The Effect Of Water/cement Ratio On Compressive Strength Of Palm Kernel Shell Concrete At 1:2:4 Nominal Mix

The palm tree is found or grown in tropical climate of the world in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Nigerian. The palm kernel is found on the palm tree, a tree which is economically valuable, tree grown in the rain forest region close to the coastal area and adjacent to some inland water waste (Ondo State, Imo State Enugu State etc.).palm kernel shells are processed and gotten from palm fruit being processed in large quantities by oil mills for example in Nigeria, Malaysia, it was discovered that over 1.5 million and 4 million tons of palm kernel shell solid waste are produced annually, only a fraction which is used as a domestic fuels. (Peter Ndoke; 2006 ).
Palm kernel shell is light and ideal for substitution as aggregate in the production of light weight concrete. Olutoge (1995) in his investigation into the physical property of palm kernel shell found that it has density to be 740kg/m3. He concluded that this material have properties which resembled those light weight concrete materials. This study will adopt a “waste to wealth” policy in the use of material presently considered as having no economic value with disposal problems. This study will also ascertain their suitability as replacement for coarse aggregate in production of concrete and hence enhance their economic value.