ABSTRACT
Concrete is a major construction material, which is usually made by mixing cement, water, fine and coarse aggregate and sometimes admixtures in their right proportions.

The use of waste materials with pozzolanic properties in concrete production is a becoming a worldwide practice.

The assessment of the pozzolanic activity of cement replacement materials is becoming increasingly important because of the need for more sustainable cementing products.

In this bamboo leaf Ash is used as partial replacement for cement in ranges of 5%, 10% 15%.

Strength and durability tests were carried out to assess the feasibility of using bamboo leaf ash as partial replacement of cement in concrete.
This showed that BLAsh has no significant effect on the density of the concrete comparatively.

The strength values at different ages for BLAsh replacements compare to be a bit favorable with the control of 0% BLAsh replacement.

The optimum compressive strength of 20.00N/mm2 was obtained at 5% replacement at 28 days of age compared to the control of 20.00N/mm2.

It is therefore advisable to use 5% replacement of BLAsh with cement paste when it is to be used as supplement to cement.

 
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Concrete is a composite element consisting of aggregates enclosed in a matrix of cement paste including possible pozzolanic, has two major components-cement paste and aggregates.

As a construction material, concrete can be in almost any shape desired, and once hardened, can become a structural (load bearing) element.

The strength of concrete depends upon the strength of these components, their deformation properties, and the adhesion between the paste and aggregate surface.

With most natural aggregates, it is possible to make concrete up to 120KN/mm2 a compressive strength by improving the strength of the cement paste, which can be controlled through the choice of water-cement ratio, and type and dosage of admixtures (Dwivedi 2006).
The high cost of conventional construction material is a dominating factor affecting housing system around the world.

This has necessitated research work into alternative materials in the construction field. Since the cost of cement is many times more than the cost of other ingredients in concrete making.

Recently, attention is mainly directed to use of as little cement as possible constituent with adequate strength and durability.

Little research has been carried out to study the bamboo leaf waste as a pozzolanic material.

Dwivedi (2006) reported the reaction between calcium hydroxide (CH) and bamboo leaf ash for four hours of reaction using the differential scanning calorimetric (Dsc) technique.

Singh et al (2000) discussed that eco friendly composite cements may be obtained by partial replacement of Portland cement (PPC) with low cost materials.

They studied the hydration of bamboo leaf ash in a blended Portland cement. It was concluded that bamboo leaf ash is an effective pozzolanic materials.

When 20 weight (wt) % of bamboo ash was mixed with PPC the compressive strength values of mortars at 28 day of hydration were found to be quiet comparable to those of PPC. Villar-cocina et al (2010) conducted a study on sugarcane leaf ash (SCLA).

Hydration of 10 wt % SCLA composite Portland cement was studied by using powder x-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetric and other techniques.

The result have show that the pozzolanic reaction of sugarcane leaf ash increases with time.

They have been used to produce concrete having almost the same behavior as normal concrete.
In general, a pozzolanic material has little or no cementing properties.

However, when it has a fine particle size, in the presence of moisture it can react with calcium hydroxide at ordinary temperatures to provide the cementing property.

Bamboo leaf ash (BLAsh) is one of the agro waste ashes whose chemical composition contains a large amount of silica and has high potential to be used as a cement replacement (Okere 2013).

Most of the concrete produced today are a multi component product containing one or more admixtures in addition to the four basic components which is cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water.

For every component, one usually as several choices that could influence the cost of the end product and its behavior in service.

Among the constituent components, however, cement or cementations materials as a whole, play a vital role in producing strong and durable concrete.

Utilization of these waste materials is a partial solution to environmental and ecological problems.

Use of these also helps in reducing the cost of concrete production by reducing the quantity of cement used. Consequently, this study presents the suitability of using bamboo leaf ash (BLAsh) as a supplementary cementations material.

This work then investigates the effect of bamboo leaf Ash on the workability of fresh concrete and the compressive strength of added concrete.
1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.
Concrete plays an important role in the beneficial use of the material in construction industry.

Many modifications and developments have been made to place material like Bamboo Leaf Ash (BLAsh), wood wool, rice husk and marble powder as a cement replacement constituent, but it as an alternative to reveal that the replacement of Bamboo Leaf Ash (BLAsh), in Portland cement affect the compressive strength of concrete.

One of the main goal of sustainable waste management is to maximize recycling and reuse.

With increasing environmental pressure to reduce waste and pollution and to recycle as much as possible, the concrete industry has begun adopting a number of methods to achieve these goals.
One of the suggestions in the forefront has been the sourcing, development and use of alternative, non-conventional local construction materials including the possibility of using some agricultural wastes and residues as partial or full replacement of conventional constructional materials.

In countries where abundant agricultural wastes are discharged, these wastes can be used as potential material or replacement material in construction industries.
This has a significant impact by reducing the amount of quarrying and landfill space required, and acts as a cement replacement, reduces the amount of cement of required to produce a solid concrete.

As cement production creates massive quantities of carbon dioxide, cement replacement technology such as this will play an important role in future attempts to cut carbon dioxide emissions and production of economical optimum strength concrete, so as to encourage the use of this ‘impressive’ waste product as construction material in low-cost housing.
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to study the compressive strength of concrete with cement partially replaced with bamboo leaf ash and the suitability of the material to be used as cement substitute
The objectives of the projects are:
 To determine the percentage of BLAsh as a replacement for cement of 5%,10%,15%,20%.
 To replace cement with known percentage of bamboo leaf ash and cast with it.
 To examine the workability of the fresh BLAsh concrete by slump test.
 To compare the strength of cubes cast at 100% of cement with cubes replaced with the known percentage of bamboo leaf.
 To suggest the use of bamboo leaf ash as alternative supplement to cement so as to reduce cost of construction.
1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY.
In Nigeria today, an appreciable percentage of the entire population cannot afford to build their own houses especially modern types due to high cost of cement and the average percentage of the country’s population find it difficult or almost impossible to afford the cost.

In order to curb this act, this project is targeting whether bamboo leaf ash can be used as a partial replacement for cement in order to achieve optimum strength and economic concrete and the corresponding quantity of coir ash required.