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ABSTRACT

 

This study examined the experimental analysis of sandcrete block production by using different
sources of sharp sands in Enugu and Ebonyi State of South East Geo-Political Zone. As a result
of the increasing cost of block production, many manufacturers and builders have resorted to
using samples of sharp sand from different locations without appropriate consideration of the
material constituents of the samples thereby, resulting in poor and undurable sandcrete blocks
production.
In this research work, samples were graded into different zones and their suitability in production
of sandcrete blocks, was ascertained. Also; the possible effect of chemical compositions on the
compressive strength, was also considered. The study also covers a comparison of the
compressive strengths of sandcrete block produced from different samples and sources with
reference to the standard value approved by NIS and other Civil Engineering bodies.
This study has shown that the compressive strengths of sandcrete blocks produced in some parts
of south east region, falls within the acceptable national and international standards. The findings
from this study also agree with similar studies in other parts of Nigeria. It also reveals the need
for commercial industries to abide by the standard mix proportion specified for sandcrete block
production which is 1: 6 required, to avoid future building deficiencies.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Title page i
Approval page ii
Certification page iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Table of contents vi
Abstract ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background of the study 1
1.2 Statement of problems 5
1.3 Objectives of the study 5
1.4 Scope of the study 6
1.5 Significance of the study 6
CHAPTER TWO; LITERATURE REVIEW 7
2.1 General 7
2.2 Overview 13
2.2.1 Note on Cement Chemistry notations and mineral names 13
2.2.2 Raw materials for cement manufacture 16
2.2.3 Burning in kiln formation-formation of cement clinkers 18
2.2.4 The burning process 19
2.3 properties of the major cement minerals 22
2.3.1 Tricalcium silicate(C3S) 23
2.3.2 Dicalcium silicate(C2S) 25
2.3.2 Tricalcium aluminate(C3A) 25
2.3.3 Tetracalcium aluminoferrite(C4AF) 26
2.4 Mineral and oxide composition of Portland cement 27
viii
2.5 Types of Portland cement 31
2.5.1 Tricalcium silicate(C3S) 35
2.5.2 Dicalcium silicate(C2S) 35
2.5.3 Tricalcium aluminate(C3A) 35
2.5.4 Tetracalcium aluminoferrite(C4AF) 36
2.5.5 formation of fine powders(pechini process) 36
CHAPTER THREE: 39
3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS 39
3.1 Materials 39
3.1.1 Cement 39
3.1.2 Sand 40
3.1.3 Water 41
3.2 Methods 41
3.2.1 Specific Gravity Test 41
3.2.1.1 Test procedure 42
3.2.1.2 Equation for calculation of specific gravity 42
3.2.2 Sieve Analysis 43
3.2.2.1 Test Procedure 43
3.2.2.2 Equation For Computation Of Percentage Retained 44
Definition of terms 45
3.2.2.3 Equation For Computation Of Percentage Finer 46
Definition of terms 47
3.2.3 Compressive Strength Test 48
3.2.3.1 Test Specimen(Sandcrete Block) 48
3.2.3.2 Manufacture of Sandcrete Blocks 49
3.2.3.1 Compressive Strength Test Procedure 49
ix
CHAPTER FOUR: 53
4.0 ANALYSIS OF RESULTS 53
4.1 Descriptions of different sand types 53
4.1.1 Ikwo sand 53
4.1.2 Asu Amenu sand 53
4.1.3 Coal Mine sand 54
4.1.4 Obollo Etiti sand 54
4.1.5 Opi Agu sand 55
4.2 Specific Gravity Test 55
4.3 Results of Sieve analysis 64
4.3.1 Result of sieve analysis of Asu Amenu sample 64
4.3.2 Result of sieve analysis of Ikwo sample 65
4.3.3 Result of sieve analysis of Coal Mine sample 66
4.3.4 Result of sieve analysis of Obollo Etiti sample 67
4.3.5 Result of sieve analysis of Opi Agu sample 68
4.3.1 Result of sieve analysis of mixture of Coal Mine and Ikwo sample 69
4.4 computation of sieve analysis parameters 70
4.4.1computation of sieve analysis parameters of Asu Amenu sample 70
4.4.2 computation of sieve analysis parameters of Ikwo sample 74
4.4.3 computation of sieve analysis parameters of Asu Amenu sample 78
4.4.4 computation of sieve analysis parameters of Obollo Etiti sample 81
4.4.5 computation of sieve analysis parameters of Opi Agu sample 85
4.4.6 computation of sieve analysis parameters of mixture of Coal Mine and Ikwo sample 89
4.5 Determination of various coefficient 93
4.5.1 Coefficients of uniformity and curvature 93
4.5.2 Mixture of Coal Mine and Ikwo 93
4.5.3 Coal Mine 94
x
4.5.4 Opi Agu 94
4.5.5 Obollo Etiti 94
4.5.6 Ikwo 95
4.5.7 Asu Amenu 95
4.6 Unified Soil Classification System 96
4.7 Zoning of various samples 97
4.8 Coefficients of curvature & uniformity classification of sand 98
4.9 Chemical Test Result 99
4.10 Compressive strength 101
4.10.1 Chemical Properties Of Cement Used 102
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 103
5.10 Compressive Strength 103
5.2 Discussion 105
5.3 Conclusion/Recommendation 106
REFERENCE 107
APPENDIX 1: ILLUSTRATIVE/DEMOSTRATIVE FIGURES IN THE STUDY/SOURCE 109
Graphical presentation of sieve analysis results 109
Fig1 Obollo Etiti Sample 109
Fig 2 Ikwo Sample 110
Fig 3 Opi Agu sample 111
Fig 4 Asu Amenu sample 112
Fig 5 Coal Mine sample 113
Fig 6 Mixture of Coal Mine & ikwo 114
Fig. 7: Asu Amenu River 115
Fig. 8: Opi Agu River 116
Fig. 9: Obollo Etiti River 117
Fig. 10: Ikwo River 118

