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Construction
and Building

Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 311–317

MATERIALS
www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

A study of the workability and compressive strength characteristics

of corn cob ash blended cement concrete
D.A. Adesanya a, A.A. Raheem b,*
a
Building Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
b
Civil Engineering Department, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Received 3 May 2007; received in revised form 30 November 2007; accepted 10 December 2007
Available online 30 January 2008

Abstract

The study investigated the workability and compressive strength characteristics of corn cob ash (CCA) blended cement concrete. Nine
classes of CCA-blended cements were employed with the CCA content ranging from 0% to 25%. The 0% CCA replacement involved the
use of normal ordinary Portland cement and it served as the control. The mix proportions of cement:sand:granite used were 1:1½:3, 1:2:4
and 1:3:6 with 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 water-to-cement ratios, respectively. The concrete cubes were tested at the curing ages of 3, 7, 28, 60, 120,
and 180 days. Slump and compacting factor tests were carried out to check the effect of CCA on the workability of concrete. The results
showed that the concrete slump and compacting factor decreased as the CCA content increased indicating that concrete becomes less
workable (stiff) as the CCA percentage increases. The compressive strength of CCA-blended cement concrete was lower than the control
at early ages, but improves significantly, and outperforms the control at later ages (120 days and above). The optimum compressive
strength of 57.10 N/mm2, 40.30 N/mm2 and 28.07 N/mm2 for 1:11/2:3, 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 mix proportions, respectively at 180 days were
obtained at 8% CCA replacement level. It was concluded that only up to 8% CCA substitution is adequate where the blended cement
is to be used for structural concrete.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Corn cob ash (CCA); Pozzolan; Blended cement; Compressive strength

1. Introduction
Portland cement as an ingredient in concrete is one of
the main construction materials widely used, especially in
developing countries. The current cement production rate
of the world is approximately 1.2 billion tons/year. This
is expected to grow to about 3.5 billion tons/year by
2015. This increasing demand for cement is expected to
be met by partial cement replacement [1]. The search for
alternative binder or cement replacement materials led to
the discovery of the potentials of using industrial by-prod-
ucts and agricultural wastes as cementitious materials. If
these fillers have pozzolanic properties, they impart techni-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +234 8033928991.
E-mail address: raheemayinde@yahoo.com (A.A. Raheem).
cal advantages to the resulting concrete and also enable lar-
ger quantities of cement replacement to be achieved [2].
Corn cob is the agricultural waste product obtained
from maize or corn, which is the most important cereal
crop in sub-Saharan Africa. According to Food and Agri-
culture Organisation (FAO) data, 589 million tons of maize
were produced worldwide in the year 2000 [3]. The United
States was the largest maize producer having 43% of world
production. Africa produced 7% of the world’s maize [4].
Nigeria was the second largest producer of maize in Africa
in the year 2001 with 4.62 million ton. South Africa has the
highest production of 8.04 million ton [3].
Previous research efforts on the use of corn cob ash
(CCA) as a pozzolan [5–7] involved mixing of the CCA
with Ordinary Portland Cement at the point of need. This
study involved the use of CCA-blended cement produced
in the controlled environment of a factory as reported by

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2007.12.004
312 D.A. Adesanya, A.A. Raheem / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 311–317

[8], to produce concrete specimens, which are now com-
pared with ordinary Portland cement concrete.
This study investigated the workability and compressive
strength characteristics of the CCA-blended cement con-
crete with a view to ascertaining its suitability as a struc-
tural material.
Sharp sand was used as fine aggregates and granite as
coarse aggregates. The fine and coarse aggregates used
were obtained from Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Fig. 1 showed
the grading curves for the aggregates used.
2.2. Specimen preparation

