corn starch modified
concrete is reported. Its effects on concrete properties such as compressive strength, sorptivity
and permeability were determined on samples with 0, 2.5 and 5 % addition of starch by weight
of cement. The result showed 9 and 3 % increase in strength for 2.5 and 5 % starch additions
respectively when compared with the control after 56 days of curing, while the sorptivity and
permeability tests compared well with the control. At certain proportion, corn starchmodified
cement and concrete exhibit low slump and accelerated setting time. These properties make
them suitable for certain applications such as concrete repairs and pavement design.

(Akindehinde Akindahunsi , Sunny E. Iyuke September 2012 , 3rd Volume)

https://nijotech.com/index.php/nijotech/article/viewFile/492/451

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STUDY OF STICKY RICE-LIME MORTAR TECHNOLOGY FOR THE RESTORATION OF

HISTORICAL MASONRY CONSTRUCTION

Replacing or repairing masonry mortar is usually necessary in the restoration of

historical constructions, but the selection of a proper mortar is often problematic. An
inappropriate choice can lead to failure of the restoration work, and perhaps even further
damage. Thus, a thorough understanding of the original mortar technology and the fabrication
of appropriate replacement materials are important research goals. Many kinds of materials
have been used over the years in masonry mortars, and the technology has gradually evolved
from the single-component mortar of ancient times to hybrid versions containing several
ingredients. Beginning in 2450 BCE, lime was used as masonry mortar in Europe. In the
Roman era, ground volcanic ash, brick powder, and ceramic chip were added to lime mortar,
greatly improving performance. Because of its superior properties, the use of this hydraulic
(that is, capable of setting underwater) mortar spread, and it was adopted throughout Europe
and western Asia. Perhaps because of the absence of natural materials such as volcanic ash,
hydraulic mortar technology was not developed in ancient China. However, a special inorganic-
organic composite building material, sticky rice-lime mortar, was developed. Mortar samples
from ancient constructions were analyzed by both chemical methods (including the iodine
starch test and the acid attack experiment) and instrumental methods (including
thermogravimetric differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared,
and scanning electron microscopy). These analytical results show that the ancient masonry
mortar is a special organic-inorganic composite material. The inorganic component is calcium
carbonate, and the organic component is amylopectin, which is presumably derived from the
sticky rice soup added to the mortar. A systematic study of sticky rice-lime mortar technology
was conducted to help determine the proper courses of action in restoring ancient buildings.
Lime mortars with varying sticky rice content were prepared and tested. The physical
properties, mechanical strength, and compatibility of lime mortar were found to be significantly
improved by the introduction of sticky rice, suggesting that sticky rice-lime mortar is a suitable
material for repairing mortar in ancient masonry. Moreover, the amylopectin in the lime mortar
was found to act as an inhibitor; the growth of the calcium carbonate crystals is controlled by
its presence, and a compact structure results, which may explain the enhanced performance of
this organic-inorganic composite compared to single-component lime

(Qinglin Ma, Fuwei Yang, Bingjian Zhang Chinese Academy Of Cultural Heritage June 2010)

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The identification of organic additives in traditional lime mortar

