Self-Compacted Concrete: A Study on the Integration of Rice Husk Ash for Superior Mechanical Properties
摘要
Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) is counted among advanced technologies in the development of modern construction materials. The appearance of this type of concrete was a substantial step toward developing high-performance concrete in terms of workability and mechanical properties. It is crucial that SCC technology complies with the principles of green technology. Reduced energy consumption and improved material efficiency are key characteristics of sustainability in construction. This research aims at improving the properties of SCC with the addition of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) and certain admixtures by maintaining a constant water-cement ratio in the mix design. The objective of the research was to determine an SCC composition that would efficiently employs RHA as the material that could replace cement along with the admixture to make the results better for the environment. Nine different mixes were prepared, and they were tested in the laboratory to assess the characteristics of the fresh SCC as well as the compressive strength properties of the hardened SCC. Compression was tested for 1, 7, 14, and 28 days on 108 concrete cube specimens of 100 mm size. It was discovered that for the mix that included 5% RHA and 1% of the admixture was measured as the most optimal one and it significantly made hardened concrete better while being beneficial for the environmental performance.