Exploring Bamboo Leaf Ash as Supplementary Cementitious Material for Enhanced Performance in Compressive and Tension in Mortar Strength as Construction Materials

A recent study explored the use of bamboo leaf ash (BLA) as a partial replacement for cement in mortar, aiming to enhance its strength while promoting environmental sustainability. BLA was added in varying proportions (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) to a mortar mix with a 1:2.75 sand-to-cement ratio and a water-to-binder ratio of 0.5. The research focused on evaluating the setting times, consistency, and strength properties, with forty-eight samples cast for compressive and tensile strength tests. These samples were cured for 7, 14, and 28 days, and tested using 50 mm cubes for compressive strength and briquette molds for tensile strength. The study found that as the BLA content increased, both consistency and setting times of the mortar also increased. Notably, a 10% replacement of BLA resulted in the highest improvement in compressive strength at 28 days compared to the control group, and similar enhancements were observed in tensile strength at both 7 and 28 days. The tensile strength values were 1.734 MPa, 2.588 MPa, and 3.018 MPa at 7, 14, and 21 days, respectively. This experiment demonstrated that a 10% substitution of bamboo leaf ash significantly enhanced both the compressive and tensile strengths of mortar. Additionally, the innovative mixture showed potential for crack mitigation, a rare benefit in typical cement mortars. This highlights the potential of bamboo leaf ash as an environmentally friendly alternative, reducing the environmental impact of cement production while improving the durability of the mortar.