Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 5

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF GRADE 40 CONCRETE INCORPORATING RICE HUSK ASH (RHA)

G. A. HABEEB* MEngSc Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Malaysia. H. B. MAHMUD Professor, Dept of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Malaysia. *Corresponding author Email: civilgx@gmail.com ABSTRACT: This paper reports an investigation on the behaviour of concrete produced from blending ASTM type I cement with RHA. The properties of fresh concrete and the effect of replacing 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of cement with RHA on the compressive strength were investigated. The optimum mix was chosen for further investigation on the mechanical properties, selection of the optimum mix was based on the maximum level of cement replacement that gives a comparable strength to that of the control mix. Incorporation of RHA in concrete resulted in increased water demand, for the hardened properties, RHA concrete gave excellent improvement in strength for 10% replacement, and up to 20% of cement could be valuably replaced with RHA without adversely affecting the strength. Inclusion of RHA provided similar or enhanced mechanical properties when compared to the control OPC mix. Keywords: rice husk ash; workability; compressive strength; mechanical properties 1. INTRODUCTION From 1880 to 1996, the worlds annual consumption of Portland cement rose from 2 million tons to 1.3 billion tons. This is associated with major environmental issues which include: i) cement manufacturing is the third largest CO2 producer and this accounts for over 50% of all industrial CO2 emissions (for every ton of cement produced, 1.25 ton of CO2 is released to the air); and ii) 1600 ton of natural resources are consumed to produce 1 ton of cement [1]. This calls for the use of sustainable binders. One of the most promising materials is rice husk ash (RHA). Rice husk is an agricultural residue from the rice milling process, see Figure 1. According to the United Nations FAO [2], the annual world rice production for 2007 was estimated at 650 million tons, the husk constitutes approximately 20 % of it. The chemical composition of rice husk vary due to the differences in the type of paddy, type of fertilizer used, crop year, climate and geographical conditions [3]. Burning the husk under controlled temperature below 800C can produce ash with silica mainly in amorphous form [3-5]. A state-of-the-art report on rice husk ash (RHA) was published by Mehta [6] and contains a review of the physical and chemical characteristics of RHA, the effect of incineration conditions on the pozzolanic properties of the ash, and a summary of the research findings from several countries on the use of RHA as a supplementary cementing pozzolanic material. ASTM defines pozzolan as a siliceous or alumino-siliceous

material that in itself possesses little or no cementitious value but in finely divided form and in the presence of moisture will chemically react with alkali and alkaline earth hydroxides at ordinary temperatures to form or assist in forming compounds possessing cementitious properties [7].

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 1: (a) The rice husk, (b) burnt RHA, and (c) RHA after grinding

2. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM The work presented in this paper reports an investigation on the behaviour of concrete produced from blending ASTM Type I cement with RHA. The physical and chemical properties of RHA were first investigated and compared to OPC and silica fume. Mix proportioning was performed to produce high workability RHA mixes (200-240 mm slump) with target strength of 40 MPa. The properties of fresh

International Joint Conference: 7th APSEC (Asia Pacific Structural Engineering and Construction Conference) & 2nd EACEF (European Asian Civil Engineering Forum). Langkawi, Malaysia. 2009

concrete investigated were workability and fresh density. The effect of replacing 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, and 20 % of cement with RHA on the compressive strength was also investigated. The optimum RHA mix was then chosen to study the mechanical properties such as compressive strength, tensile splitting strength, modulus of rupture and static and dynamic modulus of elasticity. Results of these tests were compared to the control OPC mix. The criterion of choosing the optimum mix was based on the maximum level of cement replacement that gives a comparable strength to that of the control mixture. 2.1 Materials 2.1.1 Cement An ASTM type I cement was used; its physical and chemical properties are given in Table 1.
Table 1: Physical and chemical properties of RHA, SF and cement Fig. 2: The X-Ray spectrum

Material SiO2 (%) Al2O3 (%) Fe2O3 (%) CaO (%) MgO (%) Na2O3 (%) K2O (%) LOI (%) Specific Gravity Fineness (Blaine) (m2/kg) Fineness (BET) (m2/g)

OPC 20.99 6.19 3.86 65.96 0.22 0.17 0.6 1.73 2.94 351.4 -

RHA 88.32 0.46 0.67 0.67 0.44 0.12 2.91 5.81 2.11 27.4

SF 92.06 0.48 2.11 0.4 0.6 0.2 1.2 2.54 2.18 25.2

Fig. 3: RHA particle shown by electron microscope.

