EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF BUBBLE DECK SLAB BY

USING COCONUT SHELL

PROJECT PHASE 1 REPORT

submitted by

AJAYRAJ S(MBC1CE002)
ALAN JAMES(MBC1CE004)
SACHINKUMAR PS (MBC15CE045)
BASIL IPE(LMBC15CE054)

to
APJ Abdul Kalam Kerala Technological University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree

of

Bachelor of Technology
in
Civil Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

MAR BASELIOS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND

TECHNOLOGY PEERMADE

November, 2018
 DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
MAR BASELIOS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY PEERMADE

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled submitted by Ajay raj s, Alan james, sachinkumar
ps, Basil Ipe to APJ Abdul Kerala Technological University in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering is a
bonafide record of the project work carried out by him under my guidance and supervision. This
report in any form has not been submitted to any other University or Institute for any purpose.

Prof.GEORGE K GEORGE, ASWATHY R Dr. NIVIN PHILIP

Guide Head of the Department
Assistant professor Department of Civil Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering MBCCET
MBCCET
 CONTENTS
Contents Page No.
1.INTRODUCTION
1.1 General 3
1.2 Literature survey 4
1.3 Objectives of filler slab 6
1.4 Filler material selection 7
1.5 Coconut shell as filler material 7
1.6 Relevance and scope 7
1.7 Problem identification 7
2. METHODOLOGY
2.1 General 8
2.1.1 Literature review 8
2.1.2 Estimation of materials required 8
2.1.3 collection of raw materials 8
2.1.4 Mix proportioning 8
2.1.5 Casting of specimens and tests 8
2.1.6 Analysis of result and report preparation 8
3.MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Material specification 9
3.2 Mix design 10
3.3 Procedure 13
3.4 Experiments 14
3.5 Time schedule 16
4. Conclusion 17
5. Reference 18
 CHAPTER -1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 General

The basic want of human beings is food, clothing and shelter. Civil engineering deals with
the third want i.e. shelter. Building construction is one in all the earliest activities associated since
the starting of the human civilization. As man has continuously required shelter against natural
climatic conditions and extremities, man has changed in shelter right from caves to huts and from
huts to R.C.C structures. A slab is a flat 2-dimensional planar structural element having lesser
thickness little compared to its other two dimensions. It provides a operating flat surface or a
covering shelter in buildings. It primarily transfers the load by bending in one or 2 directions.
concrete slabs square measure utilized in floors, roofs and walls of buildings and as the decks of
bridges. Concrete block behaves primarily as flexural members and also the style is analogous to
that of beams. A concrete slab could be a common structural part of contemporary buildings.
Horizontal slabs of steel concrete, generally between one hundred and five hundred millimeters
thick, square measure most frequently want to construct floors and ceilings, whereas thinner slabs
are used for exterior paving.
In the present era, there is increase in demand of concrete for building construction due to
urbanization. However, due to depletion of non-renewable resources, production of concrete is
affected. Excessive usage of concrete leads to increase in CO2 production thereby causing global
warming. Therefore, reducing concrete in building construction is one of the solutions to the
mentioned problem. Hence to cater to the problem, an alternate building technology such as filler
slabs are adopted. Filler slabs are the type of slabs where filler materials are used in the tension zone
of slab as a partial replacement for concrete in that region, since concrete does not play any role in
withstanding the load in tension zone. The filler materials used should be inert, light in weight,
uniform shape, economical and readily available. In this study, coconut shells will be used as filler
materials. Coconut shell has a good thermal insulation property.

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1.2 Literature survey
Abhishek. P, Mohammed Zakiullah(sep2017): - The flexural behavior of conventional slabs and
filler slabs were studied and it was seen that filler slabs withstood lesser load than that of
conventional slabs. Luminosity test was done to study the amount of natural light passing through
the PET bottle when it is used as a filler material. Temperature distribution on concrete is done to
study the thermal insulation provided by the coconut shell as filler material. It was seen that
conventional slab withstood 13 kN more load than the filler slab with coconut shells as filler material.
This is due to the presence of filler materials in the tension zone of filler slab.