2. Experimental procedure Specimen preparation for compressive strength test was

performed using 100 mm  100 mm  100 mm cube steel
2.1. Materials moulds. The mix proportions of cement:sand:granite used
are 1:1½:3, 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 with 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 water-to-
The CCA-blended cement used was produced in accor- cement ratios, respectively. Nine batches of concrete were
dance with the procedure set out in [8]. The chemical com- prepared for each mix proportion, each batch correspond-
position of CCA [as obtained from previous study (8)], ing to each of the nine percentage CCA replacement of 0%,
which makes it possible to be used as a pozzolan, is pre- 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% in the blended
sented in Table 1. Nine classes of CCA-blended cements cement used. A total of 486 cubes were cast for the three
were employed with the CCA content ranging from 0% mix proportions. After casting, the specimens were stored
to 25%. The 0% CCA replacement involved the use of nor- in the curing room at 27 ± 5 °C with 90% relative humidity
mal ordinary Portland cement and it serves as the control. for 24 h and then demoulded and placed under water until
The chemical composition of the CCA-blended cements [as the testing ages of 3, 7, 28, 60, 120,and 180 days. The com-
obtained from previous study (8)] is presented in Table 2. pressive strength was determined with CONTEST Com-
The physical properties of the nine classes of blended pressive Strength Testing Machine (Type GDIOA, Serial
cement used as obtained from previous study (8) is pre- Number 3688) with maximum capacity of 2000 kN. The
sented in Table 3. strength value was the average of three specimens.
Slump and compacting factor tests were carried out to
check the effect of corn cob ash (CCA) on the workability
Table 1 of concrete. The tests were carried out in accordance with
Chemical composition of corn cob ash (CCA) the requirements of BS 1881: Part 102 (1983) [9] for slump
Chemical constituents Composition (%) Average test and BS 1881: Part 103 (1993) [10] for compacting fac-
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 tor test.
SiO2 67.33 65.39 66.41 66.38
Al2O3 7.34 9.14 5.97 7.48 3. Results and discussion
Fe2O3 3.74 5.61 3.97 4.44
CaO 10.29 12.89 11.53 11.57 3.1. Workability
MgO 1.82 2.33 2.02 2.06
SO3 1.11 1.10 1.01 1.07
The results of the slump and compacting factor indicat-
Na2O 0.39 0.48 0.36 0.41
K2O 4.20 4.92 5.64 4.92 ing the workability for the three concrete mixes made with
blended cement having different percentages of CCA are
Total SiO2 + Al2O3 74.67 74.53 72.38 73.86
shown in Tables 4–6 The tables indicate that the concrete
Table 2
Chemical composition of CCA-blended cement
Constituents Composition (%)
0% CCA 2% CCA 4% CCA 6% CCA 8% CCA 10% CCA 15% CCA 20% CCA 25% CCA
SiO2 21.48 21.53 21.64 21.72 21.93 22.15 22.45 22.67 23.69
Al2O3 4.54 4.44 4.49 4.48 4.49 4.51 4.59 4.75 5.20
Fe2O3 3.80 3.86 3.86 3.89 3.91 3.94 3.97 4.10 4.17
CaO 63.65 63.49 63.41 62.80 62.21 62.18 62.01 61.90 61.46
MgO 1.94 1.95 1.96 2.03 2.26 2.47 2.48 1.42 1.57
SO3 2.11 2.19 2.03 2.21 2.09 2.12 2.02 2.45 1.64
K2O 0.19 0.71 0.75 0.78 0.79 0.76 0.76 0.80 0.83
Na2O 0.26 0.33 0.32 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.35 0.30 0.31
LOI 0.99 1.38 1.41 1.42 1.40 1.44 1.30 1.35 1.47
LSF 93.04 92.07 87.09 85.49 83.04 81.76 80.83 72.05 72.40
SR 2.65 2.69 2.62 2.70 2.66 2.71 2.76 2.96 2.96
AR 1.37 1.38 1.41 1.40 1.24 1.30 1.20 1.18 1.36
Free lime 1.33 1.24 1.07 1.10 1.10 1.03 1.08 1.10 1.14
IR 0.59 0.77 0.96 1.31 1.67 1.94 3.02 4.19 5.28
Note: 0% CCA is the control.
 D.A. Adesanya, A.A. Raheem / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 311–317 313

