Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 1311–1315

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Effect of the treatment of wood shavings on the physico-mechanical

characteristics of wood sand concretes
M. Bederina a, B. Laidoudi b, A. Goullieux b, M.M. Khenfer a, A. Bali c, M. Quéneudec b,*
a
Université Amar Telidji, Département de Génie Civil, Laghouat, Algeria
b
Laboratoire des Technologies Innovantes, EA3899, UPJV, 41, Avenue Paul Claudel, 80480 Dury, France
c
Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, Département de Génie Civil, Alger, Algeria

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study investigates the effect of a wood shaving treatment on the physico-mechanical characteristics
Received 4 September 2007 of wood sand concretes. The two main objectives of this work are to improve a lightweight sand concrete
Received in revised form 21 July 2008 and to valorise local materials and industrial wastes. Three wood shaving contents, two types of sand
Accepted 24 July 2008
concretes (dune and river sand concrete) and a preliminary wood shaving treatment have been used.
Available online 2 October 2008
Sand, cement, filler, admixture and water composed the sand concrete matrix. The shaving treatment
appreciably increases the mechanical strength of the studied composites without a large influence on
Keywords:
thermal conductivity. The shrinkage of the composite is considerably reduced and the wood–matrix
Lightweight concrete
Sand concrete
adherence is improved. At low wood contents, the dune sand concrete remains always slightly more insu-
Wood shavings lating and less strong than the river sand concrete. At higher wood contents, the two concretes present
Treatment almost similar properties.
Density Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Filler
Mechanical strength
Thermal conductivity
Shrinkage

1. Introduction current research started to reflect on the re-use of various wastes

In order to solve the economic problems encountered in the
building industry, a great importance is currently given to the
use of local materials which are little or not used [1]. Application
of local sands as construction materials responds to economic
and ecological considerations. The name sand concrete can be used
if the sand/gravel mass ratio is beyond 1, otherwise the material is
called ‘‘a loaded sand concrete’’ [2,3]. Workability, compactness
and concrete strength are influenced by sand particle size distribu-
tion and filler concentration [4,5]. The sand concretes produced are
already able to replace the conventional concretes in certain
structures.
In addition, great attention is currently given to the industrial
wastes which, in certain countries, pose environmental problems.
Waste is perceived as any residue stemming from a process,
transformation or use [6]. Some wastes occupy vast territories
of land, increase manmade environmental effects, and thus ad-
versely affect human health in general. It is in this context that
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 3 2290 2726.
E-mail address: tkintmichele@codempicardie.com (M. Quéneudec).
in the building material industry. The use of these wastes in the
construction industry can solve the three-pronged problem of
reducing the cost of construction materials, saving natural raw
materials, and protecting the environment. The use of lignocellu-
losic wastes within a cement matrix has been extensively studied
[7–11] due to the renewable aspect of these vegetal resources and
the thermal and acoustic qualities of the lightweight concrete
obtained. The treatment of these materials before their incorpora-
tion in the matrix is often necessary to reduce their water
absorption, and so, to improve the mechanical characteristics
of the composite while preserving the insulating qualities
[12–14].
In previous work [15], wood shavings were added to dune and
river sand concretes without any treatment and the results have
shown that their incorporation into the sand concretes reduces
material density, does not affect the structure homogeneity, leads
to a good wood–matrix adherence and improves thermal conduc-
tivity. But the mechanical strength is decreased.
The present work therefore is aimed at studying the influence of
the treatment of wood shavings on the physico-mechanical prop-
erties of these sand concretes.
The list of the used nomenclature is given at the end of the
paper.

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2008.07.029
1312 M. Bederina et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 1311–1315

Nomenclature

DS dune sand B wood content (kg/m3)

RS river sand W water content (l/m3)
D diameter SP admixture (%)
S sand content (kg/m3) q apparent density (kg/m3)
F filler content (kg/m3) qS specific density (kg/m3)
C cement content (kg/m3)

