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1

Preliminary Experimental Investigation of

the Compatibility of Coir Pith Cement

Composite Concrete as a Soft Ground

Arrester System

A project under the guidance and supervision of

Dr.A.P.Shashikala (Professor, CED-NITC)

Dr.Sajith A.S. (Asst. Professor, CED-NITC)

Project Team Members

Aneesh K V

Anju B Sunil

Aravind Mohan E T

Jishnulal K

Sayooj S



2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Serial

No:TITLE Page No:

1 INTRODUCTION 3

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5

3 RESEARCH PROGRAMME AND EXPERIMENTALPROCEDURE

9

4 TEST DATA AND DISCUSSIONS 13

5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 24

6 REFERENCE 25



3

INTRODUCTION

Air travel is considered one of the fastest and safest ways of

transportation available. However, due to lack of safety area available at

the end of runways overruns (passing beyond the end of the runway)

occur. An overrun generally occurs during landing and some times during

take-off, however most overruns occur during landing in bad weather.

Because of this, safety area extending beyond the end of the runway is

recommended. Practically, it is difficult to provide this runway extension

at many airports. In such cases, installing a Soft Ground Arrestor System

(SGAS) can be a solution. The present SGAS available is known as an

Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS).

MANGALORE AIRPORT DISASTER

In one of our country’s worst aviation disasters, an Air India Express Flight

812 from Dubai to Mangalore crashed while landing at the Mangalore

Airport on 22nd May 2010.The Boeing 737-800, with 166 people on board,

overshot the 2448 m long runway and crashed into the steep valley, killing

158 people. The table top Mangalore airport poses difficulty in safelanding and takeoff during monsoon season.

The runway should be effectively engineered to safeguard the life of

passengers and avert similar accidents in the future. The Airport Authority

of India and National Institute of Technology, Calicut have joined hands

to develop a Soft Ground Arrester System

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objective of this research program is to develop an ultra-lightweight

concrete mixture that is reliable and economical and that can be used as

a SGAS. The project involves a detailed study of various types of concrete

mixes with 100% replacement of fine aggregate with coir pith. Since the

behaviour of ultra-lightweight concrete is dependent on its density, a



4

relationship between density and concrete properties will also be

examined.

TESTING PROGRAMMES

Density, compressive strength, and durability are the concrete properties

which are the main concern of this project. These properties can be

affected by the mixture proportions, aggregate type, entrained air

content, mixing time, mixing speed, and water to cement ratio (w/c). In

the case of arrestor beds, density, yield, and compressive strength play a

major role. So, proper research will be conducted on these properties.

PROPOSAL TO USE COIR PITH CEMENT CONCRETE SGAS

Coir pith, a by-product of the coir industry has proved its significance as

an excellent soil conditioner and growing medium. The product has good

export quality and is in demand in the horticulture sector.

Coir pith-cement concrete composite blocks can be paved at the rear end

of the runway to render a cushioning effect to the landing aircraft during

overshooting, thereby decelerating the aircraft, saving lives and money.

Improper dumping of coir pith can lead to serious environmental impacts

such as leaching, groundwater contamination and mosquito breeding. So

this material must be put to use in other fields to increase the demand to

that of the supply



5

LITERATURE REVIEW

ENGINEERED MATERIAL ARRESTER SYSTEM

The primary role of EMAS is to stop an overrun aircraft without causingany injuries to the passengers and causing little or no damage to the

aircraft. When an aircraft enters the arrestor bed or EMAS, it crushes the

material as it tries to pass through it. This develops a drag force between

the tires of the aircraft and the bed material leading to the deceleration

of the aircraft. Refer Figure 2

TYPICAL PROFILE VIEW OF EMAS

The typical cross-section suggested for an EMAS is approximately 300

meters and having the same width of the runway. This is not possible in

many of the airports, in such cases the length of the bed is generally

determined based on the length of the safety area. The depth is generally

varied based on the type of aircraft to be arrested at that particular

airport. Figure 1 shows the general plan view, section view and elevation

of an EMAS.

The arrestor bed can be composed of crushable light weight aggregate

concrete blocks of dimensions 350x190x100 mm.The front end of the

arrestor system is ramped or stepped and then the depth of the bed is

increased toward the far end as shown in Figure 1. This increase in depth

is generally provided for maximum deceleration. Side steps are

constructed at the sides of the arrestor system which facilitates the access

of rescue and fire fighting vehicles.

A mathematical model needs to be created to estimate the optimum

breaking distance for different speed levels.



