TITLE:
Experimental Investigation on the Compressive Strength and Durability Performance of Modified Dry-Stack Hollow Sandcrete Blocks
AUTHORS:
Fredrick Onyancha Arasa, Richard Onchiri, Zachary C. Abiero-Gariy
KEYWORDS:
Blended Sand, Dry-Stack Hollow, Sandcrete Blocks, Compressive Strengths, Abrasion, Water Absorption
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.8 No.12,
December
14,
2021
ABSTRACT: The increase in construction costs has resulted in the shortage of decent housing in Kenya. As a result, the majority of the population lives in substandard housing. One way of reducing the cost of housing is by replacing the mortared masonry units with dry-stack hollow masonry units. In this study, Dry-stack hollow Sandcrete Blocks (DHSBs) were developed by utilizing blended sand (30% marine and 70% lateritic sand) and sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) (15%) as replacement of river sand and partial replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement, respectively. Two types of dry-stack hollow sandcrete blocks (DHSBs) were mechanically developed and identified as T-DHSBs and R-DHSBs. The compressive strength and durability performance of the DHSBs were investigated through laboratory experiments. The durability of the DHSBs was assessed through water absorption and abrasion tests. The 28-day compressive strengths of T-DHSBs and R-DHSBs were found to be 3.58 Mpa and 4.04 Mpa respectively and the water absorption values for T-DHSBs and R-DHSBs were 8.98% and 9.39% respectively. The losses of weight due to abrasion for T-DHSB and R-DHSBs were 0.056% and 0.051% respectively. The compressive strength and durability of the DHSBs were found to meet the specifications provided in NIS 87:2000 and BS 5628-1:2005 respectively.