Production of concrete using laterite, periwinkle shell and river stone

Abstract

This paper presents the success recorded in producing concrete using laterite, periwinkle shell and river stone. Laterite was used to replace 100% of sand. Periwinkle shell replaces 50% by volume of the total coarse aggregate, while river stone made up the rest 50%. Sixteen mix ratios were used, and a total of 96 cubes were cast, cured and crushed. Tests such as slump, bulk density and compressive cube strength of the concrete were conducted. The result revealed that water cement ratio affects the slump values. However, higher quantity of laterite gave less workable mixes, and would require working upon to achieve-good placement of concrete. Saturated surface dry density of the concrete was approximately 2111 Kg m-3. The optimum mix ratio by mass was 0.65 : 1 : 1.5 : 0.565 : 1.75, corresponding to water : cement : laterite : periwinkle shell: river stone. It gave compressive cube strength of 25.11 Nmm -2.

Keywords: Concrete production, periwinkle shell, river stone, laterite