Table 3
Summary of physical characteristics of CCA-blended cement
Parameters CCA replacement (%)
0 2 4 6 8 10 15 20 25
Fineness (m2/kg) 385 380 367 343 320 306 291 285 272
Soundness (mm) 1.00 2.00 2.50 2.00 3.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50
Consistency (%) 27.00 26.80 26.50 26.00 26.20 25.60 25.10 24.00 23.00
Initial setting time (min) 120 142 164 180 193 208 211 245 296
Final setting time (min) 220 251 277 298 306 328 333 374 441
Residue on 45 lm sieve (%) 29.00 30.00 30.50 31.00 31.60 32.00 34.50 38.00 44.60

Fig. 1. Grading curves for the aggregates used.

Table 4 Table 5
Slump and compacting factor values of CCA-blended cement concrete Slump and compacting factor values of CCA-blended cement concrete
(mix proportion 1:1½:3) (mix proportion 1:2:4)
Percentage replacement (%) Slump (mm) Compacting factor Percentage replacement (%) Slump (mm) Compacting factor
0 35 0.89 0 45 0.93
2 25 0.83 2 30 0.82
4 28 0.85 4 27 0.80
6 26 0.84 6 25 0.80
8 22 0.76 8 24 0.78
10 22 0.78 10 26 0.80
15 20 0.70 15 20 0.72
20 15 0.68 20 15 0.70
25 12 0.67 25 10 0.68
W/C ratio is 0.5 optimum. W/C ratio is 0.6 optimum.

slump decreases as the CCA content increases. For 1:1½:3
mix proportion, Table 4 revealed that the slump decreases
from 35 mm to 12 mm as the percentage CCA substitution
increases from 0% to 25%. Similarly, the compacting factor
decreases from 0.89 to 0.67 as the percentage CCA substi-
tution increases from 0% to 25%. The same trend was
observed for 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 mix proportions as shown in
Tables 5 and 6. These results indicate that concrete
becomes less workable (stiff) as the CCA percentage
increases meaning that more water is required to make
the mixes more workable. The high demand for water as
the CCA content increases is due to increased amount of
silica in the mixture. This is typical of pozzolan cement
concrete as the silica-lime reaction requires more water in
addition to water required during hydration of cement
[11–14]. The workability period of the concrete is also
314 D.A. Adesanya, A.A. Raheem / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 311–317

Table 6 The result at 3 days for 1:1½:3 mix proportion as pre-

Slump and compacting factor values of CCA-blended cement concrete sented in Fig. 2 satisfied the NIS 439:2000 [15] requirement
(mix proportion 1:3:6)
of 12 N mm 2 minimum for all the CCA replacement levels
Percentage replacement (%) Slump (mm) Compacting factor considered. For 1:2:4 mix proportion, the NIS 439:2000
0 60 0.96 requirement was satisfied for CCA replacement up to a
2 50 0.95 maximum of 20%, while for 1:3:6 mix proportion only up
4 42 0.92
6 35 0.88
to 8% CCA replacement met the requirement. The com-
8 30 0.85 pressive strength of the control (0% CCA replacement) is
10 30 0.84 the highest at this stage. Similar trend was observed at 7
15 25 0.82 days as shown in Fig. 3. These results indicate that CCA-
20 20 0.76 blended cement concrete gain strength slowly at early
25 15 0.71
curing age. This is in agreement with the findings from pre-
W/C ratio is 0.7 optimum. vious studies [16,17], which state that pozzolanic reaction
at room temperature is slow, thus a longer curing period
extended as the addition of CCA increases both initial and is needed to observe its positive effects (see Fig. 7).
final setting times as reported in [8]. This is of particular Fig. 4 indicated that the compressive strength at 28 days
importance in ready mixed concrete as there is extra time for 1:1½:3 mix proportion ranges from 43:27 N mm 2 for
to affect delivery to site. the control, to 17.97 N mm 2 for 25% CCA replacement.
These values are higher than the results obtained from pre-
3.2. Compressive strength vious studies [7,18], which involved mixing of CCA with
Ordinary Portland Cement at the point of need. The 28-
The effect of percentage CCA replacement and mix pro- day compressive strength obtained in [18] for 1:1½:3 con-
portion on the compressive strength of concrete at the cur- crete with 10% CCA replacement was 23.3 N mm2 as
ing ages of 3, 7, 28, 60, 120, and 180 days are presented in against the 34.67 N mm 2 obtained in the present study.
Figs. 2–7, respectively. The increase may be attributed to the improved character-

