Experimental Investigation on Use of Cockle Shell as Partial Coarse Aggregate Replacement in Concrete

Preserving natural coarse aggregate for future generation and reducing cockle shell waste has initiated studies on possibility of integrating this waste in concrete production. The main of this research work is to encourage the use of waste products such as cockle shell construction materials in low-cost building. In this research study an experimental investigation was conducted on varying percentages of (0%, 7%, 14%, 21%, and 28%) cockle shell as coarse aggregate replacement for M20 grade of concrete to produce an environment friendly concrete. Tests were conducted to analyse the properties of materials used in concrete. Properties of fresh and hardened concrete were obtained by workability test, strength test, durability test and non-destructive test (NDT). The optimum percentage of replacement of cockle shell as coarse aggregate in M20 grade of concrete was obtained as 21%. The results of the research work show that cockle shell is an effective alternative for partial replacement of coarse aggregate in concrete, which may produce workable and eco-friendly concrete with high strength on optimum percentage of replacement.