RES
RES
RES
EXPERIMENTATION ON THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF CORNSTARCH AS AN
ADMIXTURE TO A CONCRETE THAT
CONSISTS OF EGGHELLS AS PART OF THE
FINE AGGREGATES
by
Mapua University
August 2019
1
APPROVAL SHEET
This is to certify that we have supervised the preparation of and read the study prepared by
Mariah Vianca L. Hurtada, Mar Christian H. Mentoy, Reinalynn D. Sison, Ronaldo
C. Sultan Jr. entitled Experimentation on the Effectiveness of Cornstarch as an
Admixture to a concrete that consists of eggshells as part of the Fine Aggregates and
that the said study has been submitted for final examination by Oral Examination
Committee.
__________________________
Engr. John Paul D. Carreon
Professor
As members of the Oral Examination Committee, we certify that we have examined this
thesis, presented before the committee on August 2019 and hereby requirements for the
degree Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.
Member Member
This study is hereby approved and accepted by the School of CEGE as requirements for
the degree Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
2
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the potential of egg shell and cornstarch as a concrete
material. The egg shells were used as a part of fine aggregate and cornstarch was used as
an admixture. Nine concrete cylinder samples were tested after 7 days of curing. The
samples have the same amount of 1 kg of egg shells and different amount of cornstarch
(0.5 kg, 1.0 kg and 1.5 kg) mixed in the concrete. Based on the test, the compressive
strength of the sample increases as the amount of cornstarch increases but it still does not
meet the required standard compressive strength. Since the presence of cornstarch and
eggshell on concrete gives low results, it cannot be used as an alternative for construction.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The researchers would like to express their outmost appreciation and gratitude to
Almighty God for giving them the inspiration, determination, patience and knowledge to
conduct the paper. This research would not be possible without the guidance and assistance
of many people including our family, friends, groupmates and others. We would like to
express our gratitude to Engr. John Paul Carreon, our professor and research adviser, for
approving and assisting to do this type of research in relation to the course, Methods of
Research. Also, thank you to all the faculty and staff of the School of Civil, Environmental,
and Geological Engineering and ILMO Office in letting us use the school’s Ultimate
Testing Machine.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE……………………………………………………………………...1
APPROVAL SHEET……………………………………………………………...2
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………….3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………4
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………….5
LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………...6
LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………..6
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………7
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY………………………………………………..16
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………...35
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………40
RESUME…………………………………………………………………………51
4
LIST OF TABLES
starch………………………..................................................................................23
starch……………………………………………………………………………..25
starch……………………………………………………………………………..26
LIST OF FIGURES
5
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Various mix designs for concrete were conducted using waste materials as admixtures,
and fine aggregates. Engineers nowadays develop a more sustainable concrete for cleaner
eco-friendly construction. Cornstarch and Eggshell Powder are commonly used waste
materials. It is necessary to consider the influence of material ingredients, for instance, the
type and maximum size of aggregates and cement type on the form of dependence
The starch admixtures such as corn starch can replace the use of chemical admixtures.
It also reduces the additional cost of using chemical admixtures. (Abd, 2018) With the use
When Eggshell powder is incorporated with concrete, can increase its compressive
strength. It also shows significant reduction in water absorption and water penetration.
strength of concrete increases in the addition of 1% of corn starch. Further increase in the
12% and 7%, respectively as compared to the reference bricks without eggshell. However,
6
when 30 wt.% eggshell powder was added compression strength decreased by only 2%.
The results showed up to 30 wt.% eggshell waste powder can be added to bricks made of
admixture to a concrete that consists of eggshell powder as part of the fine aggregates.
Analysis and experimentation were carried out to identify the compressive strength of the
concrete with the influence of starch as admixture and eggshell powder as fine aggregates.
This part of the chapter focuses on who benefits from the study. The list of the
following would be the most beneficial when this research is already applied.
1.3.1 Engineers
construction sites in a way that it can lessen the waste materials and add it
on the concrete.