6

Figure 1

Figure 2



7

LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE

Lightweight concrete is very similar to conventional concrete except for

the type of aggregate. Lightweight concrete can be designed to have

compressive strengths equal to that produced by normal weight concretebut with lower densities. The density of light weight concrete generally

ranges between 300-1850 kg/m3.

There are many benefits of using lightweight concrete, some of which are

as follows:

1. Lightweight concrete can reduce the dead load of the structure. Since

the dead load of the structure is a major part in the design, there are

economic advantages in using lower-density concrete.

2. Lightweight concrete is widely used as an insulating material as it

possesses excellent thermal properties. The thermal insulation property

of cellular concrete depends on its density. Lower densities have better

insulation properties.

3. The segregation resistance of lightweight concrete is greater than that

of conventional concrete.

4. Lightweight concrete is much easier to pump when compared to

conventional concrete.

5. Large volumes of lightweight concrete are easier to transport and

accommodate.

LIGHT WEIGHT AGGREGATE

The behaviour of the lightweight aggregate in concrete is difficult to

understand as it varies with minimum variations in the mixture design.

Environmental conditions may also change the fresh and hardened

properties of concrete. Therefore, a proper understanding of the



8

aggregate is required to develop a uniform mixture for meeting the

requirements of an arrester bed.

Lightweight aggregate can be either natural or artificial. Lightweight

aggregate can vary in bulk density based on its absorption capacity. Theabsorption capacity of lightweight aggregate is much higher than that of

the normal weight aggregate. This is one of the main concerns in the

production of lightweight concrete as it might affect the consistency of

the concrete mixture. The absorption capacity mainly depends on the

structure of the aggregate.

Lightweight aggregate exhibits a higher porosity when compared to

normal weight aggregate resulting in higher absorption capacity.



9

RESEARCH PROGRAMME AND EXPERIMENTAL

PROCEDURE

NESSECARY FEATURES OF SOFT GROUND ARRESTER SYSTEM

The project involves development of ultra-lightweight concrete mixtures

that will meet the requirements of an arrestor system (EMAS).The

material used for EMAS should possess following characteristics:

1. Water resistant.

2. Not attract wildlife.

2. Non-sparking.

3. Non-flammable.

4. Non-combustible.

5. Not emit toxic or malodorous fumes during a fire.

6. Not support plant growth.

7. Have constant strength and density characteristics throughout life.8. Be resistant to deterioration that might result from contact with soil,

aircraft fluids, water, paint, sunlight, etc.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

The materials used in the experimental and research study include the

binders and aggregate

BINDERS

Ordinary Portland Bharthi cement of grade 53 and flash setting Ramco

cement of grade 53 were used as binders. The specific gravity of cement

was 3.15.



10

LIGHT WEIGHT AGGREGATE

The light weight aggregate used is coir pith by 100% replacement of sand

and gravel for preliminary studies.

METHODOLOGY

The coir pith was freshly collected from the Coir Fed Plant near

Mannashery and stacked in the Material Testing Lab as soon as the

project work commenced. The samples were air dried and presumed to

be saturated and surface dry. The sample was tested for physical

properties like particle size, bulk density, specific gravity, water

absorption to ascertain its suitability as an aggregate in the cement

concrete mix. A bag of Bharthi Cement was purchased from a local vendor

near Mukkom and the quality was assured by means of the tests to

determine the Fineness, Consistency, Initial Setting time, Final Setting

time and Compressive Strength. Coir pith was used as a 100%

replacement of fine aggregate and several mix designs were prepared for

an optimised water cement ratio for sufficient workability.

Cubes of mix proportions 1:1, 1:2, 1:2.5, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5 were casted using avibrating machine and tested for 3,7,28 days compressive strength. We

casted sample coir pith cement concrete composite blocks of varying mix

ratios using a block making machinery using Bharthi and Ramco cements.

These blocks were taken back to the lab and tested for compressive

strength for3, 7, 14 days. After yielding satisfactory results with the 1:5

mix ratio, we proceeded to make 1200 blocks of the same for making a

prototype of the arrester bed .Finally the cubes were casted and stacked

near the Architecture Department Building for a preliminary field test.

