The influence of mix design on mechanical properties of oil palm shell lightweight concrete

This paper presents part of the experimental results of an in-progress research project to fabricate structural lightweight concrete using solid waste,oil palm shell (ops) as a coarse aggregate. the utilization ops as lightweight aggregate in concrete especially in the structure application has been proven by previous researches. as an industrial waste product,oil palm shell ops may be the alternative material to be employed in the construction industry. this study will focus on the potential of ops as lightweight aggregate with regard to the optimum content of ops for strength development. a total of 15 mixes were prepared and tested with 3 different cement/sand ratios (1.7,1.8,1.9) and 5 different cement contents (300,350,400,450,500 kg/m3). the result of this study show that the compressive strength for all mix achieve the requirement for load bearing strength,the strength significantly improve with cement volume increased. sand ratio showed,the highest sand used will produced good workability.