Contractors and project managers are the one who handle the plan
of the site and the coordination of the project itself. Since the study can
apply to the materials that will be used in the site, this may bring them to
7
have new ideas and knowledge in designing a concrete and a proper
1.3.4 Suppliers
to the supplier in a way that they will gain profit through this.
1.3.5 Researchers
increase the strength of the concrete by using the waste material in adding
to the mixtures and it gives them the opportunity to explore things like this.
admixtures and using cornstarch and eggshell powder as aggregates and the
areas of compressive and tensile strength that other researchers were not
able to.
1.3.7 Economy
manager and construction companies but also it helps the global economy.
8
● to determine the compressive strength of concrete using eggshell as fine
● to compare the result between using eggshell as fine aggregate and using the
aggregate
There are many objectives to satisfy, but the general objective of the research is to
know the effect of starch as an admixture in the compressive strength of a concrete that
The study emphasizes on the compressive strength of the concrete that uses egg shells
as fine aggregate with the aid of starch as an admixture. The researchers will conduct an
experiment that will make use of 3 samples with 3 more subsamples, 9 samples in total. It
will have the same level of egg shell as aggregate, but varying level of starch as admixture.
In this way, the researchers will be able to discover which sample will give the best results.
All sample concrete will undergo 7 days curing since the researchers doesn't have enough
time for the concrete to undergo 21 to 28 days of curing. The strengths are tested using the
9
Admixture - artificial or natural materials added to the concrete besides cement,
water and aggregate to improve certain property of concrete during casting or setting or
service stage.
Aggregates - inert granular materials such as sand, gravel, or crushed stone that,
along with water and Portland cement, are an essential ingredient in concrete. For a good
concrete mix, aggregates need to be clean, hard, strong particles free of absorbed chemicals
or coatings of clay and other fine materials that could cause the deterioration of concrete.
water, and aggregate that are added to the mix immediately before or during mixing.
a material in the manner of ductile failure (infinite theoretical yield) or brittle failure
(rupture as the result of crack propagation or sliding along a weak plane). Compressive
strength of a material is that value of uniaxial compressive stress reached when the material
fails completely. Compressive strength is calculated by dividing the maximum load by the
Concrete - a substance used for building which is made by mixing together cement,
the endosperm of corn.Starch can be used in concrete as admixture. In this particular study
used corn starch. The workability of concrete is tested using slump test. The starch is added
10
Eggshell - made almost entirely of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals. It is a
semipermeable membrane, which means that air and moisture can pass through its pores.
The shell also has a thin outermost coating called the bloom or cuticle that helps keep out
bacteria and dust. Egg shell Powder is used as a partial replacement of cement and various
properties like workability, compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural
can be adapted for the determination of Brinell hardness, ductility, cold bend, and other
properties. The machine consists essentially of three systems: loading, weighing, and
11
CHAPTER 2
A study was conducted to determine how waste materials, like egg shell powder,
can affect the mechanical properties of Porcelanite aggregate concrete. It is found out that
Plastic Fiber combined with Egg shell powder gave a results so close to reference mix.
Waste materials like Glass powder and Egg shell powder were used to determine
the mechanical properties of Porcelanite aggregate concrete. The 5% Egg Shell Powder
gave a close compressive strength to that for reference mix, but with increasing of %ESP
more than 5% the compressive strength is decreasing. These results show that GP was more
effective than ESP. That may be due to rich silca content of GP.
The utilization of Plastic Fiber (PF) clearly improved the flexural strength of
strength. 1% PF gave the best results for both compressive and flexural strengths. Besides
improved the lightweight concrete properties especially the compressive strength, and the
12
The use of ESP as partial replacement of cement is not effective as GP. Mix with 5% ESP
and 1% PE gave results so close to reference mix. More than 5% ESP was not effective.
Chicken eggshell waste used as a limestone filler in Portland cement mortar. In this
study, a larger than laboratory scale method was used to crush raw eggshells into fine
Moreover, it was proven that Eggshell based limestone mortars had lower properties
eggshell. However, when 30 wt.% eggshell powder was added compression strength
decreased by only 2%. The results showed up to 30 wt.% eggshell waste powder can be
According to the results of the experiment, the study concluded that: Properties
affecting the strength of mortars were observed to be particle size, limestone quality and
better accelerated hydration at 7 days as shown by the early strength gain as compared to
eggshell mortars.
