Mohd Fadzil Arshad

Assessment of physical properties and chemical composition of Kuala Perlis dredged marine sediment as a potential brick material

The dredging activity at Kuala Perlis becomes more frequent due to the rapid sedimentation. As a result, the marine department is burdened with a high maintenance cost. Thus, an alternative solution in the management of dredged marine sediment is essential to overcome this problem. This paper focuses on the preliminary investigation of the potential of dredged marine sediment of Kuala Perlis to be reused as a raw material for brick. Results of physical properties and chemical composition of studied material indicate that there are some suitable components for brick material such as the presence of silica and alumina in the dredged marine sediment.

Strength assessment of controlled low strength materials (CLSM) utilizing recycled concrete aggregate and waste paper sludge ash

This paper studies the strength development of low-strength material (CLSM) is controlled by using waste paper sludge ash (WPSA) in CLSM mixtures without adding Portland cement. Series of four (4) compounds which is the CLSM containing 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% of waste paper sludge ash (WPSA) as a substitute for Portland cement. CLSM cubes the sizes of 100mm × 100mm × 100mm compressive strength were tested at age 7, 14 and 28days. It was found that this activity contributes to strength development pozzolonic paper waste sludge ash (WPSA) depending on the percentage of the added waste paper sludge ash. So, it was found that the activity pozzolonic has been activated by the alkaline and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) contributed from recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). In this study, the alkaline releases when soaked in water for 28days. Compressive strength of controlled low-strength materials affected by both the ratio of fine aggregate and coarse aggregate and mixture characteristics during maturation developed CLSM. Cube test results show that CLSM with a ratio of 1∶2 and 1∶1 RCA and 20mm recycled coarse aggregate, 30% of WPSA content expressed as mass percentage of RCA is to produce a uniform mixture with a constant high-strength (maximum strength of 6.04MPa).

Effect of Nanoclay in Soft Soil Stabilization

The effectiveness of using nanoclay in soft soil stabilization was investigated by mean of laboratory testing to evaluate the compressive strength, effective shear strength and Atterberg limit test parameters. The soft soil sample, classified as slightly sandy CLAY of intermediate plasticity was used in this studies. The nanoclay was produced from pulverizing soft soil sample into nano sized using ball milling process. From the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) test and nano size analysis, it was found that the nanoclay particles were obtained from the milling process. However, only 3 % nanoclay was used in this study due to the limited samples produced from milling process. The first objective of this study was to determine the compressive strength of 3 % nanoclay mixed with soft soil and the second objective was to determine the effective shear strength of 3 % nanoclay mixed with soft soil. Meanwhile, the third objective of this study was to determine the Atterberg limit parameter: liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL) and plastic index (PI) of 3 % nanoclay mixed with soft soil. This study involved three main testing such as unconfined compression strength to determine the compressive strength and consolidated drained test to determine the effective shear strength. Meanwhile, the Atterberg limit test were conduct to determine the liquid limit (LL) and plastic limit (PL). The result showed that the mixing of 3 % nanoclay with soft soil was improved the soil strength and effectiveness of the shear strength.

Palm Oil Fuel Ash and Ceramic Sludge as Partial Cement Replacement Materials in Cement Paste

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) and ceramic sludge (CS) are waste materials that found produced abundantly in the palm oil and the porcelain industrial sectors respectively. However, these waste materials are improperly managed that proved can give adverse impacts to the environment and human’s health. This research was carried out in order to identify the potential of POFA and CS as partial cement replacement materials in cement paste. POFA was prepared at 10, 20, 30 and 40 % replacement of Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and CS was prepared at 60 % substitution of the cement paste. The effects of POFA and CS in the cement paste in term of compressive strength at 1, 3, 7, and 28 days of curing were also determined. The results indicated that the optimum compressive strength of cement paste was achieved by P2 containing 10 % POFA: 30 % OPC: 60 % CS. As a result, the utilisation of POFA and CS as partial cement replacement materials can significantly reduce the high amount of OPC usage apart of reducing the environmental problems and human’s health problems.

