Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

An introduction of Rice Husk Ash:

RHA, produced after burning of Rice husks (RH) has high reactivity and pozzolanic property.
Indian Standard code of practice for plain and reinforced concrete, IS 456- 2000, recommends
use of RHA in concrete but does not specify quantities. Chemical compositions of RHA are
affected due to burning process and temperature. Silica content in the ash increases with higher
the burning temperature. As per study by Houston, D. F. (1972) RHA produced by burning rice
husk between 600 and 700°C temperatures for 2 hours, contains 90-95% SiO 2, 1-3% K2O and <
5% unburnt carbon. Under controlled burning condition in industrial furnace, conducted by
Mehta, P. K. (1992), RHA contains silica in amorphous and highly cellular form, with 50-1000
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m /g surface area. So use of RHA with cement improves workability and stability, reduces heat
evolution, thermal cracking and plastic shrinkage. This increases strength development,
impermeability and durability by strengthening transition zone, modifying the pore-structure,
blocking the large voids in the hydrated cement paste through pozzolanic reaction. RHA
minimizes alkali-aggregate reaction, reduces expansion, refines pore structure and hinders
diffusion of alkali ions to the surface of aggregate by micro porousstructure.

Portland cement contains 60 to 65% CaO and, upon hydration, a considerable portion of lime is
released as free Ca (OH)2, which is primarily responsible for the poor performance of Portland
cement concretes in acidic environments. Silica present in the RHA combines with the calcium
hydroxide and results excellent resistance of the material to acidic environments. RHA replacing
10% Portland cement resists chloride penetration, improves capillary suction and accelerated
chloridediffusivity.

Pozzolanic reaction of RHA consumes Ca (OH)2 present in a hydrated Portland cement paste,
reduces susceptible to acid attack and improves resistance to chloride penetration. This reduces
large pores and porosity resulting very low permeability. The pozzolanic and cementitious
reaction associated with RHA reduces the free lime present in the cement paste, decreases the
permeability of the system, improves overall resistance to CO 2 attack and enhances resistance to
corrosion of steel in concrete. Highly micro porous structure RHA mixed concrete provides
escape paths for the freezing water inside the concrete, relieving internal stresses,
reducing micro cracking and improving freeze-thaw resistance.

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

Physical properties of rice husk:

Chemical composition of rice husk ash:

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

Burning Process of Rice Husk

As mentioned above the quality of rice husk is greatly dependent upon the type of burning
process undergone. Different types of burning are carried out, which are mentioned below:

a) Open – Field Burning

This method of open burning of rice husk ash produces poor quality rice husk ashes. These
produces highly crystalline form structure which is of lower reactivity.

b) Fluidized -Bed Furnace Burning

This is a controlled method of burning the rice husk. The combustion heat of rice husk is used for
the generation of electricity.

The controlled operation is carried out by maintaining the time -temperature parameter. A
combustion temperature between 500 to 700 degrees Celsius. This is carried out for a longer time
so that complete removal of the carbon is taken. Or the temperature is increased from 700 to 800
degree Celsius for a time of 1 minute.

The fluidized bed furnace method produced rice husk ashes have 80 – 95% of silicon dioxide, 1-
2% of K2O and 3-18% of unburned carbon. The rice husk ash produced by this method have a
higher cellular structure.

c) Industrial Furnace

This method is put forward to facilitate environmental and economic reasons.

The efficiency of combustion would bring up a silica dioxide in the range of 90 – 95%.

This method helps in producing the rice husk ashes with amorphous silica and cellular structure
products in an easier way. The rice husk ash produced by this method is highly pozzolanic.

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

Variation of Properties of Concrete with Rice Husk

The incorporation of rice husk ash in concrete converts it into an eco-friendly supplementary
cementitious material.

The following properties of the concrete are altered with the addition of rice husk:

 The heat of hydration is reduced. This itself help in drying shrinkage and facilitate
durability of the concrete mix.
 The reduction in the permeability of concrete structure. This will help in penetration of
chloride ions, thus avoiding the disintegration of the concrete structure.
 There is a higher increase in the chloride and sulfate attack resistance

The rice husk ashes in the concrete react with the calcium hydroxide to bring more hydration
products. The consumption of calcium hydroxide will enable lesser reactivity of chemicals from
the external environment.