Organic-inorganic lime mortars were widely used in many ancient buildings due to their
good performance in some fields (such as caking property, water repellency, weather ability,
etc.). However, many ancient buildings and sites are suffering from various degrees of damage
with the development of the economy and society and appropriate conservation and
restoration are needed. The application of traditional construction materials, such as organic-
inorganic lime mortars, attracts more and more attention in the conservation and restoration of
ancient buildings in the recent years. So, the understanding of the components of original lime
mortar which remained in ancient sites is of fundamental significance. In this work a set of
analytical procedures to identify the organic additives in lime mortars by classical chemical
analysis is proposed. The results show that using iodine-potassium iodide reagent, Benedict’s
reagent, reduction phenolphthalein reagent, Coomassie brilliant blue and sodium periodate
oxidation glycerin acetyl acetone method could effectively detect a small amount of starch,
reducing sugar, blood, protein and fatty acid ester that remained in ancient buildings’ lime
mortars, respectively. These analytical methods are easy to operate with low detection limit,
high accuracy and some other advantages. In this work, iodine-potassium iodide reagent,
benedict’s reagent, reducing phenolphthalein, Coomassie brilliant blue and acetylacetone
development process were used to identify starch, reducing sugar, blood, protein and esters
exist in mortar, respectively. The limits of detection of these methods were 0.4 mg/g, 0.087
mg/ml, 0.001 mg/ml, 0.8 mg/ml and 0.1 mg/ml, respectively. Comparing with the content of
organics in mortar which were recorded in ancient documents, these limits of detection could
meet the requirement of analyzing the organic additives in mortar.

(The identification of organic additives in traditional lime mortar, Shi Qiang Fang, Hui Zhang, Bing Jian Zhang, Ye Zheng)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1296207413001052

The Effect of Local Brewery Waste and Bitter Cassava Flour on Compressive Strength
and Shrinkage of Plaster Mortar for Eco House

Cement is a major construction material worldwide. However, given the escalating costs
of cement and the environmental hazards associated with the use of cement there is need to
develop alternative, cost-effective, non-conventional, locally available materials, especially
those that can partially or wholly replace cement. This paper presents the results on the study
of the effect of local brewery waste and bitter cassava flour on the compressive strength and
shrinkage of plaster. The test was made with cement replaced by local brewery waste or bitter
cassava (10-50%) and cement/sand mix as a control. The results showed an optimum of 20%
cement replacement with bitter cassava for plaster mortar for high cost houses (18.1Mpa) and

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10% cement replacement with local brewery waste for plaster mortar for low cost houses
(2.1Mpa). Result show a maximum shrinkage of 8mm at 50% replacement with bitter cassava

(The Effect of Local Brewery Waste and Bitter Cassava Flour on Compressive Strength and Shrinkage of Plaster Mortar for
Eco House, Okhelo Tomas)

Effect of Starch Admixtures on Fresh and Hardened Properties of Concrete

Admixtures are used to alter the properties of concrete. Admixtures are substances
introduced into a batch of concrete, or immediately before its mixing. There are numerous
benefits available through the use of admixtures such as: improved , coloring, greater concrete
strength, increased flow for the same water-cement ratio, enhanced frost and sulphate
resistance, fire resistance, cracking control, acceleration or retardation in setting time, lower
density and improved workability. The effects of an admixture generally vary with the type of
cement, mix proportion and dosage. Starch can be used in concrete as. Starch changes the
setting time of concrete. In this particular study, starches used aretapioca and maize.The
setting time of is tested using vicar apparatus. The workability of concrete is tested using
slump test. The starch is added for testing with percentages of cement. The setting time and
workability of concrete/cement increases with the addition of starch strength, split tensile
strength and flexural strength of concrete increases gradually up to an addition of 1.5% maize
and 2% of tapioca. Further increase in the addition of starch admixtures reduces the
compressive strength, split tensile and flexural strength. The starch admixtures such as maize
and tapioca can replace the use of chemical admixtures. It also the additional cost of using
chemical admixtures.
(Silu Kurian Joseph1, Annie Sonia Xavier2;Post Graduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Toc H Institute of Science
and Technology, Arakkunnam, Eranakulam, Kerala, India Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Toc H Institute of
Science and Technology, Arakkunnam,Eranakulam, Kerala, India)

http://www.ijser.in/archives/v4i3/IJSER15705.pdf

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The Potentials of Cassava Flour as a Set-Retarding Admixture in Concrete

The potentials of cassava flour as a set-retarding admixture in concrete were
investigated. Concrete mix proportion of 1:2:4 by weight of cement, sand and coarse
aggregate and, water/cement ratio of 0.46 was made with six different dosage levels of
cassava flour as admixture. The properties tested include setting time, workability of the fresh
concrete and compressive strength of the hardened concrete. These properties were
compared with those of similar concrete mix made without cassava flour admixture. It was
observed that cassava flour considerably improved the workability of the fresh concrete and
delayed the setting time of cement by up to 6 hours. Results of the tests also show that while
cassava flour reduced the early strength of concrete, the long-term strength was improved.
Cassava flour dosage level of 3% was also found to be the optimum level of addition of the
admixture.

