Impact of the Properties and Reactivity of Rice Husk Ash on Lime Mortar Properties
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 9
Abstract
This paper studies the effect of rice husk ash (RHA) in the properties of hydrated lime (calcium lime-CL90s) mortars with a view to improve their properties and make them more sustainable. The variation in mortar properties was related to the activity of the RHA, which was assessed by measuring its specific surface area, fineness, reactivity, composition, and amorphousness. According to the results, the RHA investigated is a low-temperature, highly reactive ash of high specific surface area that contains crystalline silica and unburnt cellulosic material and was probably produced between 400 and 500°C. Pozzolanic hydrates were clearly present after 24 h, progressively increasing in size and amount (at 3 and 7 days) and linking to each other to form continuous networks after 14 days. The paper concludes that lime replacement by RHA improves mortar workability, lowering water/binder ratio and the amount of water required to reach a specific consistency. RHA also enhances bulk density and lowers the difference between real and bulk densities thus resulting in lower porosity. Lime replacement by RHA enhances strength, and accelerates setting and early strength gain. Finally, with increasing RHA content, lime mortars become progressively stiffer and more elastic, yet remain plastic and thus undergo significant strain before failure.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors are very grateful to Mr. Narayan P. Singhania of N K Enterprises, for providing the rice husk ash and answering all our questions during 9 years! We wish him all the best. The authors thank Dr. Robbie Goodhue, Dept. of Geology, TCD, for his assistance with the XRD analysis; Ms. Elaine Treacy, Dept of Geography, TCD, for her assistance with the laser grading; and Mr. Heath Bagshaw, Centre for Microscopy and Analysis, TCD, for his help with the SEM/EDX analyses. We acknowledge the support of the technical staff in the Dept. of Civil Engineering, TCD. We also thank Mr. E. Byrne of The Traditional Lime Co and Mr. L. Byrne of Clogrennane Lime for donating materials.
References
Chagas Cordeiro, G., Dias Toledo Filho, R., and Moraes Rego Fairbairn, E. (2009). “Use of ultrafine rice husk ash with high-carbon content as pozzolan in high performance concrete.” Mater. Struct., 42(7), 983–992.
Chindaprasirt, P., and Rukzon, S. (2008). “Strength, porosity and corrosion resistance of ternary blend portland cement, rice husk ash and fly ash mortar.” Constr. Build. Mater., 22(8), 1601–1606.
Cizer, O., Van Balen, K., Elsen, J., and Van Gemert, D. (2006). “Carbonation and hydration of calcium hydroxide and calcium silicate binders with rice husk ash.” Proc., 2nd Int. Symp. on Advances in Concrete through Science and Engineering, Rilem Publications S.A.R.L.
Commission 25-PEM, RILEM. (1980). “Essais recommandés pour mesurer l’alteration des pierres et évaluer l’efficacité des méthodes de traitement.” Materiaux et Constructions, Bull. Rilem, 13(75), 216–220.
Da Silva Rego, J. H., Nepuceno, A. A., Hasparyk, N. P., and Vieira, F. L. (2004). “Assessment of the pozzolanic reaction of crystalline and amorphous RHA.” Proc., Int. RILEM Conf. on the Use of Recycled Materials in Buildings and Structures, RILEM, Barcelona, 715–723.
European Committee for Standardization (CEN). (1995). “Methods of testing cement: Determination of strength.” EN 196-1, Brussels.
European Committee for Standardization (CEN). (2001a). “Building limes, part 1: Definitions, specifications and conformity criteria.” EN 459-1, Brussels.
European Committee for Standardization (CEN). (2001b). “Building lime, part 2: Test methods.” EN 459-2, Brussels.
European Committee for Standardization (CEN). (2005a). “Methods of testing cement, part 3: Determination of setting times and soundness.” EN 196-3, Brussels.
European Committee for Standardization (CEN). (2005b). “Fly ash for concrete, part 1: Definition, specifications and conformity criteria.” EN 450-1, Brussels.
Ganesan, K., Rajagopal, K., and Thangavel, K. (2008). “Rice husk ash blended cement: Assessment of optimal level of replacement for strength and permeability properties of concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater., 22(8), 1675–1683.
Hasparyk, N. P., Farias, L. A., Andrade, M. A. S., and Bittencourt, R. M. (2004). “Study of the influence of amorphous RHA on concrete properties.” Proc., Int. RILEM Conf. on the Use of Recycled Materials in Buildings and Structures, RILEM, Barcelona, 751–761.
James, J., and Subba Rao, M. (1986). “Reaction product of lime and silica from rice husk ash.” Cem. Concr. Res., 16(1), 67–73.
Kerr, P. F. (1959). Optical mineralogy, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Mehta, P. K. (1977). “Properties of blended cements made from rice husk ash.” Am. Concr. Inst. J., 74(9), 440–442.
Mehta, P. K. (1992). “Rice husk ash: A unique supplementary cementing material.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Advances in Concrete Technology, CANMET, Athens, Greece, Canada, 407–430.
Nair, D. G., Jagadish, K. S., and Fraaij, A. (2006). “Reactive pozzolanas from rice husk ash: An alternative to cement for rural housing.” Cem. Concr. Res., 36(6), 1062–1071.
Nehdi, M., Duquette, J., and El Damatty, A. (2003). “Performance of rice husk ash produced using a new technology as a mineral admixture in concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res., 33(8), 1203–1210.
Paya, J., Monzo, J., Borrachero, M. V., Mellado, A., and Ordonez, L. M. (2001). “Determination of amorphous silica in rice husk ash by a rapid analytical method.” Cem. Concr. Res., 31(2), 227–231.
Rama Rao, G., Sastry, A. R. K., and Rohatgi, P. K. (1989). “Nature and reactivity of silica available in rice husk and its ashes.” Bull. Mater. Sci., 12(5), 469–479.
Rodríguez de Sensale, G. (2006). “Strength development of concrete with rice-husk ash.” Cem. Concr. Compos., 28(2), 158–160.
Singhania, N. P. (2004). “Rice husk ash.” The Institute of Concrete Technology Newsletter, Issue 55, The Engineering Council (U.K.), London.
Walker, R., and Pavía, S. (2010). “Behaviour and properties of lime-pozzolan pastes.” Proc., 8th Int. Masonry Conf., International Masonry Society, Dresden, 353–362.
Walker, R., and Pavía, S. (2011). “Physical properties and reactivity of pozzolans, and their influence on the properties of lime–pozzolan pastes.” Mater. Struct., 44(6), 1139–1150.
Zhang, M. H., Lastra, R., and Malhotra, V. M. (1996). “Rice-husk ash paste and concrete: Some aspects of hydration and the microstructure of the interfacial zone between the aggregate and paste.” Cem. Concr. Res., 26(6), 963–977.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 9 • September 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 4, 2013
Accepted: Oct 24, 2013
Published online: May 20, 2014
Published in print: Sep 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Oct 20, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.