Amit d chougule et.al (oct2015)- have carried out an experiment in which they have used filler
materials which are economical, light weight, low grade materials like Mangalore tiles, thermo polis
burnt clay bricks, hollow concrete blocks, stabilized mud blocks, clay pots etc. These materials were
placed in the grids of steel reinforcement in the slab and study on energy consumption in
manufacture and transport of alternate building material was done. It was seen that energy consumed
in Mangalore tiles (227 MJ), Ferro concrete tile (158 MJ), brick masonry roof (575 MJ) was lesser
than common RCC slab (730 MJ). This study gave scope for study of different parameters like
durability and design optimization of different filler materials.

Deepika Dinesh (June 2018): - Experimental investigations on control specimen and slab with
different arrangement of the hollow roofing tiles were carried out. Load carrying capacity, maximum
deflection and failure patterns were analysed. The maximum load carrying capacity found on the
control specimen is 94.3 kN and the central deflection corresponding to that load is 16.46mm.

M.Surendar et al. (oct2016), did a numerical and experimental Study on Bubble Deck Slab with the
sole aim of reducing the concrete in the center of the slab by using recycled balls. Plastic hollow
spheres balls were used to replace the in-effective concrete in the center of the slab, thus decreasing
the dead weight and increasing the efficiency of the floor and to enhance the performance of the
bubble deck slab in moderate and severe seismic susceptibility areas. Finite element analysis (FEA)
was carried out by using the FEA software ANSYS to study structural behaviour on the slab.

Mr. Muhammad Shafiq Mushfiq,Shikha et.al..(may2017):- This research work focused on the use
of bubble deck in construction. M30 Grade of concrete was used. Three slabs were casted, two with

5
spherical bubbles and the other without bubbles. The slab without bubbles (conventional slab) was
casted with (183.35 kg) of concrete.

Rittik Bhowmik et.al (2017): - The aim of this paper is to discuss about various significance of
Bubble Deck Slab against Conventional Slab based on the various studies. Reinforced concrete slabs
are one of the most common components in modern building construction consuming most of the
concrete. Plastic voided slabs are capable of reducing the amount of concrete necessary to construct
a building by 30 percent or more. Voids in the middle of a flat slab eliminate up to 35% of a slab’s
self-weight removing constraints of high dead loads and short spans. This provides a wide range of
cost and construction benefits.

Ayush Srivastava (2014): - By using cost effective materials, about 30-35% of the total cost of
construction of a single or two storied building can be saved without compromising its quality
control and structural stability. Although, there is reduction in the use of costly building materials,
the used materials are compiled in such a way that the structural strength and its durability increase
as compared to the conventional building construction technologies. We have converted the tension
members to the compression members which themselves are highly stable. The total cost of
construction of a building can be broken into two parts, i.e., material cost which is 70% of the total
cost and labour cost which comprises the remaining 30% of the total cost.

A. Churakov(2016):- Use of recycled plastics and filler materials can reduces the amount of concrete
used . Reducing material consumption made it possible to make the construction time faster, to
reduce the overall costsThe technology is environmentally green and sustainable. Avoiding the
cement production allows to reduce global CO2 emissions. The use of the BubbleDeck system
qualifies for LEED points in North America. This technology is very prospective in modern
construction and perhaps future of civil engineering belongs to this new kind of hollow slab.

