Resistencia a la flexión de una viga de concreto obtenida a partir de incorporación de residuos agroindustriales

Abstract

This research aims to evaluate an alternative to reduce the environmental impact caused by the construction industry, specifically the production of cement and sand extraction, as well as the high generation of waste from the agro-industry, such as rice husks and eggshells. This is achieved by partially replacing cement and sand with crushed eggshells and carbonized rice husk ash, respectively. The process followed the current Colombian technical standards for characterizing fine and coarse aggregates, as well as for making test specimens, which were tested according to NTC-2871, the Colombian adaptation of the American standard ASTM C78, which provides guidelines for obtaining flexural strength of a concrete beam using the third-point loading method. The results obtained from the specimens with partial replacement of carbonized rice husk ash for sand showed a decrease in their strengths compared to regular concrete. However, the specimens with partial replacement of eggshells for cement showed an increase in their strengths compared to plain concrete. It can be said that the main reason for these results is the amount of organic matter contained in the replacement materials, which is considerably higher in the carbonized rice husk ash. On the other hand, obtaining satisfactory results in the specimens with eggshell replacement provides an alternative for mitigating the environmental impact caused by cement production, as well as utilizing a mass-produced waste from the agro-industry.