Utilization of water hyacinth fiber and water hyacinth ash as supplementary materials of non-load bearing concrete block

Abstract

The objective of the research is to evaluate the potential of water hyacinth fiber and water hyacinth ash as supplementary materials for producing non-load bearing concrete block. In addition, the research aims to produce the concrete block reinforced with water hyacinth fiber (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 %wt by cement), water hyacinth ash (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 %wt by cement) and the mixture of water hyacinth fiber combined with water hyacinth ash. It includes investigation of the concrete block reinforced with water hyacinth fiber/water hyacinth ash in terms of physical, mechanical and thermal properties. The results revealed that water hyacinth fiber and WHA were considered as the suitable supplementary materials in the production of concrete block. The weight, compressive strength and thermal conductivity of the concrete block decreased with the increasing of water hyacinth fiber and water hyacinth ash content; however, the water absorption increased with the increasing of the supplementary materials. The density of the concrete block decreased with increasing of water hyacinth fiber content. On the other hand, the density increased with increasing of water hyacinth ash content. The concrete block reinforced with 6 %wt of water hyacinth fiber and 8-10 %wt of water hyacinth ash were the most suitable content as the properties met the industrial standard (TIS58-2560), but the compressive strength of the concrete block reinforced with 8-10 %wt of water hyacinth fiber were the lowerest. Therefore, this concrete block was improved the compressive strength by adding of 4-8 %wt of water hyacinth ash. The result indicated that the compressive strength increased with the increasing of water hyacinth ash; furthermore, the concrete block reinforced with the mixture of 8 %wt of water hyacinth fiber combined with 4-8 %wt of water hyacinth ash met the industrial standard (TIS58-2560).