Harshnearshit Vy(2017):- Bubble deck reduces up to 35% of the structural concrete in slab and up
to 20% reduction in other structural members due to this. This method is effective in time saving,
use of Bubble deck makes construction very faster Bubble deck system makes the slab lighter in
weight, this reduction in weight reduces some column and beam ie. equal to the time saving.
Concrete is heavy in weight and more than 5% of CO2 is created during the manufacturing of cement

6
that goes into it. This paper tells that reduction of concrete in slab may be suitable and useful for
making lightweight and most effective concrete slab after using High density polyethylene hollow
spheres.
Ali Haider Jasvi et.al (2015): - This paper emphasizes on the methods of using low cost housing
technique in India. It provides us a challenge to use the natural materials and their by-product so as
to reduce the wastage or bye products obtained from industries and environmental pollution. Various
natural materials with their property, advantages disadvantages, and their availability have been
discussed. The main challenge is to use the materials in structural component for low cost housing
and their adaptation to factors like – technical, social, ecological, physical – through different
products

1.3 Objectives of filler slab construction

With increasing amount of conventional concrete used, natural environment and resources are
excessively exploited. Hence an alternative technique is necessary in this field. So, in this project
we have an innovative technology called filler slab construction by using coconut shell.
The objective of the project is: -
▪ To determine the load bearing capacity of filler slab using coconut shell and compare with
conventional slab.
▪ To estimate the amount of concrete saved as a result of coconut shell introduction into the core
of the slab.

1.4 Filler material selection

Light weight, inert and inexpensive materials such as low-grade Mangalore tiles, Thermopolis Burnt
Clay Bricks, Hollow Concrete blocks, Stabilized Mud blocks/ Hollow Mud blocks, Clay pots,
Coconut shells etc. can be used as filler materials. These materials are laid in the grids of steel
reinforcement rods and concreting/concrete topping is done over them. While selecting filler
materials for construction we need to consider the following points: -
• Filler material should be inert in nature. It shouldn’t react with concrete or steel.
• Filler material should be checked for water absorption.
• Filler material should be light in weight so that overall weight of the slab reduces and also the
dead load on to the foundation is reduced.
• Filler material should be low in cost.
7
• Filler material should be of a size, cross section and thickness which can be accommodated within
the spacing of the reinforcement and cross section of the slab.

1.5 Coconut shell as filler material

Coconut shell can be used as filler material in slab, because it has the following aspects: -
1. Easily available
2. Promotes green construction
3. Inert in nature
4. It is light in weight material so that overall weight of slab is reduced
5. Aesthetic appearance to the slab
6. Total volume of concrete can be reduced

1.6 RELEVANCE AND SCOPE

1. By introducing the gaps leads to 30-50% lighter slab which reduces loads on the columns,
walls and foundation and of course of the entire building
2.It promotes green construction
3.It improves the construction technique
4. cost effective construction

1.7 Problem identification

Now a days cost of construction is increases day by day. Excessive usage of concrete leads to
increase in CO2 production thereby causing global warming Therefore, reducing concrete in
building construction is one of the solutions to the mentioned problem Hence to cater to the
problem, an alternate building technology such as filler slabs is adopted. Filler slabs are the type
of slabs where filler materials are used in the tension zone of slab as a partial replacement for
concrete in that region By using filler slabs we can reduce the dead weight of slab and reduces
the amount of material using.

8
 CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGY
2.1 General
The methodology of our project work is as follows,
2.1.1 Literature Review
The literature review of various journals related to the project topic has to be carried out as the first
step and it will help in understanding more about the topics and concepts related to the project. We
have done literature review of several such journals and we have included literature review of five
main journals in this project report already.
2.1.2 Estimation of Materials Required
As mentioned earlier the basic materials used in the preparation of filler slab includes cement, coarse
aggregate, fine aggregate, coconut shell and steel reinforcement. The second step is to calculate the
quantity of materials needed for the trial.
Each trial has three cubes, three slabs so the total concrete required for all the above-mentioned trials
are to be calculated. We need to cast a slab at the optimum proportion of the aggregates. By
calculating the quantity, we can easily calculate the total cost of materials also.
2.1.3 Collection of Raw Materials
After the estimation of raw materials, the raw materials should be collected from various places as
per the requirement. Collection of raw materials includes buying cement, fine aggregates, coarse
aggregates, steel bar and collection of coconut shells.
2.1.4 Mix Proportioning
Mix proportioning is done as per the recommendation and mix used is M20
2.1.5 Casting of specimens and tests to be conducted
Slab is casting at a dimension of 1m×1m×0.15m and corresponding tests will be conducted.
2.1.6 Analysis of Results and Report Preparation
After testing, the results are noted, analyzed and the report based on this result is made. Various
modifications are implemented as per the results.