(The Potentials of Cassava Flour as a Set-Retarding Admixture in Concrete;FO Okar)

https://www.ajol.info/index.php/njt/article/view/123403

Strength and Durability Properties of Concrete with Starch Admixture

This paper examines some properties of concrete, such as strength, oxygen
permeability and sorptivity using starch [cassava (CA) and maize (MS)] as admixtures.
Concrete cubes containing different percentages of the CA and MS by weight of cement (0,
0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 %) were cast. Compressive strength tests were carried out after 3, 7, 14,
21, 28, 56, 90, 180, 270 and 365 days of curing. Oxygen permeability and sorptivity tests were
carried out on another set of concrete specimens with the same percentages of starch at 7, 28,
90, 180, 270 and 365 days. Oxygen permeability and sorptivity tests data obtained were
subjected to Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks. The strength increase after
1 year over the control for CA 0.5 and CA 1.0 are 2.7 and 3.8 % respectively, while MS 0.5 and
MS 1.0 gave 1.5 % increase over control. These results showed a decrease in oxygen
permeability and rates of sorptivity, with concretes containing starch as admixtures giving
better performance than the control concretes.
(Strength and Durability Properties of Concrete with Starch Admixture;A. A. AkindahunsiEmail authorH. C. Uzoegbo)

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Definition of Terms:

 Aggregate - is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction,

including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic
aggregates.
 Glutinous Rice Flour-Glutinous rice known as sticky rice, sweet rice or pearl rice, is a
form of short-grain rice that has a higher starch content than its medium- or long-grain
cousins and it has a very low amylose content
 Coarse Aggregate - any particles greater than .187 inch (4.75mm) but generally range
between 3.8 and 1.5 inches (i)5mm to 37.5 in diameter.
 Concrete – is a mixture of paste and aggregates, or rocks. The paste, composed of
Portland cement and water, coats the surface of the fine (small) and coarse (larger)
aggregates.
 Curing – is the process in which the concrete is protected from loss of moisture and
kept within a reasonable temperature range. The period in which the concrete mixed is
allowed to reach design strength. The usual curing period is 7, 14, 28 day period.
 Fine Aggregate – is a natural sand but in some area crushing stone or gravel
manufacturing it.
 Natural Aggregates – consist of crushed stone and sand and gravel, are among the
most abundant natural re- sources and a major basic raw material used by construction
 Portland cement – is the most common type of cement - 'basic cement', if you like. In
particular, ordinary Portland cement is the normal, grey, cement with which most people
are familiar.
 Slump – a measure of consistency of concrete.
 Specific Gravity – ratio of mass (or the weight in air 0 of a unit volume of materials to
the mass of the same volume of water.
 Starch - a white, tasteless, solid carbohydrate, (C 6 H 1 0 O 5) n, occurring in the form
of minute granules in the seeds, tubers, and other parts of plants, and forming an
important constituent of rice, corn, wheat, beans, potatoes, and many other vegetable
foods.
 Universal testing machine (UTM) -also known as a universal tester, materials testing
machine or materials test frame, is used to test the tensile strength and compressive
strength of materials.
 Water Cement Ratio – is the ratio of the weight of water to the weight of cement
used in a concrete mix

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Chapter Three:

Methodology

In this chapter the experimental design, materials and methods, treatment of data, and
the decision criteria were discussed. The main objective is to present the methodology and
research design

Technical/Experimental

The experimental research is concerned primarily on determining the structural

performance (compressive strength) of the Glutinous Rice Flour as additive of cement in
concrete mixture. Different percentage or amount of Glutinous Rice Flour would be prepared
for the concrete cylinder, while the proportions of cement would still be the same.

