A sustainable approach on utilization of agro-waste in concrete beam: characteristics and flexural behaviour

Abstract The present study investigates the repurposing of industrial and agricultural by products, specifically sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA), to enhance concrete's structural, economic, and environmental properties. The significant volume of industrial and agricultural waste, such as sugarcane bagasse, poses environmental challenges due to its disposal issues. The study aims to address these challenges by evaluating the potential of SBA as a partial replacement for cement in concrete beams. Using a series of concrete beams with varying levels of SBA incorporation up to 30% with increments of 10% (denoted as SBA0, SBA10, SBA20, and SBA30). The concrete beams were designed with dimensions of 125 mm × 250 mm in cross-section and a length of 3200 mm, cast and tested under four-point bending with 3000 mm span. The study focuses on assessing flexural behaviour data such as first crack load, yield load, ultimate load, and associated deflections. The results reveal that the beams containing 20% SBA (SBA20) exhibit significant structural properties, with a compressive strength of 37.01 MPa, flexural strength of 5.25 MPa, and an elasticity modulus of 28,482.29 MPa. Additionally, nonlinear finite element analysis was conducted using ANSYS to model the static response of both control and SBA-replaced beams, providing an in-depth comparison of their performance.