9
 CHAPTER- 3
MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Material specifications
Cement: Ordinary Portland Cement -53 Grade, has been used. It should be free from lumps.
Fine Aggregates: -Natural River sand size 4.75mm is used as the fine aggregate. Sand passing
through IS Sieve designation of 4.75mm sieve has been used. The sieve analysis conducted and it
confirms to Zone II as per the specifications of IS: 383-1970.
Coarse Aggregates: -Coarse Aggregate of size 20mm maximum and retained on IS Sieve
Designation of 12.50 mm sieve has been used.
Steel Reinforcement. High grade steel of Fe 415 is generally used. The same grade of steel is used
in bottom steel reinforcement. Here 8mm diameter steel bar is used for main reinforcement and
distributor reinforcement. Reinforcement provided in both transvers e and longitudinal direction.
Water: -In this present work the water used in design mix is potable water from the supply network
system.
Coconut shell: - It should be similar shape and size light in weight and readily available. It should
be accommodated within the spacing of the reinforcement and cross section of the slab.

3.2 Mix design (Asper IS 10262)

3.2.1 STIPULATIONS FOR PROPORTIONING

a) Grade designation M20

b) Type of cement OPC 53 Grade cement

c) Maximum nominal size of aggregate 20mm

d) Minimum cement content 320kg/m3

e) Maximum water-cement ratio 0.45

f) Workability 100mm(slump)

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g) Exposure condition severe

h) Method of concrete placing placing

j) Degree of supervision Good

k) Type of aggregate crushed angular aggregate

m) Maximum cement content 450kg/m3

3.2.2 TEST DATA FOR MATERIALS

a) Cement used OPC 53 Grade conforming to is 8112

b) Specific gravity of cement 3.18

c) Specific gravity of:

I) Coarse aggregate 2.74
2) Fine aggregate 2.74

e) Water absorption:
I ) Coarse aggregate 0.5%
2) Fine aggregate 1%

3.2.3 TARGET STRENGTH FOR MIX PROPORTIONING

f'ck =fck + 1.65 s

where
f'ck = target average compressive strength at 28 days,
fck = characteristic compressive strength at 28 days, and
s = standard deviation.

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From Table I, standard deviation, s =5 N/mm 2• Therefore,
target strength =20 + 1.65 x 5 =28.25 N/mm2•

3.2.4 SELECTION OF WATER-CEMENT RATIO

From Table 5 of IS 456, maximum water-cement ratio = 0.45.

Based on experience, adopt water-cement ratio as 0 .40.

0.40 < 0.45, hence O.K.

3.2.5 SELECTION OF WATER CONTENT

From Table 2, maximum water content =186 litre (for 25 to 50 mm slump range)
for 20 mm aggregate
Estimated water content for 100 mm slump = 186 + 6/100 X 186 = 197 litre

3.2.6 CALCULATION OF CEMENT CONTENT

Water-cement ratio = 0.40

Cement content =197/0.4 =492.5kg/m'

From Table 5 of IS 456, minimum cement

3
content for 'severe' exposure condition = 320 kg/m
492.5 kg/m 3 > 320 kg/m 3, hence, O.K.

3.2.7 PROPORTION OF VOLUME OF COARSE AGGREGATE AND FINE AGGREGATE

CONTENT
From Table 3. volume of coarse aggregate corresponding to 20 mm size aggregate and fine
aggregate (Zone I) for water-cement ratio of 0.50 =0.60 .
In the present case water-cement ratio is 0.40. Therefore. volume of coarse aggregate is required to
be increased to decrease the fine aggregate content. As the water-cement ratio is lower by 0.10. the
proportion of volume of coarse aggregate is increased by 0.02 (at the rate of -/+ 0.01 for every ±
0.05 change in water-cement ratio). Therefore. corrected proportion of volume of coarse aggregate
for the water-cement ratio of 0.40 = 0.62.

