Effect of Incorporation of Rice Husk Ash Instead of Cement on the Performance of Steel Fibers Reinforced Concrete

Abstract

The production of rice is significant worldwide; the husk produced is generally used as a combustible material for the preparation of paddies, delivering energy through direct combustion as well as by gasifying. Annually, 7.4 million tons of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) is produced and poses an incredible danger to the environment, harming the land and the encompassing zone where it is unloaded. In the transformation of rice husk to ash, the ignition cycle eliminates the natural products, leaving silica-rich remains. These silica-rich remains have proven to have potential to be utilized in concrete as a limited substitution of cement to enhance the concrete compressive strength. Steel fibers’ incorporation increases the concrete tensile strength, balances out concrete samples, and changes their brittle behavior to a more ductile response. In the current study, the influence of various doses of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) used in concrete in the presence and absence of steel fibers and concrete performance has been examined. A total of nine mixes have been designed: one was a control, four were without steel fibers containing only RHA, and the last four mixed RHA with steel fibers from 0.5 to 2%. Tests with 5, 10, 15, and 20% percentages of RHA replacing the concrete have been targeted. Results have been compared with the reference samples and the reasonability of adding Rice Husk Ash to concrete has been studied. From the results, it was noted that about 10% of cement might be replaced with Rice Husk Ash mixed in with steel fibers with almost equal compressive strength. Replacing more than 15% of cement with RHA will produce concrete with a low performance in terms of strength and durability.

Effects of Steel Fibers (SF) and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) on Recycled Aggregate Concrete

“…At 28 days of curing, acid resistance of the aggregate 60% recycled aggerate concrete was 5.0% more than the control mix at 20% substitution of GGBS. However, at a higher dosage of GGBS (beyond 20% by weight of cement), acid resistance decreased due to the lower workability of concrete, which enhances compaction, resulting in more porous concrete [57]. When steel fibers were added to the GGBS recycled aggregate concrete, acid resistance increased as the dosage of steel fibers increased up to 2.0% and then reduced.…”

“…All of the fiber-reinforced recycled aggregate concretes showed more acid resistance compared to the control, having a maximum acid resistance at 2.0% substitution of SF. According to past literature, fiber protects the formation of shrinkage cracks due to which acid resistance cannot easily penetrate the concrete, and hence results in more acid resistance [57].…”

“…compaction, resulting in more porous concrete [57]. When steel fibers were added to the GGBS recycled aggregate concrete, acid resistance increased as the dosage of steel fibers increased up to 2.0% and then reduced.…”

“…CH remains unreactive, forming weak pockets resulting in lower strength of concrete. It has been also reported that CH reacts with another chemical ingredient present in concrete, resulting in less durable concrete [57]. Additionally reported is that pozzolanic materials must be added to utilize CH, which is a by-product formed during the hydration process of cement to obtain high strength durable concrete [57].…”

Strain Hardening of Polypropylene Microfiber Reinforced Composite Based on Alkali-Activated Slag Matrix

“…Another advantage of these composites is the use of secondary mineral resources, such as microsilica, slag, fly ash, ground rocks, or stone dust [20][21][22][23][24]. The application scope of a strain-hardening cement composite (SHCC) depends on its strength and deformation characteristics [25][26][27][28][29][30]. The values of these characteristics are determined by properties of the cement matrix, microfiber, as well as by properties of the contact zone between matrix and microfiber [29,30].…”