Influence of palm oil ash and palm oil clinker on the properties of lightweight concrete

The main purpose of this research is to examine the performance of lightweight concrete (LWC) that contains palm oil clinker (POC) as a replacement for aggregate by either 50 or 100% of volume. Also, the use of palm oil ash (POA) and silica fume (SF) as a 10 and 20% weight replacement for cement, respectively, was examined. This research involved designing 20 mixtures. The performance of the fresh mixed LWC was assessed using a slump test. A variety of experiments were used to assess the performance of hardened concrete, including a dry density test, a compressive strength (CS) test, a split tensile strength test, a flexural strength test, and a modulus of elasticity test. In addition, the performance of concrete exposed to high temperatures on CS is evaluated. The transport properties were evaluated by applying tests including water permeability, chloride permeability, and water absorption. Finally, microstructure analysis was performed. The findings revealed that employing cementitious materials, such as SF and POA, as cement replacements or POC as an aggregate substitute reduced workability. The usage of POC as an alternative to aggregate also reduced CS. The mixture containing 100% POC showed the highest reduction, with a rate of 52% lower than the reference mixture. Furthermore, the applied temperature increased to 600 degrees C, resulting in a significant decrease in CS, ranging from 34.6 to 42.6%.