The Effect of NaOH Concentration and Curing Condition to the Strength and Shrinkage Performance of Recycled Geopolymer Concrete

Concrete is widely used as a material construction. Globally, the consumption of concrete was estimated to be more than 8 billion tons per year. Nowadays, many problems arise related to concrete manufacturing occur especially on environmental issues. A key concern for environmentalists has always been climate change. One of the ways to mitigate the impact activities on the climate is to reduce carbon footprint. Portland cement are commonly been used in concrete is responsible for about 5% of all CO2 emission. It is reported by Davidovit that the production of one ton of Portland cement emits approximately one ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. There are several ways to reduce environmental pollution that cause by production and utilization of Portland cement, one of it is Geopolymer concrete. Subsequently Geopolymer concrete incorporating with recycle concrete aggregate (RCA) is one of the alternative to further reduce carbon footprint and as well as can reduce waste. Geopolymer concrete is a concrete that use no cement and produced by the combination of alkaline activator and supplementary cementitious material (SCM) such as fly ash, boiler ash, waste paper sludge ash (WPSA), ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), and so on in order to reduce carbon emission. In this study the Waste Paper Sludge Ash (WPSA) were used as a SCM and the combination of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) as a binder. Two (2) series of geopolymer concrete specimens comprising two (2) different molar of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) which are 8M and 14M were adopted. The effect variable alkaline molarity on the compressive strength and shrinkage of the geopolymer concrete specimens is tested at the age of 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. The mixture of geopolymer concete with 8M of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration then was categorized into three (3) groups. Each group were been cured at different curing condition which are in ambient condition, oven, and external condition. The size of specimens prepared were 100mm x 100mm x100mm. The result shows that the molarities of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) influenced the strength of Waste Paper Sludge Ash (WPSA) based geopolymer concrete produced incorporating with increasing of recycle concrete aggregate (RCA). The result also show that the geopolymer concrete undergoes very low shrinkage. Curing condition will also effect the strength of geopolymer concrete produced.

Effect of Limestone Powder in Self Consolidating Lightweight Foam Concrete

Self-Consolidating Lightweight Foam Concrete (SCLFC) is known as a concrete which has no requirement towards vibration or compaction effort due to its flowability and capability in filling and achieving full compaction in reinforcement. The main component in SCLFC is cement. Cement is a basic component of concrete that used in construction industry. However, it is also the main source of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission. If this component of concrete is replaced with other materials, it surely can help in reducing the emission of CO2. Limestone powder can be replacement with the cement content in SCLFC. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to determine the effect of limestone powder on SCLFC in term of flowability and compressive strength. The specimens were tested for compressive strength at 3, 7, and 28 days. The result indicated the flowability of SCLFC increase with the increase of percentages of limestone powder replacement. Meanwhile, the highest compressive strength of SCLFC containing 10% limestone powder replacement give better performance than the normal SCLFC. Based on the finding, SCLFC containing 10% limestone powder replacement can be categorized same as a conventional concrete hence it can be utilized for construction purposes. Limestone powder can also acts as an alternative replacement in concrete for replacing the cement.

Blended Binder System Containing Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) for Solidification/Stabilization (S/S) Method in Treating Ceramic Sludge

Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was the major binder used in solidification/stabilization (S/S) method in treating hazardous waste. The problems created by cement industry in producing OPC such as emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the environment and high energy used cause new alternative introduced through this research to replace OPC with other material to act as a binder in S/S method. An experimental study of the use of an industrial by-product as a binder in (S/S) in treating Ceramic sludge (CS) has been performed. The influence of the variable mixes composition of Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) in producing blended binder system has been studied. The compressive strength and Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) was used to evaluate the effect of POFA on the solidified/stabilize ceramic sludge after 28 days of water curing. The results indicated the optimum ceramic sludge to be treated achieved by M2 containing 30% OPC: 60% CS: 10% POFA. The sufficient compressive strength and significant reduction in heavy metal Cr, Pb, Ni, and Cu show the potentiality of using POFA in producing blended binder system significantly reduce the amount of OPC usage to control environmental problem. New system will be developed when optimum binary blended cement (BBC) produce binder system in treating ceramic sludge.