The CaCO3 percentage contained in white and brown eggs were for the most part
identical and slightly higher than conventional limestone. However, the chloride, sulfate
and sulfur contents in eggshells were greater than the natural limestone. Moreover, the
addition of white and brown eggshell limestone powder in mortar reduced the compression
13
and flexural strengths at all levels of limestone PC replacement. Although eggshell based
strength may not be the principle requirement, could potentially be used provided further
testing is conducted on their plastic and hardened properties.(P. Pilya, October 1 2015)
A research paper reported on the feasibility and viability of eggshells ash and its
effects on the water content and setting time of cement. An experiment was carried out to
determine the quantity of water required in order to follow standard cement paste of normal
consistency in accordance with MS EN 196-3:2007. The eggshells ash passing the 90µm
sieve was used in the investigation. Eggshells ash with percentage of 0%, 0.1%, 0.5%,
1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% were constituted to replace the cement. Chemical properties of both
eggshells ash and cement are compared. From the results obtained, both eggshells ash and
cement have the same chemical composition and primary composition which is the calcium
compounds. Results from the setting time show that by adding the eggshells ash to the
cement, the setting time of the cement decreases. In short, the higher amount of eggshells
ash, the faster the rate of setting and apply to all percentage of eggshells ash that were used
in this investigation. Both initial and final setting times fulfill the setting time requirements
14
2.2 Corn starch as concrete admixture
Starch can be used in concrete as admixture. In this particular study, corn starch
was used. The workability of concrete is tested using slump test. The starch is added for
testing with different percentages of cement. The workability of concrete/ cement increases
with the addition of starch admixtures. Density of concrete increases in the addition of 1%
of corn starch further increase in the addition of starch admixtures reduces the density.
increase in the addition of starch admixtures reduces the compressive strength. The starch
admixtures such as corn starch can replace the use of chemical admixtures. It also reduces
Concrete’s temperature will keep rising until the heat of hydration heat release
equal to the rate of heat dissipation as the cement hydration is beginning. In this paper, a
new starch-based chemical admixture (SA) was used and its effect on cement hydration to
prevent the risk of thermal cracking at different dosage was investigated.(Hao Zhang, June
10 2018)
These results show that the presence of this chemical admixture in large amount
dose mitigate the early compressive strength reduction, but the final compressive strength
can reach the same level of concrete without admixture. With the addition of starch
admixture, the setting time is delayed. Moreover, the starch mixture provides a promising
approach to decrease the maximum temperature which is from the cement hydration, which
in turn will reduce the risk of cracking. The mechanism of influence of SA on cement
15
hydration may be attributed to that the presence of these long-
chain polymer will retarder the hydration products forming mainly C–S–H.
material named CoRncrete. It is formed by mixing corn starch as a binder with sand and
water as a filler. The mixture is poured in a mould and then heated in a microwave or an
oven. This heating causes a gelatinisation process which results in a hardened material
having compressive strength up to 26 MPa. The factors affecting the strength of hardened
CoRncrete such as water content, sand aggregate size and heating procedure have been
The degradation and sustainability aspects of CoRncrete are elucidated and limitations in
In a study, starches used are Cassava (CA) and Corn (CO). Different sample of
starches measured in percentile (0, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8) by mass of cement were separately mixed
to the existing concrete to prepare the required material and the curing was done for 7 and
28 days. With the addition of the starches the workability and setting time of concrete get
increased. The starches such as corn and cassava can be replaced by the use of chemical
admixtures. It reduces the extra cost of the use of synthetic admixtures. The result shows
0.6 % CO and 1.2% CA increases in split tensile strength. For checking durability Rapid
Chloride Permeability Test has been conducted. In this study flexural behavior of R.C
16
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Overview
This chapter discusses the methods, strategies, and materials that the researchers
used to be able to gather results and data which will answer the research questions
hypothesizing the effects of eggshells and cornstarch to the compressibility of the concrete. We
hypothesize that as we increase the amount of cornstarch in a concrete mix with eggshells, it would
also increase it compressive strength. Compressibility test under the Universal Testing Machine is
17
Figure 3.3 summarizes the processes done in order to obtain a clear data which will support
the research.
