Experimental Investigations of Performance Characteristics of Rice Husk Ash–Blended Concrete

The cement industry is the major contributor of ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ emission, which could be curtailed by the use of supplementary cementitious materials. Rice husk ash (RHA), one of the supplementary cementitious materials, exhibits high pozzolanic characteristics when properly produced under controlled conditions. In this paper, four concrete mixtures were considered to identify the effect of RHA (produced under controlled conditions) on performance characteristics of the concrete. RHA was added as partial replacement of ordinary portland cement from 10 to 30%. The properties investigated include compressive strength, chloride permeability, water absorption, and sorptivity of RHA-blended concrete. Based on the results, it was found that RHA addition up to 20% in partial replacement of ordinary portland cement lead to increased compressive strength of concrete compared with that of reference mixtures. However, the durability of RHA concrete was on the higher side for all doses compared with the reference mixtures. The compressive strength is well correlated with chloride permeability of RHA-blended concrete mixtures. Rice husk ash proves to be highly reactive pozzolan, which contributes to higher strength and improved performance characteristics.