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Materials

The shavings were wastes from woodworking activities. They came from wood
of fir tree which belongs to the category of resinous wood. This type of wood is very
used in building industry thanks to its rapid growth and low price. It presents,
according to its quality, good mechanical characteristics.
The used wood particles, 0.1–8 mm in length with a thickness lower than 1 mm,
displayed an irregular shape, a bulk density of about 512 kg/m3 and a water absorp-
tion at approximate 36% [15]. It should be noted that, during the mixing, the shav-
ings are aleatoly distributed in the cement matrix.
Two different sands of essentially siliceous nature were separately used for this
study: dune sand (DS) from the Northern area of Laghouat (Algeria) and river sand
(RS) from M’zi oued (also area of Laghouat). Table 1 shows their particle size char-
acteristics and densities.
A Portland cement (type II) of class 45 was used (‘‘CPJ-CEM II/A”). Its physical
characteristics are the following: specific density 3078 kg/m3 and specific surface
area 289 m2/kg. Fig. 1. General aspect of the wood shavings before and after treatment.
A crushing waste (Dmax = 80 mm) from a quarry located in the region north of
Laghouat was the fillers. It is mainly composed of limestone and its specific surface
is of 312 m2/kg [16].
An Algerian superplasticiser of ‘‘MEDAPLAST (SP40)’’ type was used. It is a The compressive strength was measured, at 28 days, on 10  10  10 cm3
brown sulphuric Polynapthalene (PNS) solution, with a dry extract of 40% (±1%) cubes; three samples tested per composition. The testing machine used was ‘‘CON-
and a pH of 8.2. TROLS” type with double quadrant having a maximum capacity of 2000 kN. The rate
loading was regulated beforehand according to RILEM recommendations.
The thermal conductivity was measured on dry half-cubic samples of
2.2. Wood sand concrete preparation and characterisation
10  10  5 cm3 using a non stationary method called TPS method (Transient Plane
Source) [19,20]. The experimental device used was composed of Transient Plane
The optimal compositions of the sand concrete studied, without wood shaving
Source (TPS) element, a power supply stabilized in tension, a Wheatstone bridge,
addition, were given in a previous study [4,16]. These compositions (Table 2) were
a data acquisition unit and a microcomputer for the data control and processing
taken as the basic compositions in constituting the matrix of the studied compos-
[21].
ites. Concerning the treatment of the shavings, different treatments have been used
in previous works and it was shown that the treatment by coating with cement
gives good results, in particular relation to mechanical strength and shrinkage 3. Results and discussion
[17,18]. For this study, a paste prepared by mixing cement (CPJ-CEM II/A) with
water according to a ‘‘cement/wood” mass ratio of about 2.5, was used for the coat-
3.1. Influence of the shaving treatment on the density of the wood sand
ing of the shavings. The dry shavings were then sprayed with paste until total sur-
face coating. The duration of drying was fixed at 28 days. Fig. 1 shows the general concrete
aspect of the wood shavings before and after the cement treatment.
Three proportions of shavings were considered: B = 0, 80 and 160 kg/m3. It The treatment used slightly increases the density of the studied
should be noted that both treated and untreated shavings were studied.
composites which always remains in the range of lightweight con-
The first preparation step consisted in mixing the dried raw materials (sand, ce-
ment and fillers) for 3 min at slow speed to obtain a perfect homogeneity. Then
crete densities (Tables 3 and 4). The greater the wood shaving con-
water-saturated wood aggregates were added and mixing continued at slow speed tent increases, the greater the concrete density. But, this increase
for another 3 min [16]. in density, which is logical owing to the fact that the wood grains
The second step consisted in gradually adding water at slow speed for 3 min, are coated by a film constituted with cement paste, does not ex-
then at high speed for one more minute. The samples were maintained in a wet
ceed 0.18% for each kilogramme of incorporated wood. Since, the
room (90% HR and 20 °C) for 24 h; then they were demoulded and kept in a dry
environment (50% HR and 20 °C) to remain close to local climatic conditions. treatment is only intended for wood particles, no difference in
the gain in density between DS-concrete and RS-concrete can be
Table 1
noticed.
Particle size and densities of the sands used [4,16]
3.2. Influence of the shaving treatment on the compressive strength
Dmax (mm) Particle size distribution q (kg/m3) qS (kg/m3)
and the thermal conductivity of the wood sand concrete
DS 0.63 Tight 1428 2596
RS 5 Widely-spread 1482 2576
The shaving treatment considerably improves the compressive
strength of the two studied composites (Fig. 2). As the content of
Table 2
wood increases, the compressive strength increases in comparison
Optimal composition of sand concretes, without shavings, according to sand type to untreated shavings sand concrete: according to the nature of
sand, a profit in strength ranging from 20% to 45% has been ob-
Material C (kg/m3) S (kg/m3) F (kg/m3) W (l/m3) SPa (%)
tained with a content of wood of 80 kg/m3 and from 230% to
DS-concrete 350 1305 200 245 1.5 313% with a content of 160 kg/m3. The improved compressive
RS-concrete 350 1460 150 210 1.5
strength, due to the wood surface treatment, can be related to
a
The admixture percentage is calculated, in mass, compared to the cement mass. the increase in wood shaving rigidity, the improvement of wood–
 M. Bederina et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 1311–1315 1313

