CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Right from when man stated to build, he has been compelled to use the locally available materials around him. Building has now become major construction material allover the world has necessitated a critical study of its constituent materials.

More so, the present economic crunch calls for cost saving measures on the part of engineers/researchers involved in the management of the country’s project.
Hence, the need for researchers to explore the use of those material that are locally available and affordable for the partial or total replacement of some previously known construction materials. Putting in the consideration safety, economy, strength and durability.
The advent of pure water sachets in Nigeria was a welcomed development; however it has become a serious environmental pollution due to its non-degradable nature.

These sachets belong to the polymer family and have been discovered to be of importance with polymer hence forming a Polymer Concrete (P.C). polymer Concrete (PC) consist of a polymer binder which may be a thermoplastic but more frequently it is thermosetting polymer and a mineral fillers such as aggregate, gravel, or crushed stones, however in case it will be shredded wood wool.
The use of shredded wood, termed as wood or excisior as reinforcement for inorganic binders date back to the beginning of the 19th century. Gypsum and magnesite bonded excelsior boards were manufactured in 1905 and 1915 respectively. (Kossatz el at. 1983).
However, the first commercial production of wood wool cement boards (WWCBs) started and was patented in Austria in 1927.

There are three different types of wood wool cement composite namely; wood wool cement board (WWCB), cement bonded particle board (CBP), and wood fibre reinforced composites, (Kossatz et al. 1983).
Wood wool cement bonded is a versatile building materials which is made from wood wool and an inorganic binder usually cement (such as ordinary Portland cement).

It is constructed in the form of a panel product consisting of thin strands of wood bonded together by cement (Evans 1996).
The wood strands are usually cut from debarked or spruce timbers logs.

The panel dimension vary with thickness and it ranges from 8 – 50mm, it is usually produced in densities ranging from (450 – 900)kg/m3 (Evans 1996).

2.0 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Availability of raw material: Wood wool strands are available all over the country as renewable, locally, available waste material in sawmills. Basically in Nigeria, there is no establishment or company producing or using the shredded wood wool.

Hence, the process of acquiring wood wool strands required to meet strict international standards concerning their strength and thickness tolerance is a tedious process and many amount to delay in the construction of the cubes.
High cost of building material: In recent time, materials such as cement, sand, gravel and others used for the construction of building are on the increase every day because there is like in the price of the building materials.

Hence, there is need for a vast increase in the production of alternative materials, such as shredded wood wool, which is less expensive and if well taken advantages of can lead to the production of mass housing in the country.

It serves as a means of reducing environment pollution as effective use will be made of the disposed ‘PWS’, thus reducing environmental pollution.
3.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The aim and objectives of the project is to:
– Evaluate the strength of the concrete when polymers are used along side with other construction materials and when they are not used along side with other construction material.
– Examine the water absorption capability of this kind of composite.
– Determine the best mix ratio for the materials used for the production of this composite.
– Reduce the amount of environmental waste in the country in general.