Potential of Starch as Organic Admixture in Cementitious Composites
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 2
Abstract
A durable, high-performance concrete is important for sustainable construction. Organic admixtures, a fair contender against its traditional chemical counterpart, is being explored in response to the renewed interest in the production of green concrete. In this study, two types of starch, i.e., laboratory starch and arrowroot, were used as admixtures and their effects on different properties of cement paste and mortar were observed. Starch showed a considerable retarding effect without adversely impacting the compressive strength. Also, it increased the flow of cement mortar substantially. The mortar samples with starch also exhibited a reduction in water absorption. A small amount of starch admixture, ranging from 0.5% to 2.5% of cement content by weight, has been found to increase the flowability and setting time of cement mortar keeping the strength, durability, and shrinkage parameters within an acceptable range. Within the scope of this study, 1%–1.5% starch addition by weight of cement exhibited improved performance in terms of setting time and flow.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors like to acknowledge the support of Department of Civil Engineering of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). The tests were conducted with the assistance and support of Concrete Laboratory and Environment Laboratory of the Department. Also, the SEM images were taken at the Department of Glass and Ceramic Engineering of BUET.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 2 • February 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 7, 2019
Accepted: Aug 4, 2020
Published online: Nov 23, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Apr 23, 2021
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