Thermal Conductivity of Coconut Shell-Incorporated Concrete: A Systematic Assessment via Theory and Experiment

Akram M. Mhaya, Shahiron Shahidan (), Hassan Amer Algaifi, Sharifah Salwa Mohd Zuki, Omrane Benjeddou, Mohd Haziman Wan Ibrahim and Ghasan Fahim Huseien ()
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Akram M. Mhaya: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat 86400, Johor, Malaysia
Shahiron Shahidan: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat 86400, Johor, Malaysia
Hassan Amer Algaifi: School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor, Malaysia
Sharifah Salwa Mohd Zuki: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat 86400, Johor, Malaysia
Omrane Benjeddou: Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj 16273, Saudi Arabia
Mohd Haziman Wan Ibrahim: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat 86400, Johor, Malaysia
Ghasan Fahim Huseien: Institute of Architecture and Construction, South Ural State University, Lenin Prospect 76, 454080 Chelyabinsk, Russia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-19

Abstract: To minimize the energy consumption and adverse impact of excessive waste accumulation on the environment, coconut shell (CA) became a potential (partial) replacement agent for fine aggregates in structural concrete production. Thus, systematic experimental and theoretical studies are essential to determine the thermal and structural properties of such concrete containing optimum level of CA. In this view, an artificial neural network (ANN) model, gene expression programming (GEP) model, and response surface method (RS) were used to predict and optimize the desired engineering characteristics of some concrete mixes designed with various levels of CA inclusion. Furthermore, the proposed model’s performance was assessed in terms of different statistical parameters calculated using ANOVA. The results revealed that the proposed concrete mix made using 53% of CA as a partial replacement of fine aggregate achieved an optimum density of 2246 kg/m 3 and thermal conductivity of 0.5952 W/mK, which was lower than the control specimen (0.79 W/mK). The p -value of the optimum concrete mix was less than 0.0001 and the F-value was over 147.47, indicating the significance of all models. It is asserted that ANN, GEP, and RSM are accurate and reliable, and can further be used to predict a strong structural–thermal correlation with minimal error. In brief, the specimen composed with 53% of CA as a replacement for fine aggregate may be beneficial to develop environmentally amiable green structural concrete.

Keywords: coconut shell (CA); concrete density; wastes; thermal conductivity; ANN; GEP; RSM; ANOVA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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