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

Introduction
1.1 Background of Study
One of the basic needs of man is housing. In many developing countries
like Nigeria, there is a perpetual problem of accommodation and inadequate
housing. A research showed that about seven million Nigerians have no
accommodation . It is important to note that majority of housing units in Nigeria
are constructed using sandcrete blocks, which has ordinary portland cement as a
basic constituent. In fact, twice as much sandcrete is used in building
construction in Nigeria than the total of all other building materials. According
to Neville and Brook (1990), sandcrete is a product of water, cement and sand.
The growing demand for hollow sandcrete blocks has mounted pressure on the
supply of the raw materials and also raised the issues of sustainability of the raw
materials and affordability of the built shelter. In order to minimize the quantity
of the materials used in producing a block unit, blocks are made to incorporate
different sizes of rectangular cavities. The quality of blocks produced, however,
differs from each manufacturer, due to the different methods of production
shape and mix design employed in the production and the properties of the
constituent materials (Baiden and Tuuli, 2004 and Abdullahi, 2005).
The word sandcrete has no standard definition. What most workers have
done was to define it in a way to suit their own purpose. The word for it in some
local dialect means brick earth and the name ‘sandcrete’ is merely a translation
Pag e 2
solely to the use to which these blocks are put. Sandcrete blocks are often too
crude to reveal the nature and origin of sandcrete exhibiting the same physical
properties. Though sandcrete varies within wide limits one future remains
constant. In view of the fact that no general agreement has been reached on the
definition and what material should classified as sandcrete, the trend at present,
is to lay emphasis on the grading (i.e sieve analysis, specific gravity test and
bulk density) without much regard for mode of formation, geological and geomorphological
condition(Sparky and Lloyd). The strength characteristics of
sandcrete, are influenced by a variety of factors whose effects are not
sufficiently understood to permit accurate forecasting, particularly under test
condition. It has been found that, the time of mixing sandcrete with cement,
does influence its strength characteristics. Also, the time lapse between mixing
and compaction, has been found to affect its strength. A time lag will not only
diminish the hardening effect of cement, but will require extra energy to
breakdown the aggregation of particles to achieve the desire density. An
increase in strength with age and curing temperature, has also been reported for
cement stabilized sandcrete, but this depends on the nature and texture of sand
and the percentage of cement added. Vallenger (1980) observed that the
compressive strength of sandcrete materials, increases with increased cement
content. However , its important to understand the true significance of the
foreword to BS3921: 1965, which pointed out that strength is not to be taken as
an indication of durability. It has been established that the properties of a
Pag e 3
sandcrete soil that will influence its rate and ease of mixing, include its degree
of fineness, density, relative density and sharpness. Also, the relative
proportions and the number of components will considerably influence the rate
of mixing.
Sandcrete blocks comprise of natural sand, water and binder. Cement, as
a binder, is the most expensive input in the production of sandcrete blocks
(Hornbostel, 1991). This has necessitated producers of sandcrete blocks to
produce blocks with low OPC (Ordinary portland cement) content that will be
affordable to people and with much gain. The poverty level amongst West
African Countries and particularly Nigerian, has made these blocks widely
acceptable among the populace, so as to minimize the cost of construction
works. The improper use of these blocks, leads to micro cracks on the walls
after construction. The use of alternative cheaper local materials as stabilizer,
will greatly enhance the production of sandcrete blocks with the desired
properties at low cost. It will also drastically reduce the cost of production and
consequently the cost of construction works.
Block has a composition of usually one is to six (1:6) mix of cement and
sharp sand, with the barest minimum of water mixture, and in some cases
admixture, that are mixed, moulded and dried naturally. NIS (2000) defines
sandcrete block as a composite material made up of cement, sand and water,