Workability of Rice Husk Ash Concrete

A small addition of RHA (lesser than two to three by weight of the cement), to a given water
cement ratio, is sufficient and helpful to improve the stability as well as the workability. This
would no lead to any bleeding or segregation problems. This property is gained by the rice husk
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ash due to its large surface area- in the range of 50 to 60m /g.

The addition of rice husk ash in larger amount will result in the dry mixture, due to higher water
demanded by the larger surface area. This can be compromised by the incorporation of Super
plasticizers or any adequate admixtures. This is explained in figure-1.

Fig.1: Flow spread as per the flow table test conducted on mortar with varying water cement
ratio and rice husk ash content. (As per Hwang and Wu)

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

As mentioned before, the surface texture and area of rice husk ash have higher adsorbing
character that will ask for more water, to maintain a given consistency. From the figure-1, it can
be seen that at a particular water cement ratio value, the workability tends to increase. The
addition of sand has the influence in reducing the overall spread of the concrete.

By maintaining a given consistency, and reducing the demand for water, will help in improving
the overall engineering properties of the mix. How granular the cement, the coarse and the fine
aggregates are, will influence a number of voids that would be present in the fresh as well as
later stages of the concrete.

This granulometric characteristic is a great factor influencing the presence or absence of the
voids in the concrete. By the addition of any mineral admixture that has a size in the range of 20
micrometers will facilitate the mix, in decreasing the voids present in overall. This mineral
admixture helps to supplement the cement grains. This would finally bring up a mix, That
demands lesser water to have the required consistency.

The densification of a mixture of rice husk ash concrete helps in improving the workability. This
method makes use of cement and the rice husk ash to fill up the pores, with the help of water.
This is undergone within the compacted aggregates.

The density of concrete made by this method is higher when compared to concrete made of the
conventional mix, that makes use of more cement. This helps to control the slump to 250
±20mm, that reflects excellent rheological properties.

Setting Time of Rice Husk Ash Concrete

Fig.2: The variation of setting time with the variation of rice husk ash amount in concrete

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

The rice husk ash will result in the decrease of setting time. This is justified by the reason higher
water absorbing demand and larger surface area. This property promotes faster reaction to occur.
The rigid silica cellular skeleton structure of the rice husk ash is also a reason behind the
reduction of setting time.

If the water cement ratio is high, there is no appreciable contact between the silica structure and
the open matrix, which would slow down the setting time. This will not help in strength gaining
at the early stages of the concrete.

Effect of Air Entrainment on Rice Husk Ash Concrete

Zhang and Malhotra (1996) studied the effect of air entraining admixture in the concrete that is
replaced with rice husk ash. They concluded that with the increase in replacement percentage of
rice husk ash, the air entrainment admixture amount also increases.

This is justified due to the increasing surface area of rice husk ash that they demand more
admixture. The results were obtained for rice husk ash replacement under 0, 5, 8, 10 and 15%
replacement values, as shown in figure-3.

Fig.3: Graph representing the variation of air-entraining admixture (AHA), with the rice husk ash
content in percentage.

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

Effect of Admixtures on Rice Husk Ash Concrete

The variation of water consistency with the varying quantity of admixtures in the rice husk ash
concrete is shown in table-1. The values mentioned in table 1, is based on the results obtained by
Singh et.al (2002).

The effect of lignosulfonate (LS) (A mixture of Superplasticizer) and calcium chloride (CaCl2 –
An accelerator) on the pozzolanic reaction, setting time and the consistency of concrete made of
rice husk ash was examined.

Table.1: Variation of water consistency with the varying quantity of admixtures in the rice
husk ash concrete

From the table, it is clear that the 1% of LS and 2% of calcium chloride could bring a higher
reduction in the water demand in the mix given.

