X-Ray And Microstructure Of Rice Husk Ash-Admixed Concrete

Augustine Uchechukwu Elinwa^1,2,*

¹Civil Engineering Dept., Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, (NIGERIA)
²Works Department, University of Jos Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos, (NIGERIA)

PAGE NO: 92-106

ABSTRACT – DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47204/EMSR.5.2.2023.092-106

Morphological changes that occurred during the hydration of concrete containing rice husk ash (RHA) and Conplast SP 430 admixture (CP-admixture) were observed. X-ray analyses were used to identify phases while scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses were used for the corresponding changes in microstructure with changes in the physical and mechanical properties. The effects of the admixtures and RHA on the concrete samples were investigated with and without Conplast SP 430. RHA was at 10 % replacement by wt. % of cement and the dosage of admixture was 5.7 ml by wt. % of cement, and the water-to-cement ratio was 0.5. The results clearly showed the morphological changes that took place as hydration proceeded and showed the specific influences of each of the two admixtures. The additions of RHA and CP-admixture or both, modified the pore network and the composition of the main hydration product.