NOTE - In case the coarse aggregate is non-angular one. then also volume of coarse aggregate
may be required 10 be increased suitably, based on experience.
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For pumpable concrete these values should be reduced by 10 percent.
Therefore, volume of coarse aggregate = 0.62 x 0.9 = 0.56.
Volume of fine aggregate content =1 - 0.56 =0.44.
3.2.8 MIX CALCULATIONS
The mix calculations per unit volume of concrete shall be as follows:
a) Volume of concrete =1m3
mass of cement 1
b) Volume of cement = specific gravity of cement × 1000 =0.18m3

c) Volume of fine aggregate = 0.27m3

d) Volume of coarse aggregate = 0.54m3

Table 3.1 Quantity of materials

3.3 Procedure
1. The concrete mix design obtained was 1:1.5:3 (M20). The cubes of dimension
150mm×150mm×150mm is casted for check the compressive strength after 28 days
2. Slab of dimension 1m×1m×0.15m were casted having reinforcement of
8mmø@120mmc/c
3. Reinforcement provided in both transverse and longitudinal direction
4. The coconut shells were placed in the intermediate areas of steel reinforcement as shown
in fig. 1
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 5. Placing of concrete and curing is done for 28 days.

Fig 1: Coconut shell arrangement in filler slab

3.4 Experiments
Cement
1.Consistency test
Consistency of cement paste is defined as that consistency which will permit a vicat plunger having
10mm dia. and 50mm length to penetrate a depth of 33 -35mm from top of the mould.
2.Initial and final setting time
Final setting time lapse between the addition of water to the instant the cement paste completely
loses its plasticity. For OPC initial setting time is 30min and final setting time is 10hr. it is also to
be done in vicats apparatus of needle size 1mm dia.

3.Specific gravity
The specific gravity is normally defined as the ratio between the weight of a given volume of
material and weight of an equal volume of water. To determine the specific gravity of cement,
kerosene which does not recent with cement is used.it is done in Le-chatelier’s flask.

14
Sand
1.Sieve analysis
A sieve analysis (or gradation test) is a practice or procedure used to assess the particle size
distribution (also called gradation) of a granular material by allowing the material to pass through a
series of sieves of progressively smaller mesh size and weighing the amount of material that is
stopped by each sieve as a fraction of the whole mass.

Coarse aggregate
1.Water absorption test
Water absorption is used to determine the amount of water absorbed under specified conditions.
Factors affecting water absorption include: type of plastic, additives used, temperature and length of
exposure. The data sheds light on the performance of the materials in water or humid environments

Concrete
1.Compressive strength test
Compressive strength test, mechanical test measuring the maximum amount of compressive load a
material can bear before fracturing. The test piece, usually in the form of a cube, prism, or cylinder,
is compressed between the platens of a compression-testing machine by a gradually applied load.
It is to be done in a cube mould of size 150mm×150mm×150mm. it is carried out in compression
testing machine.
2.Flexural strength test
Flexural strength is conducting for determining tensile strength of concrete. It is a measure of a slab
to resist failure in bending. The flexural strength is expressed as modulus of rupture in psi and it is
determined by three-point loading.in three point loading half the load is applied at each 3 rd of the
span length. Loading frame, LVDT diagram and crack pattern also obtained from this test.

15
 Fig.2 Experimental setup for flexural test
3.5 Time schedule

Stage 1
The following Materials were selected on last week of October for construction
• Cement : OPC of grade 53
• Steel : Fe 415 of 8mmø
• Sand : Dry sand
• Coarse aggregate : Gravel 20 mm nominal size
• Coconut shell : 80mm dia. (max)
Stage 2
Experimental tests on cement and coarse aggregate was done on
23rd November to 1st week of December
MATERIALS TEST RESULTS (as per IS 2386 part 3)
• Specific gravity
• Cement : 3.18
• Coarse aggregate : 2.78
• Water absorption
• Coarse aggregate : 1.94%(Gravel 20 mm nominal size)
• Consistency : 32%
Stage 3 (1st week of jan to 1st week of feb)
• The concrete mix design obtained was 1:1.5:3 (M20).