SCHEDULE FOR THE EXECUTION OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT



11

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

25 26

Beginning of

project

27

Literature

Review

28

Literature

Review

29

Literature

Review

30

Literature

Review

Purchase of

cement

31

Literature

Review

1 JUNELiterature

Review

2Testing of

cement

3Testing of

coir pith

4Testing of sand

5Casting of

cement

mortar

cubes of

3,7,28 days

compressive

strength

(15)

6Curing starts

7

8 9

Testing of 3

day

compressive

strength of

cement

mortar cubes

10 11 12 13

Testing of 7

day

compressive

strength of

cement

mortar cubes

14

15 16 17 18

Cast

1:1,1:2,1:3,1:4,

1:5 (7

days)(15), (28

days)(15)

19

Cast

1:1,1:2,1:3,

1:4,1:5 (3

days)(15),

20

Curing

21

22 233 day testing

of coir pith

cement

cubes

24 25 261)7 day

testing of

coir pith

cement

cubes

2) Sample

Casting of

Coir pith

concrete

blocks

27 28



12

29 30

Test 3 day

compressive

strength of

composite

blocks

1 JULY

Cast coir pith

concrete

cubes (7

days

compressive

strength)

2

Cast coir pith

concrete

cubes( 28 days

compressive

strength)

Curing

3

1)Cast coir

pith

concrete

cubes (3

days

compressive

strength)

Curing

2)Test 7 day

compressive

strength of

composite

blocks

4

Testing of 28

days

compressive

strength of

cement

mortar cubes

5

6 7

Testing of 3

daycompressive

strength of

coir pith

concrete

blocks

8 9

Testing of 7

days ccompressive

strength of

coir pith

concrete

blocks

10 11

Test 14 day

compressivestrength of

composite

blocks

12

13 14 15 16 17

Testing of

coir pith

cement

cubes(28

days)

18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28

Test 28 day

compressive

strength of

composite

blocks

29 30 31

Testing of

28 days

compressive

strength of

coir pith

concrete

cubes

1 AUGUST 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13Completion of

Project

14 15 16



13

TEST DATA AND DISCUSSIONS

TESTS ON FINE AGGREGATE: SAND

Specific Gravity of sand (IS 2386 Part III, 1963)

Weight of saturated surface dry sample 547 g

Weight of pycnometer filled with water 1544 g

Weight of pycnometer filled with water and soil sample 1867 g

Weight of oven dried of sample 486 g

Specific Gravity 2.169

Water absorption 12.55%

Table1

Sieve Analysis (IS 2386 Part I, 1963)

Procedure: 500 g of saturated surface dry sample was passed through sieves of

sizes of 4.75 mm, 2.36 mm, 1.18 mm, 600µ, 300µ, 150µ, 75µ respectively.

Sieve size

opening

Weight

retained

Percentage

weight

retained

Cumulative

percentage

weight

retained

Percentage

finer passing

4.75 mm 0 0 0 100

2.36 mm 13 2.6 2.6 97.4

1.18 mm 100 20 2.6 77.4

600 µ 115 23 45.6 54.4

300µ 180 36 81.6 18.4

150 µ 8 16 97.6 2.4

75 µ 7 1.4 99 1

Residue 5

Fineness modulus 3.49



14

Average particle size .54 mm

Effective size .22 mm

Uniformity coefficient 2.9

Zone of gradation II

Table2

Bulk density (IS 2386 Part III, 1963)

Weight of container 1.714 kg

Weight of container filled with water 3.360 kg

Weight of container filled with tampered sand 4.419 kg

Weight of container filled with loose sand 4.231 kg

Weight of container filled with loose sand and water 4.843 kg

Bulk density 1.643

Loose density 1.529

Percentage Voids 37.18%

Table3

TESTS ON FINE AGGREGATE: COIR PITH

Specific Gravity of sand (IS 2386 Part III, 1963)

Weight of saturated surface dry sample 50 g

Weight of pycnometer filled with water 1538 g

Weight of pycnometer filled with water and coir pith sample 1544 g

Weight of oven dried of sample 13 g

Specific Gravity .259

Water absorption 284.61%

Table4

Sieve Analysis (IS 2386 Part I, 1963)

Procedure: 500 g of saturated surface dry sample was passed through sieves of

sizes of 4.75 mm, 2.36 mm, 1.18 mm, 600µ, 300µ, 150µ, 75µ respectively.



15

Sieve size

opening

Weight

retained

Percentage

weight

retained

Cumulative

percentage

weight

retained

Percentage

finer passing

4.75 mm 0 0 0 1002.36 mm 2 2 2 98

1.18 mm 21 21 23 77

600 µ 23 22 46 54

300µ 32 32 78 22

150 µ 20 20 98 2

75 µ 2 2 100 0

Residue 0 0

Table5

Bulk density (IS 2386 Part III, 1963)

