Rice-Husk and Sugarcane-Bagasse Ash as a Partial Replacement of Cement in Self-Compacting Concrete
Abstract:The necessity for reasonable and sustainable different construction materials to cement in
emerging countries cannot be underrated. However, cement among the constituent material in
concrete production is broadly identified to be the most costly. Therefore, in developing
countries, research into the use of alternative materials for civil and building construction is
necessary due to the increasing cost of construction materials like cement. Alternative
construction materials like agro and industrial wastes etc., are nowadays employed to substitute
cement in concrete production. In this paper, Rice-Husk Ash (RHA) and Sugarcane-Bagasse Ash
(SBA) as agro-wastes were used to replace cement partially in Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC)
in order to determine their influence on the mechanical properties of the SCC hardened
specimens. The percentage replacements used were 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of the ashes in
the corresponding concrete mixes. Concrete cubes and prism specimens were cast, cured and
their mechanical properties (compressive and flexural strengths) were evaluated at 7, 14, 21 and
28 days. The results show that remarkable strength values of compressive and flexural strengths
were manifested, when compared with the control specimens. In conclusion, it was established
that 5% cement replacement of the ashes used was found to be a favorable value among the
percentage replacements considered. Moreover, the study demonstrated the use of agro-wastes
which may enhance the reduction of cement usage and will pave the way of innovative and
sustainable construction.