3.4 Materials
3.4.1 Eggshells
Eggshells are collected from a local bakery and restaurant located in Barangay
Eggshells can further improve the compressibility strength of bricks, as used in other
experiments. In an experiment with Palm Oil Fuel Ash-Egg Shell concrete, the
compressive strength and workability of these were within the ranges typically encountered
in regular concrete mixtures indicating the viability of this replacement procedure for
18
3.4.2 Cement, Sand, Gravel, PVC Pipe
The Cement, Sand and Gravel and PVC Pipe were bought from JP Carlos Hardware
in Brgy. Tuktukan Taguig City. The Cement is from the brand, Republic Cement. The Fine
aggregate used was White Sand. The Coarse aggregates or the Gravel used ranges from ¾
inch to 1 inch size. The 4 inch diameter PVC pipe was cut to 9 pieces, with each cut having
3.4.3 Cornstarch
19
The starch admixtures such as corn starch can replace the use of chemical
strength. (Abd, 2018) In this experiment, the researchers brought Three kilograms of
The researchers prepared a 1:2:3 ratio of concrete mix. This included Fifteen
gravel and One Kilogram of Eggshells. The materials were mixed together with Twelve
liters of Water.
When all the materials are incorporated together, it was divided into three more
samples (Samples A, B and C). Each sample has 3 sub samples. The Sample A contained
500 grams of cornstarch. The sample B contained 1000 grams of cornstarch. The sample
20
After mixing the cornstarch, it was placed in the 4 inch diameter PVC Pipe with 8
inch of height. It was left in the improvised PVC molder for three days and was cured in a
After the water bath, the researchers tested the samples in the Universal Testing
Machine at Mapua University. The results obtained from the compressive test were
21
CHAPTER 4
Sample Number 1 2 3
22
TABLE 4.1.1: The table shows that the concrete is composed of 12 liters of water, 15
coarse aggregate. For this sample the assigned quantity of starch was 1.5 kilogram. After
combining all elements, the wet concrete was divided into three (3) samples.
All cylinder sample has a diameter of 4 inches and height of 8 inches that gives an area of
12.57 inch2. The first sample carried a load of 3561.821 pounds that gives a compressive
strength of 283.36 pounds per square inch (PSI). The second sample carried a load of
8272.256 pounds that gave a compressive strength of 658.10 pounds per square inch
(PSI). Lastly, the third sample produced a load of 7787.501 pounds which gives a
compressive strength of 619.53 pounds per square inch (PSI). Calculating the average
compressive strength would give a value of 520.33 pounds per square inch. Based on the
results of the compressive strength, it can be observed that sample 1 has the lowest
compressive strength. Sample 3 has a higher compressive strength than sample 1 but
23
Weight of Coarse Aggregate (kg) 45 kg
Sample Number 1 2 3
Table 4.1.2: Same as the sample A, the table shows that the concrete is composed of 12
and 45 kilograms of coarse aggregate. For this sample the assigned quantity of starch was
1 kilogram. After combining all elements, the wet concrete was divided to three (3)
samples.
Same as the samples of sample A, all cylinder sample has a diameter of 4 inches, a height
of 8 inches, and an area of 12.57 inch2. The first sample carried a load of 8806.176
pounds that resulted to a compressive strength of 700.57 pounds per square inch (PSI).
The second sample carried a load of 10776.76 pounds that gave a compressive strength of
24
857.34 pounds per square inch (PSI). Lastly, the third sample produced a load of
13031.88 pounds that gives a compressive strength of 1036.74 pounds per square inch
(PSI). Calculating the average compressive strength would give a value of 864.88 pounds
per square inch. It can be observed that sample 1 has the lowest compressive strength
among the three samples. The compressive strength of sample 2 is higher than the first
Sample Number 1 2 3
25
Area (𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ2 ) 12.57 12.57 12.57
Table 4.1.3: Same as the previous samples, the table shows that the concrete is made up
shell, and 45 kilograms of coarse aggregate. This sample contains 0.5 kilograms of starch
as an admixture. After combining all elements, the wet concrete was divided to three (3)
samples.
