Mechanical Behavior of Low-Carbon Concrete Produced with Wood Ash as a Sustainable Cement Replacement
Uche Emmanuel EDIKE, Mark Omeiza ONIPE, Oluwafemi Peter ADENIYI, Adepoju Muhammed MUNTASIR
Abstract. This study examines the mechanical behavior of low-carbon concrete produced using a binder blend of cement and wood ash (WAS) to promote the application of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) and enhance environmental sustainability. WAS blended concrete was produced by replacing ordinary Portland cement OPC) at varying percentages, 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% of WAS. Some of the index properties of the materials and the mechanical behavior of the WAS-blended concrete were tested to evaluate the performance of the concrete. The particle size distribution curve of the natural sand employed in the study indicated a well-graded but predominantly uniformly distributed fine particles with a low Uniformity Coefficient of 1.37 and a Coefficient of Curvature of 1.04. The fineness analysis revealed that the OPC exhibited a residue of 3.13%, while the WAS recorded a slightly higher value of 3.83%. The study reveals that the initial setting time of WAS-OPC paste steadily increased with the WAS content, while workability declined at higher OPC replacement levels. The optimum mix of 15% wood ash blended concrete achieved 18.0% and 35.9% increase in compressive and flexural strengths at 28 days, respectively. The study suggests that wood ash is a promising SCM when used at controlled dosages between 5% and 15%, promoting the environmental sustainability of the construction industry.
Keywords
Supplementary Cementitious Material, Portland Cement Concrete, Setting Time, Wood Ash, Workability
Published online 4/2/2026, 8 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Uche Emmanuel EDIKE, Mark Omeiza ONIPE, Oluwafemi Peter ADENIYI, Adepoju Muhammed MUNTASIR, Mechanical Behavior of Low-Carbon Concrete Produced with Wood Ash as a Sustainable Cement Replacement, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 63, pp 211-218, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904053-24
The article was published as article 24 of the book Advances in Cement and Concrete Research
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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