The physical and chemical properties of RHA, SF and cement are shown in Table 1. The chemical composition of the RHA and SF was determined using the XRF (X-ray fluorescence spectrometry). 2.1.3 Aggregates The fine aggregate used was mining sand passing the 4.75 mm sieve. The coarse aggregate was crushed granite with size ranging from 19-4.75 mm. The properties of the aggregates are shown in Table 2. 2.1.4 Chemical Admixture To maintain high workability of the concrete mixes of 200 240 mm slump, an ASTM C494 type-A high range water-reducing admixture was used. The R1000 superplasticizer was dark brown, water-soluble, chloride free sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde, having 40% solid content with specific gravity of 1.2. 2.2 Mixture Proportioning Mixture proportioning was done according to the DOE mix design method [9]. The target mean strength for the OPC control mixture was 40 MPa, the total binder content was 391 kg/m3, fine to coarse aggregate

2.1.2 Rice Husk Ash The rice husk ash used in this work was made in the laboratory by burning the husk in a ferro-cement furnace [8], with incinerating temperature not acceding 700C. The ash was then ground using a Los Angeles mill for 180 minutes. XRD analysis was performed to determine the silica form of the produced RHA powder samples using an X-ray diffractometer with CuK radiation at 40 kV/20 mA, CPS= 1 k, width 2.5, speed 2/min and scanning from 2 = 3-70. The result showed that the ash was mainly in amorphous form (Figure 2). The specific surface area of the RHA and silica fume (SF) was measured using the BET nitrogen adsorption test. The results showed that RHA had higher surface area than SF due to RHAs multilayered and microporous surface (Figure 3).

International Joint Conference: 7th APSEC (Asia Pacific Structural Engineering and Construction Conference) & 2nd EACEF (European Asian Civil Engineering Forum). Langkawi, Malaysia. 2009

Table 2: Aggregates Properties

Properties App. Specific gravity Water Absorption%

Fine Aggregate 2.61 0.76 Sieve size mm 4.750 2.360 1.180 0.600 0.300 0.150 0.075 Pan Cumulative retained% 0.00 16.91 35.31 58.12 81.39 93.10 97.18 100.00

Coarse Aggregate 2.65 0.50 Sieve size mm 19.00 13.20 9.50 4.75 Cumulative retained % 0.00 43.80 68.69 100.00 -

Size

Table 3: Mixture Proportioning of Control and RHA Concrete Mixes

Mix CM 05RHA 10RHA 15RHA 20RHA

w/b ratio 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53

Sp (% of binder) 0.63 1.12 1.35 1.60 1.83

Water (ltr) 207 207 207 207 207

Cement (kg) 391 371 352 332 313

RHA (kg) 0 20 39 59 78

F Agg. (kg) 750 750 750 750 750

C Agg. (kg) 994 994 994 994 994

content ratio was 75.4%. The water to binder ratio was kept constant at 0.53 and the superplasticizer content was varied to maintain a slump of 200-240 mm for all the mixes. The total mixing time was five minutes, the samples were then levelled and left for 24 hours before demoulding. They were then placed in the curing tank until the day of testing. Details of the mix proportion of the concrete mixes are presented in Table 3. In Phase I of the study the effect of replacing 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, and 20 % of cement with RHA on the properties of fresh concrete i.e., workability and fresh density were conducted. Then the effect on the compressive strength at the ages of 1, 3, 7, 28 days was also investigated. 100 mm cubes were cast from each mixture. Specimens were kept in the moulds for 24 hours and then placed in water for curing until the age of testing. Based on the Phase I works, the optimum mix based on the maximum level of cement replacement that gave comparable strength to that of the control mixture was chosen for further investigation. In this Phase II, the mechanical properties such as compressive strength, tensile splitting strength, modulus of rupture, static and

