Browsing by Author "Nzugua, Michael Evans"

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Investigation of mechanical properties of concrete developed from a binder composite of sugar cane bagasse ash and Portland cement
(Kyambogo University (Unpublished work), 2024-10) Nzugua, Michael Evans
Cement production has been growing over time. Statistics indicate more growth as the human population increases. However, cement production relies on natural resources such as limestone rocks. The mining of these minerals poses grave environmental hazards. Increased limestone mining and its use in cement production have led to, deforestation, soil and water contamination and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mostly carbon dioxide (CO2). This has led to global warming and the rising of sea levels. The East Africa Community (EAC) countries have immense sugarcane cane bagasse ash (SCBA) which remains unexploited as a supplementary-cementitious material (SCM). This study delved into using EAC SCBA as a pozzolan. SCBA investigated was collected from Kenya's coastal area. Raw SCBA, processed SCBA, Portland cement (PC) and the developed concrete were characterised by various techniques to determine the surface morphology, chemical composition, structural properties and mineralogical composition. The raw SCBA was calcinated at 600 oC to get processed SCBA (SCBA-600). SCBA-600 was then used to design the concrete mix. PC was replaced from 0 to 30 % in steps of 10 %. The flexural and compressive strengths were determined in the hardened state after twenty-eight days of concrete curing. The compressive and flexural strength of the mix containing 20 % SCBA was higher than the control mix by 9.65 and 6.51 %, respectively. The microstructural properties of the developed concrete revealed dense particle distribution, indicating good micro/nanofiller effects of the interfacial transition zone. The processed SCBA was found to meet class N and F of natural pozzolan as per ASTM –C 618. The samples were analysed using XRD, SEM, EDX, and XRF techniques. The concrete design was done following IS 10262-2009 and IS 456. The casting and curing were done as per ASTM C-192 and lastly, the mechanical strengths were done as per ASTM C-39 and ASTM C78-00 standards specifications. These positive results from the experimental investigation, technically portray the Kenya coastal SCBA as a potential SCM.
Structural, chemical, and mechanical properties of concrete developed from a binder composite of sugarcane bagasse ash and Portland cement
(Discover Materials, 2025-06-05) Nzugua, Michael Evans; Mukhokosi, Emma Panzi; Kinyera, Sam Obwoya
The East Africa Community (EAC) countries have immense sugarcane cane bagasse ash (SCBA) which remains unexploited as a supplementary-cementitious material (SCM). This study delved into using EAC SCBA as a pozzolan. SCBA investigated was collected from Kenya’s coastal area. Raw SCBA, processed SCBA, Portland cement (PC) and the developed concrete were characterised by various techniques to determine the surface morphology, chemical composition, structural properties and mineralogical composition. The raw SCBA was calcined at 600 °C then used to design the concrete mix. PC was replaced with SCBA from 0 to 30% in steps of 10%. The flexural and compressive strengths were determined in the hardened state after 28 days of concrete curing. The compressive and flexural strengths of the mix containing 20% SCBA were higher than the control mix by 9.65 and 6.51%, respectively. The microstructural properties of the developed concrete revealed dense particle distribution, indicating good micro/nanofiller effects of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ). The processed SCBA was found to meet class N and F of natural pozzolan as per ASTM C 618. This study suggests that the Kenya coastal SCBA can be used as a supplementary cementitious material.