Table 3
Physico-mechanical properties of DS-composite according to wood shaving content and treatment

B (kg/m3) 0 80 160
3
Density (kg/m ) q (without treatment) 2040 1530 1200
q (with treatment) 2040 1740 1520
Increase in density (%) 0 13.72 26.66
Compressive strength (MPa) Profit in strength (%) 0 45.59 313
Thermal conductivity (W/m K) Profit in conductivity (%) 0 8.1 14.3
Shrinkage (lm/m) Shrinkage (without treatment) 840 1460 1900
Shrinkage (with treatment) 840 950 1270
Reduction in shrinkage (%) 0 34.90 33.16

Table 4
Physico-mechanical properties of RS-composite according to wood shaving content and treatment

B (kg/m3) 0 80 160
Density (kg/m3) q (without treatment) 2100 1580 1220
q (with treatment) 2100 1800 1537
Increase in density (%) 0 13.92 25.98
compressive strength (MPa) Profit in strength (%) 0 19.07 230
Thermal conductivity (W/m K) Profit in conductivity (%) 0 8.6 14.8
Shrinkage (lm/m) Shrinkage (without treatment) 800 1400 1800
Shrinkage (with treatment) 800 910 1130
Reduction in shrinkage (%) 0 35.00 37.22

matrix adherence and the increase in composite density. The effect by the treatment. Indeed, with the wood proportions studied, ther-
of the treatment in strength, in the case of DS-concrete, is higher. mal conductivity increased only slightly in comparison with the
Indeed, this effect can be related to the difference in particle size improvement of strength (Fig. 2 and 3).
distribution between the two sands: a dispersed particle size dis-
tribution for RS with a maximum diameter of 5 mm vs. a tightened
particle size distribution for DS with a maximum diameter of Table 5
0.63 mm. In case of the DS-concrete, the treated shavings behave Macro porosity percentages of composites according to sand type and wood
treatment (B = 80 kg/m3)
as aggregates of diameter higher than the maximum diameter of
the sand. DS-concrete RS-concrete
It should be noted that the profit in strength is very important Without wood treatment 19.1% 16.5%
and attractive, especially as thermal conductivity is little affected With wood treatment 2.8% 3.1%

Dune sand concrete River sand concrete

25 30
Compressive strength

Compressive strength

25
20
20
(MPa)

(MPa)

15
15
10
10
5
5
0 0
0 80 160 0 80 160
Wood content (kg/m3) Wood content (kg/m3)
Fig. 2. Comparison of compressive strengths before and after wood treatment as a function of wood content: h, Without treatment; j, With treatment.

Dune sand concrete River sand concrete

1.6 1.6
Thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivity

1.2 1.2
(W/m.K)

(W/m.K)

