Dimensional Stability of Lightweight Foamed Concrete Containing Eggshell Powder and Calcium Stearate

Abstract

In order to reduce eggshell (ES) waste and reduce utilization of pure cement, various researches were conducted to study effects of eggshell powder (ESP) on properties of concrete when it partially replaces ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Dimensional stability is one of the properties that related to cracking issue and soundness of concrete, and it is generally guided by movement of moisture. This study was conducted to study the dimensional stability of lightweight foamed concrete (LFC) that containing eggshell powder and calcium stearate (CS), where, replacement level (RL) of eggshell powder ranged from 0% to 10% at interval of 2.5%, and additional of 1% calcium stearate as cement mass applied for the mixture containing 0% and 5% eggshell powder. Besides, sorptivity and initial surface absorption were tested to compare with dimensional changes, and compressive strength was tested to confirm the additives have no significant adverse effect on the strength. The result shows that incorporation of 5% eggshell powder improves sorptivity, initial surface absorption, and dimensional stability (outdoor R² value) of the lightweight foamed concrete by 33%, 55%, and 1.5% respectively, meanwhile, additional of 1% calcium stearate improves these properties by average 79%, 78%, and 7.2% respectively.