Same as the previous samples, all cylinder sample has a diameter of 4 inches, a height of
8 inches, and an area of 12.57 inch2. The first sample carried a load of 7766.436 pounds
that resulted to a compressive strength of 617.85 pounds per square inch (PSI). The
second sample carried a load of 15223.76 pounds that gave a compressive strength of
1211.12 pounds per square inch (PSI). Lastly, the third sample produced a load of
16323.21 pounds which resulted to a compressive strength of 1298.58 pounds per square
inch (PSI). Calculating the average compressive strength would give a value of 1042.52
pounds per square inch. Same as the table for the 1 kg starch added, this table also shows
that sample 1 has the lowest compressive strength among the three samples. The
compressive strength of sample 2 is higher than the first sample but sample 3 has the
26
All the samples have the same volume of water, weight of fine and coarse aggregates,
and the weight of added egg shells. It only varies in the weight of starch in every sample.
All samples also have the same number of curing days. All samples are 8 days old when
700.57
Maximum Load (psi)
617.85
283.36
0.5 KG 1 KG 1.5 KG
Starch added (kg)
Trial 1
The graph shows the relationship between the maximum compressive strength in
psi and the different amount of starch that was used in the first trial of each sample.
Based on the graph, when 0.5 kg of starch was added, it resulted to 283.36 psi
700.57 psi. It can be observed that there is an increase in compressive strength when
there is an increase in starch added. When 1.5 kg of starch was added, the compressive
strength is 617.85 psi. As compared to the concrete with 1 kg of starch added, there is
27
Compressive Strength (psi)
1211.12
857.34
658.10
0.5 KG 1 KG 1.5 KG
Starch added (kg)
Trial 2
The graph shows the relationship between the maximum compressive strength in
psi and the different amount of starch that was used in the second trial of each sample.
Based on the graph, when 0.5 kg of starch was added, it resulted to 658.10 psi
857.34 psi. When 1.5 kg of starch was added, the compressive strength is 1211.12 psi.
28
1298.58
619.53
0.5 KG 1 KG 1.5 KG
Starch added (kg)
Trial 3
strength in psi and the different amount of starch that was used in the third trial of each
sample. Based on the graph, when 0.5 kg of starch was added, it resulted to 619.53 psi
1036.74 psi. When 1.5 kg of starch was added, the compressive strength is 1298.58 psi.
It can be observed that just like in the graph of the second trial, the graph is ascending
which shows that there is an increase in compressive strength when there is an increase
in starch added.
29
1298.58
283.36
0.5 KG 1 KG 1.5 KG
Starch added (kg)
The graph displays the flow of the trials made in every starch added. It represents
the relationship between the starch added and the maximum compressive strength
attained in every trial. As shown in Fig. 5, the trial 3 of the 1.5 kg starch added attained
the maximum load of 1298.58 psi and the trial 1 of 0.5 kg starch added attained the
minimum load of only 283.36 psi. It can be observed that the graph of trial 2 and 3 is
Furthermore, in trial 1, it can be observed that the compressive strength obtained ranges
from 283 psi up to 618 psi only, while the other two trials ranges from 620 psi up to
1299 psi. It can also be seen in the graph that in every trial made, there was an increase
in compressive strength between the starches added. Moreover, the results were
inconsistent since the obtained values were quite far from each other. Therefore, there
30
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATION
31
REFERENCES
Pages 317-322.
Kepniak M., W. P. (2016). The Statistical Analysis of Relation between Compressive and
Pages1-9.
Ezdiani, A. A. (2018). Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) and Eggshell Powder (ESP) as Partial
Ujin, A. H. (2016). Viability of eggshells ash affecting the setting time of cement.
32
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