Utilization of Wheat Stalk Ash in Concrete (An Experimental Study)

There are large wheat fields in Iran and every year after harvesting a large amount of wheat stalk residue is left on the fields. This residue usually is used to feed animals or would be burned. Due to numerous researches ashes of such wastes could act like a pozzolanic material and therefore there is a rising trend in waste management programs to use them in construction projects, mostly as a replacement for cement. Therefore in this study the mechanical properties of concrete mixtures with different percentages of wheat stalk ash (WSA) instead of cement by weight is being investigated. The results showed WAS is an acceptable replacement for cement in concrete manufacturing, as an example using 5 percent of WSA instead of cement will cause an increase in compression strength about 40 percent, though the tensile strength will reduce about 10 percent.

Keywords:

concrete , residue , mechanical properties , wheat stalk ash