Influence of rice husk ash on the properties of cement mortar: a statistical approach Available to Purchase

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of incorporating rice-husk ash (RHA) as a substitute for cement. To achieve this, a general factorial has been designed with consideration of two factors: RHA (%) and water/cement (W/C) ratio. The variation in the level of W/C ratio is 0.4, 0.45, 0.5 and 0.55, while RHA (%) is maintained at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35%. Three replicates have been used for each combination of factors. Compressive strength (CS) after 3, 7 and 28 days and water absorption are designated as output parameters. Analysis of variance was carried out with W/C and RHA (%) as factors on the experimental outcomes of different mortar properties to determine the impact of factors on the responses. In addition to the above, the effect of RHA on setting time and consistency of the paste is demonstrated. The results of study illustrate that CS reduces with the change in the W/C ratio from 0.4 to 0.55. However, incorporation of 0–10% RHA improves CS, while beyond this level CS starts decreasing. Substantial impact of RHA (%) and W/C and their interaction has been detected on CS and WA of mortar.