Weight of container 1.714 kg

Weight of container filled with water 3.360 kg

Weight of container filled with tampered sand 2.230 kg

Weight of container filled with loose sand 2.058 kg

Weight of container filled with loose sand and water 3.138 kg

Bulk density 0.313

Loose density 0.2089

Percentage Voids 65.613%

Table6

Fineness modulus 3.47

Average sieve size 0.52 mm

Effective size 0.23 mm

Uniformity coefficient 3.043

Zone of gradation III



16

TESTS ON CEMENT

OPC 53 Grade (BHARTHI CEMENT) (IS 12269, 1987)

Parameters IS Codes Recommended

Values

Experimental

Values

Fineness IS 4031 Part I, 1996 < 10 6

Consistency IS 4031 Part IV, 1988 26-32% 27%

Initial Setting Time IS 4031 Part V, 1988 >30 minutes 45 minutes

Final Setting Time IS 4031 Part V, 1988 <600 minutes 425 minutes

3 day Compressive

Strength

IS 4031 Part VI, 1988 27 MPa 25.8 MPa

7 day Compressive

Strength

IS 4031 Part VI, 1988 37 MPa 35.4 MPa

28 day Compressive

Strength

IS 4031 Part VI, 1988 53 MPa 50.7 MPa

Table7

Specific Gravity .69

Density .313



17

X -> The samples were either broken or damaged during curing and hence no results Table8

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH COIR PITH CEMENT CUBES

Mix Ratio by Volume (1

cm3 of cement :X cm3 of

coir pith)

Curing Period

in days

w/c Mix Ratio by Weight (1

gm of cement: X gm of

coir pith)

Density

(g/cc)

Compressive

Strength (N/mm2)

1:1 3 0.43 1:0.26 1.609 5.29

1:1 3 0.37 1:0.26 1.632 8.041:1 3 0.37 1:0.26 1.567 3.47

1:1 7 0.40 1:0.26 1.609 2.90

1:1 7 0.40 1:0.26 1.632 2.90

1:1 7 0.40 1:0.26 1.567 2.90

1:2 3 0.50 1:0.37 1.372 1.76

1:2 3 0.50 1:0.37 1.400 1.96

1:2 3 0.50 1:0.37 1.415 2.35

1:2 7 0.50 1:0.37 1.523 2.94

1:2 7 0.50 1:0.37 1.457 3.53

1:2 7 0.50 1:0.37 1.509 2.64

1:3 3 0.71 1:0.60 1.200 0.39

1:3 3 0.71 1:0.60 1.202 0.591:3 3 0.71 1:0.60 x x

1:4 3 1.00 1:0.92 1.240 0.39

1:4 3 1.00 1:0.92 x x

1:4 3 1.00 1:0.92 x x



18

3 DAY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF COIR PITH CEMENT COMPOSITES

Mix ratio Samplel

(mm)

b

(mm)

h

(mm)

Area

(mm2)

Compressive

Strength

(N/mm2)

Weight

(kg)

Load

(tonnes)

Volume

(m3)

Density

(g/cm3)

Average

compressive

Strength

(N/mm2)

Average

Density

(g/cc)

1:5 A 350 190 100 66500 1.150 7.46 7.8 0.006650 1.122

1.077 1.1181:5 B 351 194 102 68094 1.060 7.576 7.4 0.006946 1.091

1:5 C 353 190 102 67070 1.020 7.805 7.0 0.006841 1.141

1:3 A 354 190 102 67260 2.200 8.425 15.1 0.006861 1.228

2.777 1.2741:3 B 356 190 102 67640 3.550 8.9 24.5 0.006899 1.290

1:3 C 354 189 102 66906 2.580 8.905 17.6 0.006824 1.305

1:2.5 A 353 190 102 67070 1.750 8.29 12.0 0.006841 1.212

2.720 1.2981:2.5 B 350 190 98 66500 3.245 9.11 22.0 0.006517 1.398

1:2.5 C 356 195 102 69420 3.165 9.1 22.4 0.007081 1.285

1:2 A 350 189 98 66150 4.122 9.45 27.8 0.006483 1.458

4.312 1.4681:2 B 356 190 102 67640 3.973 9.74 27.4 0.006899 1.412

1:2 C 353 190 102 67070 4.840 10.49 33.1 0.006841 1.533

Table9



19

Table10


Mix ratio Samplel

(mm)

b

(mm)

h

(mm)

Area

(mm2)

Compressive

strength

(N/mm2)

Weight

(kg)

Load

(tonnes)

Volume

(m3)

Density

(g/cm3)

Average

compressive

Strength

(N/mm2)

Average

Density

(g/cc)