dynamic modulus of elasticity were conducted. Results of these tests were compared to the control OPC mix. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Phase I Investigations 3.1.1 Effect of percentage of cement replacement with RHA on workability The fresh properties of all the concrete mixtures are given in Table 4. The slumps were in the required range of 200-240 mm. Bleeding was negligible for the control and RHA mixes and no segregation was detected. The fresh density of RHA concrete was in range of 2250-2328 kg/m3, lower than the control, due to the low specific gravity of the RHA particles. The Sp content had to be increased with increasing RHA content, due to the high specific surface area of RHA which would increase the water demand [5, 10]. To maintain similar workability, Sp content had to be increased up to 1.83 % of the binder content for the 20% RHA mix.

International Joint Conference: 7th APSEC (Asia Pacific Structural Engineering and Construction Conference) & 2nd EACEF (European Asian Civil Engineering Forum). Langkawi, Malaysia. 2009

Table 4: Fresh concrete properties

Mix CM 05RHA 10RHA 15RHA 20RHA

RHA Content (%) 0 5 10 15 20

Sp (% of Binder) 0.63 1.12 1.35 1.60 1.83

Slump (mm) 230 200 210 220 220

Fresh Density (kg/m3) 2347 2328 2293 2270 2253

3.1.2 Effect of cement replacement with RHA on compressive strength The strength development of the control and RHA mixes are given in Table 5. At 28 days, strength increases for RHA concrete was noted at all replacement levels compared to the control OPC mix. Maximum strength was noted at 10% replacement level and at 20% RHA content, the strength of the concrete achieve equivalent value to that of the control. Replacement level above 20% was avoided in this study because the Sp content needed would be much higher than the permitted level by the manufacturer (maximum of 2% by weight of the cementitious materials), which can bring about an adverse retarding effect to the fresh concrete. Furthermore, the strength would decrease to a value lower than that of the control. Based on the results shown in Table 5, mix 20 RHA was chosen on the basis that it contains the optimum level of cement replacement and its strength was comparable to that of the control OPC concrete. The relation between the RHA content and strength of concrete is shown in Fig 4.

Fig 4: Effect of RHA content on compressive strength of concrete

3.2 Phase II Investigations 3.2.1 Effect of curing on compressive strength The data shown in Table 6 represent the strength of concrete up to 90 days. Two curing regimes, i.e water curing and air drying were adopted. The results showed that specimens subjected to air-drying showed slightly higher strength at early age. This may be due to the laboratory conditions, whereby the high relative humidity and temperature of ~ 90%R.H and 30 C respectively, may accelerate the hydration reaction of concrete. From 28 days onwards, the specimens cured in water had a marginally higher strength because sufficient moisture was available for the concrete to hydrate. The advantage of using RHA in blended concrete is highlighted in Table 6. Irrespective of the curing method, RHA concrete exhibited higher strength than the control, especially at later ages. This is due to the pozzolanic reaction of the RHA with lime produced from cement hydration which led to an increase in the cementing compound C-S-H, thus contributing to the higher long term strengths.
Table 6: Effect of curing on strength development of control and RHA concrete

Table 5: Strength Development for OPC and RHA concrete

Mix

RHA content 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Compressive Strength MPa 1day 19.1 17.9 19.4 18.2 17.3 3days 26.7 25.3 28.1 25.1 24.5 7days 30.2 30.0 34.3 31.3 29.8 28days 39.6 40.2 48.4 42.4 40.6 Compressive Strength (MPa)

CM 05RHA 10RHA 15RHA 20RHA

Mix RHA content (%) 7days Water Curing 28days 90 days 7days Air drying 28days 90 days

CM 0% 30.7 39.9 44.1 31.3 39.1 43.0

20RHA 20% 30.5 40.5 45.2 32.6 40.0 44.1

International Joint Conference: 7th APSEC (Asia Pacific Structural Engineering and Construction Conference) & 2nd EACEF (European Asian Civil Engineering Forum). Langkawi, Malaysia. 2009

