Assessment of mix proportions for developing lightweight cementitious composites with wood wastes

The main objective of this work was to assess mix proportions for developing lightweight cementitious composites, manufactured with Eucalyptus grandis sawdust. Different wood:cement, water:cement and admixture:cement ratios were used to evaluate physical (water absorption, void ratio and density) and mechanical (compressive strength, static and dynamic modulus of elasticity) properties of the cement-wood composites. Results shows that, bulk density is directly proportional to the compressive strength and elastic modulus, and inversely proportional to the percentage of timber, considering composites with same water:cement ratio, without superplasticizer. The performance of the cement-wood composites, regarding mechanical properties, can be improved if superplasticizer is used to increase paste fluidity. Higher values of bulk density are related to lower void ratio and water absorption and higher compressive strength and modulus of elasticity.