IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)

e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320–334X

Utilization of Rice Husk Ash in concrete as cement replacement

Harshit Varshney
(M.Tech student, Department of civil engineering, RIT Roorkee, India)
(harshit.civil@gmail.com)

ABSTRACT: Rice husk ash (RHA) is an agricultural based pozzolanic material, generated by rice mills in huge
quantities. This paper summarizes the experimental work of concrete in which ordinary Portland cement (OPC)
cement were replaced by Rice husk ash (RHA). Partial replacement of OPC cement was carried out at 0% to 20% in
steps of 5% and compared with 0% replacement. In this work different tests were performed as slump test,
compaction factor, compression test and split tensile test to find the suitable percentage replacement of cement by
RHA. Compression and split tests were performed for 7days and 28 days of curing and result shows some variation
in both tests in every proportion. After performing tests, the results suggest that up to 15% replacement of RHA for
cement is suitable for making concrete.

Keywords- concrete; workability; compressive strength; split tensile strength

I. INTRODUCTION
Due to the wide use of concrete the cost of building materials increasing very quickly in some parts of the
world also in developing country like India so only the industries, business cooperation, government and few
individual can afford it. This rising cost can however be reduced by use of alternative building materials that are
locally available and cheap. Some industrial and agricultural waste products may be use as building material. There
are different wastes available in large quantities that have properties to make concrete. Rice husk is one of them;
Rice husk is a byproduct of agricultural waste generated in rice mills. During milling of paddy 80% weight found
out as rice and remaining 20% weight received as husk. This husk is used as fuel in industries to generate steams
and other purposes. This husk contains about 75 % organic fickle matter and the remaining 25 % of the weight of
this husk is converted into ash during the firing process, this ash is known as rice husk ash (RHA).
From the 20th century, there had been an increase in the economic consumption of mineral admixtures by
the cement and concrete industries. The increasing demand for cement and concrete is conformed to by partial
replacement of cement. Significant cost savings can result when by-products are used as a partial replacement for
the energy acute Portland cement. The use of by-products also reduces the pollution and proved as an environmental
friendly method of disposal of large quantities of waste materials that would otherwise pollute land, air and water.
Typically RHA contains 80 – 90% of amorphous silica, 1-2 % Potassium oxide (K2O) and remaining being sunburn
carbon. The RHA can be blended with ordinary Portland cement to produce concrete. In this present study, Ordinary
Portland cement was replaced by rice husk ash at different percentage to find out the suitable percentage of rice husk
ash with the help of compressive and split tensile strength.

II. APPLICATION OF RHA

RHA is a carbon neutral green product. Lots of modes are being thought of for disposing them by making
commercial use of this RHA. RHA is a good pozzolanic material and can be used in a big way to make special
concrete mixes. There is a growing demand for fine amorphous silica in the production of special cement and
concrete mixes, high performance concrete, high strength, low permeability concrete, for use in bridges, marine
environments, nuclear power plants etc.
This product can be used in a variety of applications like:
 high performance concrete
 In making green concrete
 Ceramic glaze
 Roofing shingles
 Water proofing chemicals

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IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)
e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320–334X

 Refractory
 Refractory
 specialty paints
 oil spill absorbent
 flame retardants
 insulator

III. ADVANTAGES OF RHA

 RHA provides high compressive strength to the concrete.
 RHA gives long durability to the concrete.
 It also helps in cutting down the pollution in environment.
 RHA can be used as a partial substitute for Portland cement in amorphous form and as an admixture in high
performance concretes and high strength.
 It also imposes the cost of concrete.

IV. INGREDIENTS
1. Cement:
In present work Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) from a single lot was used throughout the course of the
investigation. All the tests were carried out as per recommendations of IS: 4031-1988. Cement was
carefully stored to prevent deterioration in its properties due to contact with the moisture. The physical
properties of the cement as determined from various tests conforming to Indian Standard are listed in
Table1.