Partial Replacement of Glass Fiber with Kenaf Waste in Cement Board Production

Waste plantation can be utilized as a raw material in the production of construction materials such as bricks and cement board in order to achieve sustainable technologies. This study investigated the potential of waste kenaf bast fiber from decortications extraction method as the glass fibre replacement in the manufacturing of cement board. These boards were made from waste kenaf bast fiber, cement and water at a cement:fibre:water ratio of 2:1:2. Six (6) series of mixtures with different kenaf replacement; Series 1 (100 % kenaf), Series 2 (80 % kenaf fiber and 20 % glass fiber), Series 3 (60 % kenaf fiber and 40 % glass fiber), Series 4 (40 % kenaf fiber and 60 % glass fiber), Series 5 (20 % kenaf fiber and 80 % glass fiber) and Series 6 (100 % glass fiber) were prepared and and 460 mm × 460 mm size of boards were cast. The target board density was 650 kg/m3. The effects of using different percentages replacement of kenaf waste on internal bond and bending strength of the resulted cement boards were investigated after 28 days curing process. The mechanical and physical properties of the boards were evaluated based on MS 934 (1986). The results showed that boards Series 4 achieved the highest bending strength and internal bond (IB) strength compared to other boards and satisfied the requirement for lightweight board as stipulated in Malaysian Standard MS 934.

SOFT Soil Subgrade Stabilization Using Waste Paper Sludge Ash (WPSA) Mixtures

This paper presents findings on the soft soil stabilization using waste paper sludge ash (WPSA). A laboratories testing was conducted to determine the compressive strength, total shear strength and effective shear strength on soft soil subgrade stabilized using WPSA mixtures. Instead, the microstructure of soft soil and stabilized soft soil was investigated to evaluate the role of WPSA to the strength of stabilized soft soil. The soft soil subgrade sample, categorized as slightly sandy CLAY of intermediate plasticity used in this study was stabilized using Class-C of WPSA. The first objective is to determine the maximum compressive strength and optimum percentages of WPSA mixtures. The second objective is to determine the total shear strength and effective shear strength of soft soil stabilized with optimum percentage of WPSA. The third objective is to investigate the effect of WPSA to the strength of stabilized soft soil by microstructure testing by scanning electron microscopic test (SEM). This study involved three main testing. First testing was unconfined compression test to determine the compressive strength. Second testing was consolidated undrained test to determine the total shear strength and third testing was consolidated drained test to determine the effective shear strength. Third testing was microstructure testing by scanning electron microscopic test (SEM). The result shows, the addition of 10 % WPSA were giving the highest compressive strength about 737 kPa and improved the total strength and effective strength to stabilize the soft soil due to the crystal formation from the pozzolanic reaction.

Strength of Various Densities of Lightweight Coir Fiber Concrete Containing Protein and Synthetic Foam

Lightweight concrete which was proposed normally to reduce the dead load of ordinary concrete has become very popular among researcher. One of the lightweight concrete is known as lightweight foam concrete. This type of concrete can support lesser load compared to ordinary concrete. Thus, a lot of study has been conducted to increase the strength of lightweight foam concrete. Fiberglass has been introduced to increase the strength of lightweight foam concrete, however, it is not an environmental friendly product. Therefore, in this study natural fiber named as coir fiber has been used to strengthen the foam concrete. A total of 18 cube samples with 100 × 100 × 100 mm size have been produced. The samples have been produced using protein and synthetic foaming agent and comparison on compressive strength have been made. Different densities of concrete were considered in this study which are 1400, 1600 and 1800 kg/m3. A compressive strength testing machine was used to obtain the strength of these 18 cube samples at 28 days of water curing. Results on compressive strength have been compared between the lightweight coir fiber concrete containing protein and synthetic foam of various densities. The relationships indicate that the increment of concrete density has increased the strength of lightweight fiber concrete containing protein and synthetic foam. Besides, the strength of lightweight fiber concrete containing synthetic foam is higher than protein foam.