Study on Suitability of Sawdust as an Alternate for Fine Aggregate in Concrete

Production of green concrete had become a major research area, due to the environmental hazards caused by synthetic materials. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of utilizing sawdust in a concrete. The mix ratio adopted to prepare concrete is 1:1.5:3 with a water-to-cement ratio of 0.55 natural sand used as a fine aggregate in concrete and the same was partially replaced with sawdust at various percent of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10, and 12.5%. Two sets of concrete were produced; one set was incorporated with fly ash (10% of the cement weight), while the other set was produced with fly ash and sawdust. The concrete was produced and tested in accordance with Indian Standard-approved procedures. Many latest evidence has focused on alternate methods of identifying industrial by-products or agricultural waste products as a potential source of construction materials all over the globe. Here, the main objective of current study is to find the optimum replacement of sawdust as partial replacement for natural sand as a fine aggregate. These wastes, when used in concrete, would not only be cost effective, but will also help to create a resilient and pollution-free ecosystem, which is a need of an hour. The sawdust replacement findings show that a limited volume of sawdust (less than 10%) and 10% fly ash can be utilized as a partial substitute for natural sand and cement during concrete manufacturing, hence contributing to the waste management in the society. And, the partially sawdust replaced concrete results reveal that it can be used for load bearing and non-load bearing members.