Materials and Methods

This study would be using the experimental procedure. All concrete cylinders should be
set at a time. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) will be used in the concrete mixture. The
aggregates used were crushed coarse aggregates and the sand. The main source of the
Glutinous Rice Flour came from the market.

Material Sampling

Cement (g)
Portland cement Arrowroot Sand (g) Gravel (g) Water (g)
powder
100% 0% 1649.84 4950.25 297
(594) (0)
99% 1% 1649.84 4950.25 297
(588.06) (5.94)
98.5% 1.5% 1649.84 4950.25 297
(585.09) (8.91)
98% 2% 1649.84 4950.25 297
(582.12) (11.88)
97.5% 2.5% 1649.84 4950.25 297
(579.15) (14.85)

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Table A. Sizes of Cylinders

Mix Length (inch) Diameter (inch)

1 8 4

2 8 4

3 8 4

The concrete proportion will use in this study is mixture class A with 1:2:4 with water-
cement ratio 0.5. The Ordinary Portland Cement weighs 40 kg.

Procedure:
Extraction of arrowroot powder:
1. Gather the arrowroot plants then peel each of these.
2. Wash the peeled arrowroots.
3. Then pound using the mortar and pestle
4. After pounding them, filtrate using strainer then squeeze them to maximize the content
5. Allow to settle for 1 hour
6. Then dewater, and allow to dry for at least 8 hours
7. As it dries, pound them until it was completely in powder form

Mixing, Curing and Testing:

1. Mix cement and arrowroot powder with fine and coarse aggregates as indicated weigh
in Table B and Table C.
2. Add enough amount of water and mix them together with the shovels.
3. Undergone slump test
4. Prepare the cylindrical forms.
5. Pour the concrete mixture into the cylindrical.

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6. Use tamping rod to avoid voids
7. After one day, remove the concrete mixture from the form.
8. Sprinkle water to the concrete every day.
9. Prepare the specimen for testing
10. Conduct test every, 7, 14, and 28 days of curing
11. Set up the UTM in compression and put the specimen on the machine and start to test.
12. Record the resulting data of all the tests.

Specimens:

A total of 18 specimens at dimension of 4x8 inches, 9 of these are controlled set-up,

were prepared for the laboratory testing and investigation.

The amount of glutinous rice flour will be varied as (0%, 1%, 3%,5%,7% and 10%)
.Table B shows the amount in grams.

Procedure of Splitting Tensile Test according to ASTM C496-96:

1. Take the wet specimen from water after 7 days of curing
2. Wipe out water from the surface of specimen
3. Draw diametrical lines on the two ends of the specimen to ensure that they are on the
same axial place.
4. Note the weight and dimension of the specimen.
5. Set the compression testing machine for the required range.
6. Keep are plywood strip on the lower plate and place the specimen.
7. Align the specimen so that the lines marked on the ends are vertical and centered over
the bottom plate.
8. Place the other plywood strip above the specimen.
9. Bring down the upper plate to touch the plywood strip.
10. Apply the load continuously without shock at a rate of approximately 14-
21kg/cm2/minute (Which corresponds to a total load of 9900kg/minute to
14850kg/minute)

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11. Note down the breaking load(P)

Tensile Strength

The tensile strength of the concrete mixture specimen will be determine using the
Universal Testing Machine (UTM). The tensile strength is the measured maximum resistance
to axial loading, express as twice the force per unit of cross sectional area in pounds per
square inch (psi).

The maximum tensile strength is given by equation.

σx= 2F
πDH

Where :
σx = Tensile stress
F= Tensile load at failure in pounds
D= Diameter of cylinder in inch
H = Height of cylinder in inch

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