Impact of rice husk ash on physico-mechanical, durability and microstructural features of rubberized lightweight geopolymer composite

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of incorporating rice husk ash (RHA) on the characteristics of lightweight geopolymer concrete (LWGC), which includes waste tire aggregate (WTA). This study utilized RHA to replace 15 % of ground blast furnace slag (GBFS) in LWGC. The LWGC also included WTA as a partial substitute for pumice aggregate, with varying rates of 10 %, 25 %, and 50 % by volume. In addition, curing temperatures of 75 °C and 100 °C were utilized for 3 h following the casting process. 16 LWGC blends were created, each with a dry density below 1800 kg/m3. To study the features of hardened LWGC, various tests included apparent porosity, water absorption, capillary water absorption, dry density, compressive and flexural strength. In addition, freezing and thawing cycles (20, 40, and 60 cycles) and elevated temperatures of 250 and 500 °C affect compressive strength and density loss in addition to examining the thermal conductivity coefficient and morphological imaging by SEM on microscopic structure. The results showed that adding 15 % RHA as a partial replacement for GBSF led to a decrease in the density of hardened concrete to about 1561 kg/m3. At the same time, the compressive strength decreased to 24 and 21 MPa for the samples subjected to 75 and 100 °C heat treatments, respectively. Including 15 % RHA also reduced the thermal conductivity coefficient to 0.978 W/mK. Regarding the inclusion of WTA as a substitute for pumice aggregate, it led to a decrease in density and compressive strength as the replacement rate increased. In addition, the thermal conductivity coefficient decreases to its lowest level when WTA replaces 50 % of the pumice.