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The Influence of Starches on some Properties of

Concrete

Conference Paper · January 2013

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 Advances in Cement and Concrete Technology in Africa

>> Table of Contents

7KH,QÀXHQFHRI6WDUFKHVRQVRPH3URSHUWLHVRI&RQFUHWH

Akindehinde Ayotunde Akindahunsi1*, Wolfram Schmidt2, Herbert C. Uzoegbo1 and

Sunny E. Iyuke3

1
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, South Africa
2
BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, Germany
3
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract
Starches and its derivatives are known to exhibit viscosity modifying characteristics. In an on-
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compressive strength, heat of hydration and creep are examined. Various percentages (0.0, 0.5,
1.0, 1.5 and 2 %) of starches by weight of cement were added to concrete mixes prepared in the
laboratory. Preliminary results of compressive strengths showed that both starches have some
positive impact (e.g. there was 5.3 % increase in strength due to a 1 % addition of corn starch
by weight of cement in comparison to the control while cassava starch of the same percentage
gave 4.9 % increase in strength) at certain percentages of starch addition to concrete at 28 days.
The creep and hydration results shows the starch additions compares well and in some instance
performs better.

Keywords: Starches, concrete, compressive strength, heat of hydration, creep

Corresponding author’s email: Akindehinde.Akindahunsi@students.wits.ac.za

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Introduction
Admixtures are incorporated into concrete in today’s world in order to achieve variety of
goals This in effect improves the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. The effect of
these admixtures on properties of concrete depends for example on a lot of factors such as
functional groups, chemical configuration and molecular weight [1].Continuous changes in
the requirements for high strength and durable concrete structures interwoven with economic
considerations necessitate intense search for materials and products. In recent times
research efforts have been focused on recycled materials. Renewed efforts are also being
concentrated on research into varieties of admixtures since for obvious reasons they
enhance properties of fresh and hardened concrete. Major admixtures used for cementitious
based systems are oil based and are non-renewable materials with potential for pollution
such as formaldehyde [2]. With the development of green concrete in recent times there is
the need for development of bio-based admixtures that may perform as equally well as oil-
based polymers used as admixtures, hence the use of starch. [3, 4] noted that starch is one
of the most abundant polymer resources in the world and have comparable performance of
starch and starch derivatives in their dispersing ability with petrochemical polymers. Starches
and its derivatives are known to exhibit viscosity modifying characteristics. A major
advantage of starch is that it is a renewable material that has varieties of industrial
applications because it is inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Starch derivative is an
anionic material that has been used as film-forming agent for coating seeds, super
absorbents, as adhesive in the paper industry and drug carrier.The use of starch and starch
derivatives as viscosity modifying admixture in cementitious systems have been reported in
recent times. However, the behaviour of the polymers in cementitious systems may vary
depending on a lot of parameters. Knaus et al [5] investigated the effect of cellulose ethers
on flowability of concrete and found that it increases the flow while at the same time acting as
viscosity agent preventing segregation and bleeding, [6, 7] demonstrated the use of corn
starch in the production of light weight aggregate material for concrete and they discovered
that though the compressive strength for corn starch light weight concrete was lower than
perlite-based lightweight concrete however found that corn starch lightweight concrete
compares well with control cement paste in shrinkage.. The work of [8] also showed that with
certain percentage addition of starch to concrete durability characteristics of concrete can be
improved, while [9, 10] noted that starch derivatives gives better dispersing stability thus
resulting in little flow loss in fresh concrete. Maria et al [11] suggested on further investigation
of polysaccharide in the hydrating properties of cementitious systems even because the
mechanism is not fully understood. Even though there have been substantial work done on
organic admixtures their behavior in cementitious systems have not been well understood,
the result of which prompted this work.

Materials and Methods

Materials
Granite stones (coarse aggregate) used for the work have 22 mm maximum size was and
crusher sand (fine aggregate) used is from the same material having a relative density of
2.67. They were obtained from Afrisam Aggregates, Jukskei, Gauteng, South Africa.
Ordinary Portland cement CEM 1 52.5 N, manufactured by Pretoria Portland Cement in
South Africa was used for the casting of concrete. The mix was done in accordance with [12],
proportions used are 379.63, 738.25 and 1024.23 kg/m3 for cement, fine and coarse
aggregates respectively with water/cement ratio of 0.54; potable water was used in the
mixing of concrete. Modified corn starch (MCS) shown in Figure 1.0 and native cassava
starch (Figure 2.0) was used for the study. Fineness modulus for the fine aggregate is 2.81.

