BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

There is a massive amount of waste materials obtained from the construction industry

nowadays. These wastes are only being disposed, which can create problems in our environment.

On the other hand, concrete is widely used as a material for building structures. High strength but

economical concrete is in demand in the industry, especially because of the projects that are part

of the “Build, Build, Build” Program launched in our country. Ways of making Light Weight

Concrete are now being studied as it is more economical to use than the Normal Weight Concrete.

Wastes are now being substituted to sand as a fine aggregate to produce the a more economical

concrete and to lessen the problem of disposing wastes. Sawdust is one of the said waste materials.

Knowing the possible uses of the waste materials such as sawdust, these wastes could be recycled.

The cost of materials that will be used can also be reduced if these waste materials meet the criteria

for being a fine aggregate substitute.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

As an additional study for other research, comparing the compressive strength of standard

concrete mixture and sawdust concrete, can sawdust be used as an effective alternative for sand as

fine aggregate? Does the usage of sawdust reduced/prevent the cracking in concrete? What are the

differences of the standard concrete and the sawdust concrete in terms of strength and durability?
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research could help the researchers build an interest to take it further for their thesis.

The researchers may be able to bring new found data and discoveries from saw dust to the Civil

Engineering field. This will be an addition to what has been researched about the saw dust as an

aggregate.

To the environment, this research may be of help for it uses scrap materials that instead of

throwing to waste, will be of great use to build something in the future.

To future researchers, this can be the start of what they are planning to research. Fill what

has not been done and make something out off all what was already done.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

• To know if sawdust could be a replacement for sand as a fine aggregate

• To learn if replacing sand by sawdust affects the compressive strength of the concrete

• To see the effectiveness of sawdust as a fine aggregate

 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This research focuses on the effects of sawdust as a fine aggregate to the compressive

strength of concrete. This compares the UTM results of three samples with a curing period of 14

days. The three samples each have a different ratio of fine aggregates: a concrete sample with only

sand as fine aggregate, a sample with only sawdust as fine aggregate and a sample with 50%

sawdust and 50% sand as fine aggregate.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Coarse Aggregates – they are rock particles (around 7.5 mm) used to make concrete,

gravels are considered as coarse aggregates.

Concrete – it is a mixture of fine and coarse aggregates together with cement.

Compressive strength – the resistance capacity of a material that is under compression.

Fine aggregates – they are grain-size material (< 4.75mm) and (> 0.15mm) commonly used

in construction industry, sand is the most common material used.

Sawdust – they are dust particles of wood produced by saw when cutting wood.