3.2.2 Other Mechanical Properties The results of the other mechanical properties such as tensile splitting, modulus of rupture and the static and dynamic moduli are shown in Table 7. Generally, it can be seen that incorporation of RHA enhanced the mechanical properties of concrete when compared to the control. These results are in agreement with data on RHA concrete [5, 11]. As in the compressive strength results, the static and dynamic moduli of elasticity were comparable to that of the control mix, indeed marginal increases were noted. These results show that replacing cement by 20% RHA did not significantly affect the mechanical properties of concrete. The ratio of the static modulus to that of the dynamic modulus was less than unity [12, 13].
Table 7: Other mechanical properties of control and RHA concrete

compressive strength, tensile splitting, flexural strength and the static and dynamic modulus of elasticity. Enhancement in these properties can be attributed to the pozzolanic reaction of the RHA particles. REFERENCES 1. Muga, H., Betz, K., Walker. J., Pranger C., Vidor A., Development of Appropriate and Sustainable Construction Materials., Sustainable Futures Institute, May 2005 p. 17 pp. 2. FAO. World paddy production. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2008; http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/10008 20/index.html,2008. 3. Chandrasekhar S., S.K.G., Pramada P. N., Raghavan P, Review Processing, Properties And Applications of Reactive Silica From Rice HuskAn Overview. Journal of Materials Science,. 38: 2003, pp. 3159 3168. 4. Reddy, D.V., Marcelina, B. S. Marine Durability Characteristics of Rice Husk Ash-Modified Reinforced concrete. in Proc. fourth LACCET International Latin American and Caribbean Conference for Engineering and Technology. Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. 2006. 5. Zhang, M.H., Malhotra, V. M., High-Performance Concrete Incorporating Rice Husk Ash as a supplementary Cementing Materials. ACI Materials Journal, 93(6): 1996, pp. 629-636. 6. Mehta, P.K. Rice Husk AshA Unique Supplementary Cementing Material. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Advances in Concrete Technology. Athens, Greece. May 1992 7. ASTM, C 593-95: Standard Specification for Fly Ash and Other Pozzolans for Use with Lime, American Society for Testing and Materials: West Conshohocken, PA., 1995 8. Mahmud, H.B., Strength property of rice husk ash concrete, Paper presented at the CANMET/ACI International Conference on Fly Ash, Silica Fume, Slag and Natural Pozzolans in concrete.: Milwaukee, USA. 1995, p. 11. 9. Department of Environment. Design of normal concrete mixes. BRE Publication, UK, 1985, 30 pp 10. Ganesan, K., Rajagopal, K., Thangavel, K., Rice husk ash blended cement: Assessment of optimal level of replacement for strength and permeability properties of concrete. Construction and Building Materials, 22(8) 2008.: pp. 1675-1683. 11. De Sensale, G.R., Strength development of concrete with rice-husk ash. Cement & Concrete Composites,. 28 2006: pp. 158160. 12. Neville, A.M., Properties of Concrete. 4th ed.: Pearson Education Ltd. UK, 2005. 13. Mehta, P.K., Monteiro, P. J. M., Concrete: Microstructure, Properties, and Materials. 3rd ed.: McGraw-Hill. 2006.

Mix RHA content Tensile Splitting (N/mm2) Flexural (N/mm2) Static Modulus (kN/mm2) Dynamic modulus (kN/mm2) 28days 90 days 28days 90 days 28days 90 days 28days 90 days

CM 0% 2.6 2.8 4.5 4.9 29.6 30.5 38.2 40.8

20RHA 2% 2.9 3.0 4.9 5.4 30.2 31.4 41.0 42.1

CONCLUSIONS The RHA used in this study was efficient as a pozzolanic material because it contains high amorphous silica of 88.32%. Due to the high specific surface area of the RHA, the dosage of superplasticizer needed to maintain similar workability increased with increasing amount of RHA. The compressive strength of the blended concrete with RHA was highest at 10% replacement. Replacing up to 20% would not adversely affect the strength and mechanical properties. Specimens left in the air exhibited higher strength at the early age of 7 days, probably due to the high relative humidity in the laboratory (~90% R.H). From 28 days onwards, the strength of water cured samples was higher than the air dried specimens. Adding RHA to a concrete mix improved the mechanical properties of concrete with respect to

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi