ASSESSMENT OF THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF SOIL CEMENT BLOCK EXPOSED TO NPK FERTILIZER
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ASSESSMENT OF THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF SOIL CEMENT BLOCK EXPOSED TO NPK FERTILIZER
ABSTRACT
Many farmers, particularly those in rural areas, utilise NPK fertiliser to grow their crops. These farmers lack suitable storage facilities for their agricultural produce. The purpose of this study is to determine the compressive strength of soil cement blocks (SCB) in contact with NPK fertiliser in order to investigate the chemical reaction and determine the suitability of the SCB in the construction of NPK storage ware houses. The SCBs were bought from a Hydraform block company building an estate in Kuje, LGA Abuja.
A total of 150 samples of the SCB, or soil needed to generate the SCB, were collected from the Kuje LGA location. The soil qualities, which determine the cement content, and the block properties were investigated in line with BS EN 771-1:2011 and BS EN 772-1:2011, respectively.
The SCB’s shrinkage is 5.8%, and sieve analysis (clay and silt 0.95%) suggests that increasing cement content can improve its strength. The wet compressive strength (1.8N/mm2) was 78% of the dry compressive strength (2.3N/mm2), which is less than the recommended 80% per BS EN 772-1:2011.
Chemical analyses of cement, soil, and NPK were performed, and a saturated solution of NPK was determined to generate various concentrations. The solutions were made, and three randomly selected blocks were immersed for 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 28 days, 56 days, and 90 days, respectively, to ensure enough NPK exposure.
The compressive strength tests reveal that the behaviour of the control differs from that of the solution. The control group exhibited calcium hydroxide leaching from the cement paste,
resulting in a compressive strength of 1.64N/mm2. SCBs in NPK solution showed increased compressive strength at 7 days (1.7N/mm2, 1.74N/mm2, 2.12N/mm2, 2.13N/mm2, 2.11N/mm2).
After 56 and 90 days, a white layer formed within the SCB exposed to high NPK concentrations. This was linked to the expected ion exchange interaction with calcium hydroxide.
The SCB were found to be suitable for use in the construction of ware houses to store NPK fertiliser as long as the soil and block production followed standard codes and the structure was kept moisture-free.
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