1:1.5:3 Mix 1:2:4 Mix 1:3:6 Mix

30
Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

25

20

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Percentage Replacement of CCA (%)

Fig. 2. Effect of CCA replacement and mix ratios on the compressive strength of concrete cubes at age 3 days.

1:1.5:3 Mix 1:2:4 Mix 1:3:6 Mix

Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Percentage Replacement of CCA (%)

Fig. 3. Effect of CCA replacement and mix ratios on the compressive strength of concrete cubes at age 7 days.
 D.A. Adesanya, A.A. Raheem / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 311–317 315

50 1:1.5:3 Mix
1:2:4 Mix

Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

45
1:3:6 Mix
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Percentage Replacement of CCA (%)

Fig. 4. Effect of CCA replacement and mix ratios on the compressive strength of concrete cubes at age 28 days.

50

45
1:1.5:3 Mix
Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

40 1:2:4 Mix
1:3:6 Mix
35

30

25

20

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Percentage Replacement of CCA (%)

Fig. 5. Effect of CCA replacement and mix ratios on the compressive strength of concrete cubes at age 60 days.

60

50 1:1.5:3 Mix
Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

1:2:4 Mix
1:3:6 Mix
40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Percentage Replacement of CCA (%)

Fig. 6. Effect of CCA replacement and mix ratios on the compressive strength of concrete cubes at age 120 days.