1:5 A 350 197 100 68950 0.797 7.55 5.6 0.006895 1.095

0.767 1.0731:5 B 352 195 100 68640 0.715 7.1 5 0.006864 1.034

1:5 C 350 195 99 68250 0.791 7.355 5.5 0.006757 1.089

1:3 A 350 194 100 67900 2.109 8.9 14.6 0.006790 1.311

2.026 1.3041:3 B 350 193 94 67550 0.000 8.24 0 0.006350 1.298

1:3 C 355 192 100 68160 1.943 8.885 13.5 0.006816 1.304

1:2.5 A 350 195 97 68250 1.797 8.455 12.5 0.006620 1.277

2.625 1.2801:2.5 B 350 193 100 67550 0.000 8.35 0 0.006755 1.236

1:2.5 C 357 195 100 69615 3.452 9.24 24.5 0.006962 1.327

1:2 A 352 195 100 68640 5.574 10.375 39 0.006864 1.512

5.143 1.4561:2 B 357 194 105 69258 0.000 10.43 0 0.007272 1.434

1:2 C 357 193 105 68901 4.713 10.285 33.1 0.007235 1.422



20


Mix ratio Samplel

(mm)

b

(mm)

h

(mm)

Area

(mm2)

Compressive

Strength

( N/mm2)

Weight

(kg)

Load

(tonnes)

Volume

(m3)

Density

(g/cm3)

Average

compressive

Strength

(N/mm2)

Average

Density

(g/cc)

1:5 A 355 194 100 68870 0.641 6.000 4.5 0.006887 0.871

0.728 0.991:5 B 355 192 100 68160 0.864 7.236 6.0 0.006816 1.062

1:5 C 350 194 99 67900 0.679 6.965 4.7 0.006722 1.036

1:3 A 349 194 99 67706 2.579 7.750 17.8 0.006703 1.156

2.608 1.1881:3 B 359 194 100 69646 2.831 8.655 20.1 0.006965 1.243

1:3 C 358 193 100 69094 2.414 8.060 17.0 0.006909 1.167

1:2.5 A 358 196 100 70168 2.656 8.685 19.0 0.007017 1.238

3.31 1.3131:2.5 B 357 195 102 69615 3.946 9.230 28.0 0.007101 1.300

1:2.5 C 349 190 98 66310 3.329 9.100 22.5 0.006498 1.400

1:2 A 350 192 100 67200 7.445 10.420 51.0 0.006720 1.551

6.252 1.4961:2 B 350 195 99 68250 7.474 10.060 52.0 0.006757 1.489

1:2 C 350 190 99 66500 3.835 9.540 26.0 0.006584 1.449

Table11



Figure3

0.767

2.06

2.624

5.143

y = 10.927x - 11.326

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6

C O M P R E S S

I V E S T R E N G T H ( N / m m 2 )

DENSITY (g/cc)

7 DAY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH VS DENSITY

1.076

2.776

2.72

4.311

y = 9.1822x - 9.1192

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 C O M P R E S S I V E S T R E N G T H ( N / m m 2 )

DENSITY (g/cc)


0.727

2.607

3.3102

6.251

y = 10.573x - 9.9576

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6

C O M P R E S S I V E S T R E N G T H ( N / m m 2 )

DENSITY (g/cc)




22

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The plan of the profile of the prototype arrester bed was prepared andthe preliminary field test will be conducted by the end of August 2014.

We developed a crushable arrester bed that might solve the problem of

overshooting incidents in the future using coir pith cement composite

concrete blocks. If engineered properly this “Magic Material” could

answer the demand of the construction sector also. The quality of the

product will be affected by the environmental conditions and the results

obtained may be different based on the seasonal variations.

We suggest the following recommendations for further research in this

realm of study which was beyond the scope of our project.

For Mix Design

Use of an appropriate filler material like fly ash or silica dust and

chemical admixtures for performance enhancement

Addition of fine grained sand or powdered glass to increase the

brittleness of the concrete

For block manufacturing

The machine should be upgraded to manufacture blocks of larger

dimensions using minimum labour in less time.

For durability

Suitable surface coating material to prevent fungal growth and to

make it water tight.

Ensure that the product is resistant to fire attack, dampness and

shrinkage effects.



23

For Field Testing

Development of a mathematical model to represent the

tire/material interface.

Prediction of stopping distance within the arrestor bed

Verification of the mathematical model by field testing

Demonstration full scale arrest of an airplane with maximum speed



24

REFERENCE

1) “Development of a Soft Ground Arrester System”- Sreeram C

Marisetty etal ; MBTC-2089 ;p4-27;(2008)

2)

“Mangalore Airport Disaster:158 Dead “- The Hindu

Newspaper;p1;22 May 2010

3) IS Codes

project report version i

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