1.8 1.8

1.4 1.4

0 0
0 80 160 0 80 160
Wood content (kg/m3) Wood content (kg/m3)
Fig. 3. Comparison of thermal conductivities before and after wood treatment as a function of wood content: h, Without treatment; j, With treatment.
1314 M. Bederina et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 1311–1315
Fig. 4. Optical micrographs of treated wood sand concretes – G = 100.
3.3. Influence of the shaving treatment on the shrinkage of the wood
sand concrete
With regard to the dimensional variations, a problem often re-
ported by authors in the case of wood concretes [17,20], Tables 3
and 4 underline the positive effect of wood surface treatment on
the reduction of the dimensional variations of the wood sand con-
cretes. With wood contents ranging from 0 to 80 kg/m3, a consid-
erable improvement, which limits the shrinkage of the two sand
concretes to the values generally recommended for wood concrete
(<1000 lm/m) [22], was recorded. At high wood proportion
(160 kg/m3), the shrinkage is reduced of about 33% in the case of
DS-concrete and 37% in the case of RS-concrete, and the obtained
shrinkage values slightly exceed concrete limit values. It is possible
that if the cement concentration in the treatment product is high,
the paste film coating the wood grains is thicker and consequently
the rigidity of wood is better. In this case, acceptable shrinkage val-
ues and important mechanical strength can be obtained.
3.4. Influence of the shaving treatment on the structure of sand wood
concrete
Homogeneity and compactness of wood sand concretes (with
and without wood treatment) have been assessed thanks to macro
porosity measurements on optical micrographs. In fact macro
porosity in specimens appeared as dark areas. Dark areas/total
micrograph area ratio represents their macro porosity in percent-
age. Table 5 shows that, after wood treatment, the structure exhib-
its lower macro porosity, whatever the sand type. Furthermore the
wood–matrix adherence is very good (Fig. 4). Moreover, the adher-
ence appears even better than that noticed in the case of wood
without treatment, where some defects around the wood aggre-
gates have been observed [15,23,24]. This improvement is due to
the fact that coating the shavings in a layer of cement is likely to
enhance the bond with the cement matrix. It is possible that coat-
ing the shavings beforehand minimizes the hygroscopic effect and
increases the wood–matrix adherence. In addition, the effect of the
presence of sugars, tannin, etc., in wood, even though it is generally
less marked on the cement setting [25], seems to be minimized,
which improves the interfacial wood–matrix bond and, conse-
quently, the density of the composite and its mechanical strength
[26].
The wood–matrix adherence can also be improved by other
types of treatment like chemical treatments [12,13].
4. Conclusion
The study of sand concrete containing wood shavings without
any treatment shows that the material presents good thermal
and mechanical properties. However, its shrinkage is not accept-
able, especially at high wood contents. This study had as objective
the improvement of the physico-mechanical characteristics of
wood sand composite by wood surface treatment. The main con-
clusions noted from the results obtained are:
 The treatment of the shavings slightly increases the density of
the wood sand concrete but the material remains always in
the category of lightweight concrete.
 The compressive strength is considerably improved and it is
possible to obtain good structural lightweight sand concrete.
 The insulation capacity is slightly influenced by the treatment of
shavings. The thermal conductivities obtained with addition of
treated shavings, remain always good compared to those of
the sand concrete without wood.
 The shrinkage, which represents great disadvantages for the
sand concretes containing wood shavings, is considerably
improved.
 As regard the aspect of these composites, observation by means
of optical microscopy shows in general a more homogeneous and
compact structure, and an improved wood–matrix adherence.
 It should be finally noted that these good improvements are due
to the type of treatment and to the compatibility between the
treatment product and the matrix.
References
[1] Soufo YM. Matériaux locaux et construction de logements dans les pays en voie
de développement, Ph.D. thesis. University of Montréal, Canada; 1993.
[2] NF P 18-325 (mars 1991) Bétons, performances, production, Mise en OEuvre et
Critère de conformité (ENV 206).
[3] Chauvin JJ, Grimaldi G. Les Bétons de Sable. Bulletin de Liaison des Laboratoires
des Ponts et Chaussées 1988;157(September–October):9–15.
[4] Bederina M. Caractérisation mécanique et microstructure des bétons de sables