Table I. Physical and Mechanical Properties of Ordinary Portland cement

S.No. Properties Observations
1. Fineness 4%
2. Standard consistency 26 %
3. Initial setting time 37 minutes
4. Final setting time 460 minutes
5. Compressive strength (28 days) 47 MPa

2. Fine Aggregate:
The sand obtained from river beds or quarry is used as fine aggregate. The fine aggregate along with the
hydrated cement paste fill the space between the coarse aggregate. The physical properties of river sand
was done according to IS 2386-1963.
The important properties of aggregate are as follows -
a) Shape and texture
b) Size gradation
c) Moisture content
d) Specific gravity
e) Unit weight
f) Durability and absence of deleterious materials.

Table II. Physical properties of fine aggregate

S.No. Properties Observations
1 Fineness modulus 2.481
2 Specific gravity 2.626

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IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)
e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320–334X

3. Coarse Aggregate:
Aggregate occupy 70 to 80% of the volume of the concrete. Coarse aggregate is the important constituent in
concrete. The aggregate retained at 4.75 mm is considered as coarse aggregate. It can be found from original bed
rocks or crushing of boulders. Coarse aggregates are available in different shape like Irregular, Rounded, Flaky,
Angular. It should be free from dirt content and any organic impurities.

Table III. Physical properties of coarse aggregate

S.No. Properties Observations
1 Fineness modulus 3.5655
2 Specific gravity 2.6891

4. Rice husk ash

For the Present investigation, Rice husk ash was obtained from Rampur (Radico khaitan Ltd company
Shivapuram colony Rampur Utter Pradesh).

Table IV. Chemical composition of RHA

Percentage
S.No. Constituents
value
1 Fe2O3 0.54
2 K2O 0.1-2.54
3 SiO2 62.5 - 97.6
4 CaO 0.1 - 1.31
5 MgO 0.01 - 1.96
6 Na2O 0.01 - 1.58
7 P2O5 0.01 - 2.69
8 SiO3 0.1 – 1.23
9 Carbon 2.71 – 6.42

5. Water:
In this work, potable water was used for mixing and curing of concrete. The ph value of water used in
mixing and curing was in the range of 7.

V. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The test performed for testing the Compressive strength of concrete using rice husk ash. Various cubes were made
with various percentage of rice husk ash by weight of cement and tested. Five concrete cube specimens for the test is
made for each M-20 with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% rice husk ash composition. Compressive strength test is
conducted on hardened concrete as it is an easy test to perform and also most of the suitable characteristic property
of concrete. Sometimes, the compressive strength of concrete is checked using the parts of beam tested in flexure.
The cube specimen is of size 150×150×150mm.

The step by step procedure is described below-

 First of all the moulds of cast iron, thick enough to prevent deformation, is used to prepare the specimen of
size 150×150×150mm.
 During the time of placing of concrete in the moulds it is compacted with the tamping rod with not less
than 25 strokes per layer.
 Then these moulds are placed on the vibrating table and are compacted until the specified condition is
attained.
 The test specimens are stored in dry place free from vibration and at a temperature of 27degree +_2degree
C for 24 hrs from the addition of water to the dry ingredients.

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IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)
e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320–334X

 After 24 hrs period, the specimen are submerged in water for curing and kept there until taken out just
prior to test. The specimens should not to be allowed to become dry at any time until they have been
tested.
 The cube is then taken out of the curing tank and placed in the compression testing machine so to find the
Maximum load at which the concrete fails by compression.