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Cconcrete Preparation
Materials utilized for the work were prepared in accordance with SANS 5861-3 and weighed
on a laboratory balance to an accuracy of 100 g. The materials were poured into a 100 kg
pan mixer as follows: sand, cement, stone and water. The dosage of corn (CO) and cassava
starches (CA) (Figures 1.0 a & b) added to the batches of mixes prepared were 0, 0.5, 1.0,
1.5 and 2.0 % by weight of cement respectively. The 0 % concrete mix represented the
control while a set (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 %) each was prepared for corn and cassava
starches respectively. The dry materials were mixed with four turns of the paddle during this
process mixing was done for a minute after which water was added for a minute and the
fresh concrete was properly mixed for another minute. 100 x 100 x 100 mm moulds were
filled with fresh concrete and vibrated on a mechanical vibrating table for twenty seconds.
The concrete cubes were covered with polythene sheet for twenty four hours after which they
were demoulded and placed inside curing tanks with constant temperature of 23 ± 2 oC. They
were moist cured for 7, 14, 21, 28, 56 days, 3 and 6 months, at the end of each curing
period.

Figure 1.0a: Modified corn starch Figure 1.0b: Cassava starch

Compressive strength tests were performed with three concrete cubes in accordance with
SANS 5865. A Tinius Olsen testing machine (Willow Grove, Pa, USA) was used for carrying
out compressive strength tests.

Creep and Shrinkage Specimens

Another set of concrete prisms with the same mix ratios used for compressive strength tests
were prepared in 100 x 100 x 700 mm moulds for creep and shrinkage tests. They were also
placed inside curing tanks with constant temperature of 23 ± 2 oC and cured for twenty eight
days after which the beams were cut into three pieces of 200 mm each using diamond saw
and the faces smoothened with machine. Two stainless steel targets (100 mm apart) were
fixed on either side of the length of each specimen, this was done for both the creep and
shrinkage specimens in order to accommodate 100 mm Demec gauge. The prisms were
kept in a temperature and relative humidity controlled room at 23 ± 2oC and 60 ± 5 %
respectively. The creep samples were placed into loading frames which are based on the
[14], however, the load is applied by a hydraulic jack rather than a compressed spring.

Details of the arrangements of the frames may be found in [13].Creep strain is e c (t ) is given
by

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e c (t ) = e (t ) - e e - e sh (t ) (1)

e (t ) = e c (t ) + e e + e sh (t ) (2)

where,
e c (t ) = creep strain at any time t;
e (t ) = total measured strain at any time t;
e e = average instantaneous elastic strain recorded immediately after loading;
e sh (t ) = drying shrinkage strain at any time t (determined on unloaded specimens).

Figure 2.0 a: Creep Setup

Figure 2.0 b Shrinkage Setup

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Determination of Heat of Hydration

The schematic diagram for the adiabatic calorimeter is shown in Figure 3.0 The mixing
procedure and operation of the adiabatic calorimeter is as described by [15]. MCS additions
as a percentage of cement by weight are 0, 2.5 and 5 % respectively. Silica sand and silica
stones were used in the concrete mix for the simple reason that it is inert. Three types of
sand (fine, medium and coarse) mixed in equal proportion to make the total weight of sand
were used. A three-dimensional and transient form of Fourier equation for measuring
temperature distribution across concrete is given as:

¶T æ ¶ 2T ¶ 2 T ¶ 2T ö .
r .C p . = k çç 2 + 2 + 2 ÷÷ + qt (3)
¶t è ¶x ¶y ¶z ø
Where

r = density of concrete
C p = Specific heat capacity of concrete
T = temperature
t = time
k = thermal conductivity of concrete
x, y, z = coordinates at a particular point in the structures
.

