RHEOLOGY OF CONCRETE CONTAINING RICE HUSK ASH

Abstract

The management of solid wastes of a lot of waste materials or the byproducts has become a serious environment related issue, many of these wastes are of either industrial or agricultural origin. Rice husk ash is one of these byproducts. Rice husk ash obtained from the combustion of rice husks obtained as a waste from paddy fields, produces reactive form of silica i.e. amorphous silica, the content of which varies from 85 to 95% if burned under proper burning condition. The pozzolanic character of rice husk ash due to high concentration of amorphous silica makes it a potential alternative to be used as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) for the utilization in cement based industries. Rice husk ash can also be used in making self- compacting concrete. In this report, the work done on the physical, chemical properties, SEM and XRD analysis of rice husk ash, and effect of rice husk ash on fresh properties of self- compacting concrete is presented. On account of its pozzolanic character, rice husk ash significantly influences the properties of Self- Compacting concrete. Blending of 10–15% RHA as a partial replacement of cement enhances strength and durability properties of SCC but there is a negative effect on fresh properties. In this paper, the extent by which the fresh properties are affected and the effect on the amount of external agents, water reducing admixtures for example, required to compensate for the reduction in fresh properties is assessed. Research on the incorporation of rice husk ash in SCC, will not only make it a suitable Supplementary cementitious material , but will also reduce the cost of land-filling and will also provide a cleaner and sustainable environmental alternative in saving energy and reducing the CO2 generation caused by cement consumption