VI. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Various tests, such as slump test, compacting factor test, compression test and split tensile strength tests
have been conducted on fresh and hardened concrete to determine the mechanical properties of concrete.
1. Results for fresh concrete
The slump test and compacting factor test was conducted on fresh concrete with different percentage of w/c
ratio as given in below tables 5 and 6.
Table V. Results for slump and compacting factor for 0% RHA
Compacting
SR.NO W/C ratio Slump(mm)
factor
1 .40 0 .81
2 .45 0 .72
3 .50 5 .73
4 .55 20 .70
5 .60 35 .69

Table VI. Results for slump and compacting factor for 5% RHA
Compacting
SR.NO W/C ratio Slump(mm)
factor
1 .40 0 .84
2 .45 0 .74
3 .50 0 .72
4 .55 10 .71
5 .60 20 .68

2. Results for hardened concrete

The compressive strength test was done on 150mm×150mm×150mm concrete cubes after the curing period
of 7 days and 28 days. Five cubes were tested for each curing period. The compressive strength of all cubes is
showing in table 7 & Fig 1 and split tensile strength showing in table 7 & Fig 2.

Table VII. Results for compressive strength of hardened concrete

Compressive strength at Compressive strength at
SR.NO RHA percentage
7 days (MPa) 28 days (MPa)
1 0% 11.76 19.87
2 5% 12.69 22.15
3 10% 12.87 23.46
4 15% 14.02 25.87
5 20% 11.00 17.57

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IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)
e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320–334X

Table VIII. Results for split tensile strength of hardened concrete

Split tensile strength at Split tensile strength at
SR.NO RHA percentage
7 days (MPa) 28 days (MPa)
1 0% 2.31 2.68
2 5% 2.03 2.73
3 10% 2.26 3.36
4 15% 1.79 2.87
5 20% 1.43 2.19

30 25.87
23.46
Compressive strength

25 22.15
19.87
20 17.57
(MPa)

14.02
15 12.69 12.87
11.76 11 7 DAYS
10 28 DAYS
5
0
0 5 10 15 20
Percentage of RHA

Fig 1: Results for compressive strength of hardened concrete

4 3.36
3.5 2.87
2.68 2.73
3
Split strength

2.26 2.19
2.5 2.31 2.03
1.79
2 1.43 7 DAYS
1.5
1 28 DAYS
0.5
0
0 5 10 15 20
Percentage of RHA

Fig 2: Results for split tensile strength of hardened concrete

VII. CONCLUSION
The workability of concrete made with 5% RHA has found to be decreased with increased w/c ratio when compared
to normal concrete and compacting factor also found decreased with increased w/c cement ratio when compared to
normal concrete. The compressive strength of concrete increased with increase the percentage of RHA up to 15%
after 7 and 28 days curing and found decreased after 15% of RHA.

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IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)
e-ISSN: 2278-1684, p-ISSN: 2320–334X

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[2] P.Padma Rao, A.Pradhan Kumar, B.Bhaskar Singh, A Study on Use of Rice Husk Ash in Concrete. IJEAR Vo l .4, Issue spl 2, 2014
[3] Gyanen.Takhelmayum, Ravi Prasad, Savitha A.L, Experimental Study on the Properties of cement concrete using Rice Husk Ash,
International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology (IJESIT)Volume 3, Issue 6, November 2014. ISSN: 2319-5967
[4] Vrunda D. Thaware, Milind V. Mohod, ARAMETRIC STUDY OF RHA (RICE HUSK ASH) IN CEMENT CONCRETE, IORD Journal of
Science & Technology E-ISSN: 2348-0831 Volume 1, Issue 1
[5] P.chandan kumar and P.malleswara rao,” benefits of use of rice husk ash in concrete,” jr. of industrial pollution control 26 (2)(2010) pp
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[6] Oblilade I.O (2014)“,use of rice husk ash as a partial replacement for cement in concrete , Int, journal of engineering and applied science
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[7] Smita singh and Dilip kumar,” alternate and low cost construction material: rice husk ash (rha),”(ijirae), volume 1 issue 6 (july 2014)
[8] Makarand Suresh Kulkarni,” Paresh GovindMirgal, Prajyot Prakash Bodhale, and S.N. Tande(2014),” Effect of Rice Husk Ash on
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