locaux : effets des fillers et de la nature des sables sur le comportement
mécanique du matériau. Thesis of Magister. University of A. Tledji, Laghouat,
Algérie; 2000.
[5] Presse de l’Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées ’Béton de sable,
Caractéristiques et pratique d’utilisation’, (Projet SABLOCRETE), édition.
Association Amicale des Ingénieurs Anciens Elèves de L’Ecole Nationale des
Ponts et Chaussées; 1994. p. 15–71.
[6] Ballester JM. Traitement et Valorisation des Déchets Solides. Centre de
Prospectives et d’Etudes, Ministère de la Recherche et de l’Espace, France.
Innovation 128 – Jui.1992. p. 7–15.
[7] Van Elten GJ. Innovation in the production of cement bonded particleboard and
wood–wool cement board. In: 5th international inorganic bonded wood and
fiber composite materials conference, Spokane, Washington, USA; 1995.
[8] Bouguerra A, Salee H, De Barquin F, Dheilly RM, Queneudec M. Isothermal
moisture properties of wood–cement composites. Cement Concr Res
1999;29(3):339–47.
[9] Tamba S, Jauberthie R, Lanos C, Rendell F. Lightweight wood fibre concrete.
Concr Sci Eng 2001;3:53–7.
[10] Teoreanu I, Stoleriu St., Volceanov A. Concrete with vegetable aggregates. In:
Ghavani K, editor. Proceedings of the NOCMAT/3-Vietnam international
conference on non-conventional materials and technologies. 12–13 March
2002. Hanoi, Vietnam. p. 237–42.
[11] Coatanlem P, Jauberthie R, Rendell F. Lightweight wood chipping concrete
durability. Const Build Mater 2006;20:779–81.
 M. Bederina et al. / Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 1311–1315
[12] Mortreuil FX, Lanos C, Jauberthie R. Wood shavings lightweight concrete:
Benefit of chemical treatments. In: Ghavani K, editor. Proceedings of the
NOCMAT/3 – Vietnam international conference on non-conventional materials
and technologies, 12–13 March 2002, Hanoi, Vietnam. p. 371–7.
[13] Eustafievici M, Muntean O, Muntean M. Influence of the wood waste
characteristics and its chemical treatment on the composites properties. In:
Ghavani K, editor. Proceedings of the NOCMAT/3, Vietnam international
conference on non-conventional materials and technologies, 12–13 March
2002. Hanoi, Vietnam. p. 107–12.
[14] Pehanich JL, Blankenhorn PR, Silsbee MR. Wood fiber surface treatment level
effects on select mechanical properties of wood fiber-cement composite.
Cement Concr Res 2004;34:59–65.
[15] Bederina M, Marmoret L, Mezreb K, Khenfer MM, Bali A, Queneudec M. Effect
of the addition of wood shavings on the thermal conductivity of the sand
concretes – experimental study and modelling. Construct Build Mater
2007;21:662–8. 1970.
[16] Bederina M, Khenfer MM, Dheilly RM, Queneudec M. Reuse of local sand: effect
of lime stone filler proportion on the rheological and mechanical properties of
different concrete sand. Cement Concr Res 2005;35(6):1172–9.
[17] Ledhem A. Contribution à l’étude d’un béton de bois. Mise au point d’un
procédé de minimisation des variations dimensionnelles d’un composite
Argile-Ciment-Bois, Ph.D. Thesis, INSA of Lyon, France; 1997.
[18] Gotteicha M. Caractérisation des bétons de sable à base de copeaux de bois
traités. Thesis of Magister. University Amar Thelidji of Laghouat, Algeria; 2005.
1315
[19] Gustafsson SE. Transient plane source techniques for thermal diffusivity
measurement of solid materials. Rev Sci Instrum 1991;62(3):777–804.
[20] Bouguerra A. Contribution à l’étude d’un procédé de valorisation de déchets
argileux : comportement hygrothermique des matériaux élaborés. Ph.D.
Thesis. INSA of Lyon, France; 1997.
[21] Laidoudi B. Contribution à la valorisation de déchets de caoutchouc dans une
matrice cimentaire: caractérisation physico thermique et évaluation des
performances à différents degrés d’humidité. -Etude expérimentale et
modélisation, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Picardy Jules Verne, France; 2005.
[22] Pimienta P, Chaudzllier J, Rubaud M, Dutruel F, Nicole H. Etude de la faisabilité
des procédés de construction à base de béton légers d’aujourd’hui, Cahier de
CSTB, Janv.–Fev; 1994.
[23] Bederina M. Caractérisation mécanique et microstructure des bétons de sables
locaux: effets des fillers et de la nature des sables sur le comportement
mécanique du matériau, Ph.D. Thesis, University A. Tledji of Laghouat, Algeria;
2007.
[24] Aouadja FZ, Mimoune M, Laquerbe M. Etude expérimentale sur les bétons à
base de résidus de bois. Revue Algérie-EQUIPEMENT 1995;18(March–
April):24–7.
[25] Biblis ES, LO CF. Effect on setting of southern pine–cement mixtures. Forest
Prod J 1968;18(8):28–34.
[26] Blankenhorn PR, Sllsbee MR, Blankenhorn BD, Dicola M. Temperature and
moisture effect on selected properties of wood fiber–cement composite.
Cement Concr Res 1999;29:737–41.