16
 • The cubes of dimension 150mm×150mm×150mm and cylinder of 150mm dia.× 300mm height is
casted for check the compressive strength
Stage4 (2nd week of feb to 1st week of mar)
• Slab of dimension 1m×1m×0.15m were casted having reinforcement of 8mmø@120mmc/c
• Reinforcement provided in both transverse and longitudinal direction
• The coconut shells were placed in the intermediate areas of steel reinforcement as shown in fig 1
Placing of concrete and curing is done for 28 days
Stage 5(2nd week of march)
• Various experimental tests are conducting on specimen
• Comparison between filler slab and conventional slab
Total budget of project
• Cost of cement = 3 bag =1350/-
• Cost of fine aggregate 200kg = 5cu ft = 800/-
• Cost of coarse aggregate 500 kg = 7 cu ft = 1000/-
• Cost of 8mm dia. steel bars 21 kg = 1500/-
• Transportation charges = 2000/-
• Total cost of project = 6650/-

4.Conclusion
Various tests were conducted to find the properties of cement and the estimation and budget of
project work is prepared

5. References: -
1) Abhishek. P, Mohammed Zakiulla, K Srisha Rai. (2017) “Study of flexural behavior, thermal
variation and luminosity test on filler slabs” IJRET: International Journal of Research in
Engineering and Technology vol.6, issue 5
2) Mr. Amit D Chougule, Mr.Manoj H. Mota, Dr. Mrs. Ushadevi S Patil (2015) “To study the
filler slab as alternative construction technology” Journal Of Information, Knowledge And
Research In Civil Engineering. vol.3, issue 2
17
3) Deepika Dinesh, Akhil P.A (2018) “Study on Flexural Behaviour of RCC Slab Filled with
Hollow Roofing Tiles” International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 4 Issue 3.
4) M.P.Jaisingh, L.Jaisingh & B.Singh (2014)“A RC filler slab with non-non-autoclaved cellular
concrete blocks for sustainable Construction” , Journal Of Information, Knowledge And
Research In Civil Engineering.
5) Mr. Muhammad Shafiq Mushfiq, Shikha Saini, Nishant (2017) “Experimental Study on
Bubble Deck Slab” International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
Vol.04, Issue: 05
6) Nilanjn sengupta (2008) “Use of cost-effective construction technologies in India to mitigate
climate change” vol. 94, issue 1
7) Bhagyashri G. Bhade (2016) “An Experimental Study On Two Way Bubble Deck Slab With
Spherical Hollow Balls” International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Vol. 7, Issue, 6..
8) Ayush Srivastava, (2014) “Cost Effective and Innovative HousingTechnology”, International
Journal for Scientific Research & Development. Volume 2, Issue 6
9) Neeraj Tiwari, Sana Zafar, (2016). “Structural Behaviour of Bubble Deck Slabs and Its
Application” IJSRD International Journal for Scientific Research & Development| Vol 4, Issue
02.
10) M.Surendar, M.Ranjitham (2016). “Numerical and Experimental Study on Bubble Deck
Slab” Research Article Volume 6 IJESC
11) Churakov A.G. (2014) “Biaxial hollow slab with innovative types of voids”, Construction of
Unique Buildings and Structures.
12) Saifee Bhagat (2010) “Parametric study of R.C.C voided and solid slab” IOSR Journal of
Mechanical and Civil Engineering.
13) Ali Haider Jasvi, D.K. Bera(2015) “Sustainable use of low cost building materials in the rural
India”, International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology Vol: 04,Issue: 13
14) Harshit Varshney et.al (2017) “A Review Study on Bubble Deck Slab” International Journal
for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) Vol5 Issue 10
15) Rittik Bhowmik et.al (2017) “Review on bubble deck with spherical hollow balls” International
Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET) Vol 8, Issue 8

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