Performance of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) as Partial Replacement of Cement in Concrete

Abstract

The increasing demand for sustainable construction materials has led to the exploration of agricultural waste as a viable alternative in concrete production. Rice Husk Ash (RHA), a by-product obtained from the controlled burning of rice husk, is rich in amorphous silica and exhibits significant pozzolanic properties. This study investigates the performance of RHA as a partial replacement of cement in conventional concrete. Concrete mixes were prepared by replacing cement with RHA at proportions of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight. The workability of fresh concrete was evaluated using slump tests, compaction factor test, while mechanical properties were assessed through compressive and split tensile strength tests at different curing periods. Durability characteristics such as water absorption were also studied, along with a cost analysis of the mixes. The results indicate that RHA significantly influences both fresh and hardened properties of concrete. An optimum replacement level was observed where strength and durability improved, while increasing the replacement levels resulted in reduced performance. The study concludes that RHA can be effectively utilized as a sustainable and cost-efficient supplementary cementitious material in concrete.

Introduction

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4. Rice Husk Ash in Concrete

Cement production causes high CO? emissions, leading to interest in sustainable alternatives like Rice Husk Ash (RHA). RHA, rich in silica, is used as a partial cement replacement in concrete (0–15%). Experimental results show that workability decreases with higher RHA content, but compressive and tensile strength improve up to about 10% replacement, after which strength declines. RHA also improves durability and reduces cost and environmental impact, making it a sustainable partial substitute for cement when used in optimal proportions.

Conclusion

Based on the experimental investigation on partial replacement of cement with Rice Husk Ash (RHA) in M20 grade concrete, the following conclusions are drawn: A. Conclusions 1) The workability of concrete decreases with increase in percentage of RHA due to its porous nature and higher water absorption capacity. 2) Compressive strength and spilt tensile strength of concrete increases with the addition of RHA up to an optimum level and decreases beyond that limit. 3) The optimum percentage of RHA replacement is generally found to be \"between5% to 10%\" for achieving maximum strength. 4) Early age strength (7 days) is comparatively lower due to slower pozzolanic reaction of RHA. 5) At later stages (28 days), strength improves due to pozzolanic activity between RHA and calcium hydroxide. 6) Partial replacement of cement with RHA reduces the overall cement consumption, making the concrete more economical and durable. 7) Use of RHA helps in reducing environmental pollution and promotes sustainable construction practices. Thus, it can be concluded that Rice Husk Ash is a suitable and sustainable material for partial replacement of cement in concrete.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Gaurav Singh Parmar, Rajesh Uniyal. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.