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

Tests performed on rice husk ash concrete:

1.Compressive strength

The improvement of compressive strength from a period of 7 days to 28 days for mixes with
varying percentages of RHA is presented in table. The percentage increase in compressive
strength from control specimen to specimens with varying percentages of RHA is reported in
Table. The table indicates that the 28 days strength increases from 27.52 MPa to 28.34 MPa with
incorporation of 20%RHA. This 8.51% enhancement of compressive strength of concrete with
RHA was attributed to the increase in pozzolanic action when RHA was added In concrete.
However, for other variations in RHA, there was a reduction in compressive strength of concrete
after a curing period of 28 days.

FIG:- Compressive Strength of RHA.

Fig:- Graphical comparison of compressive strength of RHA at 0% &20%

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

Slump test:-
The slump test is a means of assessing the consistency of fresh concrete. It is used, indirectly, as
a means of checking that the correct amount of water has been added to the mix. The test is
carried out in accordance with BS EN 12350-2, Testing fresh concrete Slump test.
The steel slump cone is placed on a solid, impermeable, level base and filled with the fresh
concrete in three equal layers. Each layer is rodded 25 times to ensure compaction. The third
layer is finished off level with the top of the cone. The cone is carefully lifted up, leaving a heap
of concrete that settles or „slumps‟ slightly. The upturned slump cone is placed on the base to act
as a reference, and the difference in level between its top and the top of the concrete is measured
and recorded to the nearest 5 mm to give the slump of the concrete.

FIG. :- Workability

FIG.:- Slump Test

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

Advantages :-
 Improves compressive strength, flexural strengths and split tensile
strength.

RHA mixed concrete shows better bond strength as compared to OPC concrete.

Permeability of concrete decreases.


RHA makes a role to increased resistance to chemical.

Disadvantages:-

• Suitable furnace as well as grinding method is required for burning and grinding rice
husk in order to obtain good quality ash.

• Strength of concrete is reduced for larger (beyond 30%) replacement.

• There is a little transportation problem.

• Un-burnt RHA is not suitable for concrete production.

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

CONCLUSION

At all the cement replacement levels of Rice husk ash, the rate of development of
compressive strength up to 28 days is slower as compared with that of concrete in which
RHA content is zero, while the rate of development of strength gradually increases after
28 days up to 56 days in case of RHA mixed concrete.
The compressive strength of concrete having 10% replacement was found to be more
than the other levels of replacements. (i.e. 0%, 5%, & 15%).
The study shows that the compressive strength of concrete is optimal by replacing OPC
by 10% of PFA with RHA keeping total binder content same.
For the desired workability and strength, the water content required in case of RHA
mixed concrete was more than in normal concrete. This is because RHA is finer than
cement & the fact is that RHA particles being finer it has more surface area and hence
water required is comparatively more.

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 Partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash

REFERENCES
.
[1] OBILADE (2014) “USE OF RICE HUSK ASH AS PARTIAL REPLACEMENT
FOR CEMENT IN CONCRETE” Sept. 2014. Vol. 5. No. 04 ISSN2305-8269.
[2] S. D. Nagrale , Dr. Hemant Hajare and Pankaj R. Modak (2012) IJER “Utilization Of
Rice Husk Ash” Vol. 2, Issue 4, July-August 2012, pp.001-005.
[3] Mauro M. Tashima , Carlos A. R. da Silva , Jorge L. Akasaki and Michele Beniti
Barbosa “THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDING THE RICE HUSK ASH (RHA) TO THE
CONCRETE”.
[4] Makarand Suresh Kulkarni, Paresh GovindMirgal, Prajyot Prakash Bodhale and S.N.
Tande(2014) JCEET “Effect of Rice Husk Ash on Properties of Concrete” e ISSN: 2349-
879X; Volume 1, Number 1; August, 2014 pp. 26-29.
[5] INDIAN CONCRETE JOURNEL (ICJ) - July September 2002, pp.37-38.
[6] AMBUJA TECHNICAL LITERATURE SERIES – Book no. 89

International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 12,

December-2015 ISSN 2229-5518 .

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