istic of the factory produced blended cement. Similar the CCA substitution increases from 0% to 25%. The con-
trends were observed for the 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 mix propor- trol still has the highest compressive strength at this age.
tions with compressive strength ranging from 33.50 to The NIS 439:2000 requirement for minimum compressive
14.30 N mm2 and 21.70 to 9.47 N mm2, respectively as strength of 26 N mm 2 at 28 days could not be satisfied
316 D.A. Adesanya, A.A. Raheem / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 311–317
60
50
Compressive Strength (N/mm2)
40
30
20
10
0
0 5
Percentage Replacement of CCA (%)
Fig. 7. Effect of CCA replacement and mix ratios on the compressive strength of concrete cubes at age 180 days.
beyond 15% CCA replacement level for 1:1½:3 concrete.
This implies that adding CCA beyond 15% replacement
level may not be beneficial to concrete in terms of compres-
sive strength development.
The results at 60 days as shown in Fig. 5 indicated that
pozzolanic action had commenced as evident from the
higher percentage of strength increase by the CCA-blended
cement concrete. While the percentage of 28 days strength
for the control was 109.48%, it was 115.96%, 118.94%,
121.51%, 122.41%, 122.09%, 124.73%, 124.94% and
125.21% for 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%
CCA replacement, respectively. The higher compressive
strength noted in CCA-blended cement concrete may be
attributed to the reaction of CCA with calcium hydroxide
liberated during the hydration of cement. The percentage
increase in strength was found to be increasing as the
CCA percentage replacement increases. This is an indica-
tion of the role of reactive silica in strength development
of pozzolan cement concrete. As the CCA content
increases, more silica is available to react with the lime pro-
duced during hydration of cement, thus producing more
cementitious materials, which contribute to the higher
compressive strength. The increase in strength ranges from
17% to 33% for 1:2:4 mix proportion and 11–47% for 1:3:6
mix proportion. Fig. 5 showed that at 4% CCA replace-
ment level, the compressive strength is very close to that
of the control for the three mix proportions considered.
At 120 days, there was continuous and significant
improvement in strength development beyond the 60 days
as shown in Fig. 6. The increase in strength from 28 to 120
days was between 29.7% and 39.4% for 1:1½:3 mix propor-
tion, between 24:3% and 50.5% for 1:2:4 mix proportion
and between 24.10% and 57.70% for 1:3:6 mix proportion.
Higher percentage increases in strength than at 60 days
were observed confirming the continuous pozzolanic reac-
tion in the CCA-blended cement concrete. The increase
in strength is due to the cement that continues to hydrate.
However, the significant increase in strength of CCA-
1:1.5:3 Mix
1:2:4 Mix
1:3:6 Mix
10 15 20 25 30
blended cement concrete cubes is due to the pozzolanic
reaction of CCA. According to [13], the strength gain is
due to the cementitious products formed as a result of
hydration of cement and those formed when lime reacts
with the pozzolan incorporated. Another possible explana-
tion for the increased strength was stated by [16] to be due
to the deceleration of rate of hydration permitting the for-
mation of more dense hydrates of strength contributing
dicalcium silicate (C2S). Fig. 6 also revealed that the 2%
and 4% CCA replacements have higher strength than the
control for 1:1½:3 mix proportion. Only the 4% CCA
replacement has higher strength than the control for 1:2:4
mix proportion, while for 1:3:6 mix proportion, the 4%,
6% and 8% CCA replacements have higher strength than
the control. Sharp decrease in strength was noticed beyond
15% CCA replacement for 1:½:3 mix proportion, and
beyond 10% for 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 mix proportions. These
results suggest that the presence of CCA above the range
of 10–15% is not advantageous in improving the compres-
sive strength of concrete.
Fig. 7 showed the compressive strength results obtained
at 180 days. The strength development of CCA-blended
cement concrete continued to be higher than that of the
control indicating the long-term strength development of
the former. The 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% and 15% CCA
replacement have higher compressive strength than the
control for the 1:1½:3 mix proportion with the optimum
value of 57.10 N mm 2 at 8% substitution. For 1:2:4 and
1:3:6 mix proportions the 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% CCA
replacements perform better than the control with opti-
mum compressive strength of 40.30 N mm 2 and
28.07 N mm 2, respectively at 8% substitution. Since com-
pressive strength of concrete plays a vital role in the design
of concrete structures, it could be concluded that only up to
8% CCA substitution is adequate where the blended
cement is to be used for structural concrete. However, since
all the specimens meet the minimum strength of 6 N mm 2
after 28 days of curing recommended by BS 5224:1976 [19]
 D.A. Adesanya, A.A. Raheem / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 311–317
for masonry cement, they could be used for general con-
crete works where strength is of less importance such as
in mass concrete, floor screed and mortar.
4. Conclusion
From the results of the various tests performed, the fol-
lowing conclusions can be drawn:
1. The concrete slump and compacting factor decrease as
the CCA content increases. The workability period of
the concrete is also extended as the addition of CCA
increases both initial and final setting times. This is of
particular importance in ready mixed concrete as there
is extra time to effect delivery to site.
2. The compressive strength of CCA-blended cement con-
crete is lower than that of plain concrete (the control) at
early curing ages but improves significantly at later ages
and in fact has higher percentage gain in strength than
the later. The optimum level of CCA replacement from
structural load viewpoint is 8%. To enjoy the maximum
benefit of strength gain, the concrete needs to be cured
for a minimum of 120 days.
3. CCA can be used as a pozzolan in blended cement con-
crete to improve the compressive strength at later ages.
Due to the long-term strength development of CCA-
blended cement concrete and the low heat of hydration
recorded, it is most applicable in mass concrete works.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the management of West
Africa Portland Cement Company (WAPCO) Sagamu
Works, Ogun State, Nigeria; for the opportunity given to
perform the various laboratory tests using their facilities.
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