qt = rate of heat evolution from the hydration cement

Figure 3.0 Schematic diagram of Adiabatic Calorimeter

Results and Discussion

Compressive Strength Tests

The result of the compressive tests is as presented in Table 2.0 and Figures4 and 5. The
result from Table 1.0 shows a general increase in compressive with curing age; there is also
an increase in strength across board of starch additions over control except for CO 2.0 and
CA 1.5. The reason for this is unclear. The percentage increase in strength for CO 0.5, CO
1.0, CO 1.5, CA 0.5, CA 1.0 and CA 2.0 are 2.3, 5.3, 2.1, 3.7, 5 and 0.2 respectively.
However, after six months compressive strength tests result showed that only these concrete
specimens (CO 0.5, CO 1.0, CA 0.5 and CA 1.0) show significant increase in strength over
the control of 1, 1.1, 2.5 and 3.4 respectively, while others experience drop in strength when
compared to the control.

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Table 1: Compressive strength test

Days Control C0 0.5 C0 1.0 CO 1.5 CO 2.0 CA 0.5 CA 1.0 CA1.5 CA 2.0
(N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2) (N/mm2)
3 30.50 35.02 36.39 33.20 32.53 42.38 37.67 32.53 39.70
7 43.73 45.57 48.67 45.50 41.87 51.20 47.03 44.67 41.68
14 49.75 52.40 57.23 50.15 49.77 54.23 52.28 50.23 51.62
21 56.25 57.45 58.97 54.50 52.53 58.22 57.98 56.05 54.38
28 58.53 59.85 61.60 59.77 57.10 60.50 61.43 57.83 58.63
56 63.38 63.86 64.10 62.5 61.70 69.67 70.90 64.93 66.17
90 64.67 65.13 65.83 64.70 62.50 70.90 71.07 65.00 68.80
180 69.43 70.12 70.17 67.43 67.35 71.17 71.80 67.30 68.90

Figure 4: Compressive strength test for corn starch concrete

Figure 5: Compressive strength test for cassava starch concrete

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Creep and Shrinkage Test

The results of creep and shrinkage test for the corn and starch additions are presented in
Figures 6 and 7. The total strain as a result of creep and shrinkage measured over a time
period of 28 days shows a similar behavior for all the concrete specimens especially at the
early stage of creep and shrinkage set up. The total strain observed for each of the concrete
prisms with starch additions was less than the control. The result from Figure 6.0 shows CA
0.5 (1033 x 10-3) with the least strain followed by CA 1.5 (1159 x 10-3) while CA1.0 and 2.0
seem to converge at a point the reason for this is not clear. The result of creep and shrinkage
for corn starch additions (Figure 7.0) show that control has a larger strain of 1387 microns at
28 days while MCS additions tends to converge at around a point,. This may be an indication
that varying MCS additions in concrete may not make significant difference in its effect on
creep and shrinkage. Overall, the result shows that the addition of starch in concrete
specimens may assist in moderating the effect of creep and shrinkage in concrete as all the
measured strains are well below that of the control.

Figure 6: Total strain for CA specimen

Figure 7: Total strain for CO specimen

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Heat of Hydration
The result of heat of hydration is presented in Figure 8. The total heat given out during the
process of hydration for control, CA 0.5, CO 0.5, CA 1.0 and CO 1.0 are: 301.23, 300.12,
304.67, 288.43 and 323.17kJ/Kg respectively. While total heat evolution during hydration for
CA 0.5 and CO 0.5 compares well with the control, that of CA 1.0 was actually much lower,
however, CO 1.0 was higher, the reason for this is requires further investigation.

Figure 8: Total heat in maturity time hours

Conclusion

The effect of starch on some properties of concrete has been examined in this paper. It is
found to increase the strength of concrete especially in early ages and this may be a good
use for works where early strength is required such as concrete repairs, pavement
construction. It is also found that is does not have adverse effect on concrete with regards to
creep and shrinkage retarding the heat of hydration at some certain percentage addition.
Addition of not more than 1% starch in concrete mix seem to give optimum result in relation
to better strength performance while up to 2 % addition of starch gives good result with
respect to creep and shrinkage. This research is an on project going project and further
works on long term effects are currently being investigated.

Acknowledgement

Some of the work reported in this paper was carried out under SPIN project. SPIN is
acronym for Spearhead network for innovative, clean and safe cement and concrete
technologies. The EU/ACP sponsorship of this project is gratefully acknowledged. I also
acknowledge the financial support provided by the Nigerian government through TETFUND

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