Abstract

This study investigates the engineering properties oflight weight concrete made with saw dust as partial replacement of Cement in concrete. It was evaluated to have lighter density for structures and in turn reduce the nuisance of environmental pollution, as well as cost of constituent of conventional concrete especially cement which creates more avenue for low cost of construction for building in order to meet up with the basic problem of accommodation in Nigeria. The study involved an experimental processes which include: physical and mechanical testing. The results obtained from the mechanical testing was used for mix design of 25N/mm2 targeted strength giving mix ratio of 1:2:4 with 0.5 W/C ratio.The mix was calculated for 5%, 10% and 15% replacement of cement with sawdust. (Twelve concrete cubes and were cast for each sample consisting of three representative sample for each curing days of 7, 14, 21, and 28 days respectively using the cube mould and a total of 48 samples. The experimental results was classified in phases From these results, the parameters for the engineering properties were computed, yielding the following observations; sawdust could replace cement in concrete for up to 15% but 5% could be used for any structural work while 10% could serve for most agricultural structures with mild exposure rate due to the water absorption rate of sawdust concrete. Hence 5% sawdust concrete meet the various criteria and had the best work-ability for light weight concrete. Therefore, 5% replacement of cement with sawdust is recommendation for use in structures.