CoRncrete: A corn starch based building material

Y. Kulshreshtha, E. Schlangen*, H. M. Jonkers, P. J. Vardon, L. A. van Paassen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)
1506 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Starch is a natural polymer which is commonly used as a cooking ingredient. The renewability and bio-degradability of starch has made it an interesting material for industrial applications, such as production of bioplastic. This paper introduces the application of corn starch in the production of a novel construction material, named CoRncrete. CoRncrete is formed by mixing corn starch with sand and water. The mixture appears to be self-compacting when wet. The mixture is poured in a mould and then heated in a microwave or an oven. This heating causes a gelatinisation process which results in a hardened material having compressive strength up to 26 MPa. The factors affecting the strength of hardened CoRncrete such as water content, sand aggregate size and heating procedure have been studied. The degradation and sustainability aspects of CoRncrete are elucidated and limitations in the potential application of this material are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)411-423
Number of pages13
JournalConstruction and Building Materials
Volume154
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2017

Keywords

  • Biopolymer
  • Compressive strength
  • Construction material
  • Corn starch
  • Gelatinisation

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