moulded into different sizes. According to them, they are masonry units which
when used in their normal aspect, exceed the length, width or heights specified
Pag e 4
for bricks. A block can therefore, be made either in solid and hollow rectangular
types, or decorative and perforated in different designs, patterns, shapes, sizes
and types. The jointing of beddings and perpends are 25mm thick in both the
normal and screen wall. Sandcrete mix design involves selecting the correct
proportions of cement, fine sand and water to produce sandcrete blocks having
the specified properties. Various mix design methods, have some limitations.
Time, energy and money are sometimes being wasted in order to get the
appropriate mix proportions.
Basically, the problem of designing a sandcrete mix consists of selecting
the correct proportions of cement, fine sharp sand and water to produce blocks
having the specified properties (fakere , et al 1975). Various methods have been
developed in order to achieve the desired properties of blocks, including
flexural strength. The general approach to mixture proportioning, involves
identifying a starting set of mixture proportions, performing one or more trial
batches, and adjusting the proportions in subsequent trial batches until all
criteria are satisfied. This reveals that time and energy used in order to get the
appropriate mix proportions may be enormous. And the method used might not
be cost effective. This shows that various mix design methods have limitations.
To minimize some of these limitations, an optimization procedure is be
proposed in this work. It is a process that seeks the maximum or minimum
value of a function of several variables while at the same time, satisfying a
number of other requirements (Majid, 1974).
Pag e 5
The earliest method of mix designs was by historical records. As at then,
there was no means to achieve an efficient optimized mixture for a given
criterion (FHWA, 2007). This was followed by conventional methods of
designing sandcrete mixtures which were based on laid down rules, design
standard and codes of practice. These methods took care of the shortcoming of
the historical methods. Despite all the advantages of the conventional method,
the methods cannot be used to achieve an efficiently optimized mixture for a
given criterion. Also, they require trial mixes.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
As a result of the increasing cost of block production, many
manufacturers and builders have resorted to using sharp sands obtained from
different locations without appropriate consideration of the material constituents
of the sand, thereby, resulting in poor and undurable sandcrete blocks
production.
Also sharp sand obtained from different sources, are not graded to find out the
ones that are more suitable or to be combined to enhance the strength
development and the overall compressive strength of the sandcrete block
produced.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objectives of this study are:
(i) To ascertain the grading of different sharp sands obtained fron different
sources and to check their suitability in production of sandcrete blocks.
Pag e 6
(ii) To find out the possible effect of chemical compositions of river sand on
the compressive strength of sandcrete blocks.
(iii) To compare the compressive strength of sandcrete block produced from
selected river sand from different sources with the standard values specified
by Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) and other Civil Engineering bodies.
(iv) To classify the selected sharp sands into different zones using sieve
analysis results obtained.
1.4 scope of the study
The scope of this study is to examine the experimental analysis of sandcrete
block production by using different sources of sharp sands in Enugu and Ebonyi
State of South East Geo-Political Zone. Sieve analysis, chemical composition
and specific gravity experiments were used in analyzing the importance of the
samples to civil engineering work by using sandcrete block as a test measure.
1.5 Significance of the study
As a result of the increasing cost of block production, and building failures due
to cracks, an experimental research is necessary to examine different sources of
sand used in the production of sandcrete blocks. The compressive strength of
sandcrete blocks obtained is used to ascertain the best source within this region
which can be used for other construction purposes. Sand classifications into
zones, as well as chemical composition results obtained, helps in defining
different purposes of which the materials can be used in construction without
any fear of future failures.

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