CEMENT and CONCRETE RESEARCH. Vol. 23, pp. 387-398, 1993. Printed in the USA.

0008-8846D3. $6.00+00. Copyright 1993 Pergamon Press Ltd.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STRENGTH AND NON-DESTRUCTIVE

PARAMETERS OF RICE HUSK ASH CONCRETE

A.A. Ikpong
Lecturer in Materials and Structures
Department of Building
University ofJos, Jos, Nigeria

(Refereed)
(Received March 30; in f'mal form Dec. 1, 1992)

ABSTRACT
The response of the compressive strength, pulse velocity and stiffness constant of
rice husk ash concrete to varying levels o f cement substitution was studied.
Results obtained show that all of these three quantities were affected in the same
direction. Empirical relationships were established between the compressive
strength and each of pulse velocity and stiffness constant; both relationships were
linear.

La rdponse de la force compressive, le pouls de vitesse et la constante de

consistance du bdton de cendre du tdgument de riz aux nivaux variables de
substitution du cement ont dtd dtudids. Les resuitats obtenus montrent que ces
trois quantitds ont dt6 affectdes de la m6me manibre. Des relations empiriques
6tablies entre la force compressive et chaque pouls de vitesse et la constante de
consistance; les deux relations sont iinaires.

INTRODUCTION

The compressive strength of concrete has come to be accepted as a very good indicator of
its overall quality (1). The most commonly used method for determining this compressive
strength involves crushing the concrete in a compression testing machine. This method is aptly
classified as destructive since it entails irreversible damage to the concrete specimen or part of
an actual structure being tested. There exist, however, a number o f other methods for
determining concrete compressive strength without destroying the concrete. These methods are
classified as non-destructive and their advantages over the former method are already well
known (1).

Only a few o f the available non-destructive methods have gained wide acceptability and
application. The ultrasonic pulse velocity test is one of these few (1) and is the main subject of
this paper.

387
388 A.A. Ikl~ng Vol. 23, No. 2

O f the many factors upon which the measured pulse velocity in concrete depends,
the following are affected by the use of rice husk ash as a partial replacement for ordinary
Portland cement (OPC) in concrete production: water-cement ratio; aggregate-cement ratio; and
cement type. When RHA is introduced into concrete, the water requirement increases (2 - 6)
while the cement content decreases (as part of the cement is replaced with RHA); this results in
an increase in the ratio of water content to cement content. The decrease in the cement content
of the concrete mix also results in an increase in the aggregate-cement ratio, as the denominator
is decreased at a constant numerator. For cement type we shall note as follows. That different
types of cement are made by varying their chemical composition and/or their fineness. Silica
with lime forms the essential cementing compounds tricalcium silicate (C3S) and dicalcium
silicate (C2S) in the composition of Portland cement. RHA contains a high proportion of
silica, usually over 80%, but a negligibly low percentage of lime, usually under 0.5% (6,7).
In contrast, the proportions of these oxides in OPC are 20% and 60 - 67% respectively (1). In
RHA concrete therefore, we are dealing with concrete containing cement which chemical
composition is much different from that of the ordinary Portland cement. It is therefore to be
expected that the pulse velocity (and therefore stiffness constant which is directly related to it)
of RHA concrete will be different from that of conventional concrete (concrete containing OPC
only as the binder) designed for the same strength.

The study is therefore concerned with:

1. Obtaining empirical data on the non-destructive parameters (pulse velocity and stiffness
constant) of RHA concrete;

2. Establishing the pattems of relationship between the strength of RHA concrete and these
non-destructive parameters; and

3. Comparing conventional and RHA concrete in terms of their non-destructive parameters,

and to account for any differences that may show up.

The study covers the low and medium strength cadre of concrete (fcu = 15, 20, 25, 30 and
40 N/mm 2 at 28 days). It also covers two workability levels : low and medium.

EXPERIMENTAL

The rice husk used for this research was obtained from Ibilla Ilache in Benue State of
Nigeria. The husk was burnt in an electric furnace which allowed for accurate monitoring o f
the burning temperature. The burning temperature was maintained within the range 650 to
700C as this is the thermal level that produces highly reactive, amorphous ash (2 - 5).

The husk was burnt in a rectangular mild steel vessel of dimensions 55 x 140 x 200 m m
fabricated from a mild steel sheet l m m thick. The vessel was filled to the brim with the husk
and burnt in the furnace for 50 minutes, after which the processed husk was withdrawn from
the furnace and heaped on a metal tray. Three to seven more of such loads were burnt and
piled into one heap; this ensured that the combination of the required temperature and its
duration was sufficient to ash the processed husk but not high enough to produce crystalline
ash, which is much less reactive than amorphous ash (2 - 5). This particular detail o f the
ashing process should be noted carefully as it was found that with the less than four-in-one
heap, the available heat was inadequate and consequently less than 20% o f the furnace-
processed material converted to ash. The other 80% was in the "coke' or 'charcoal' form
(black in colour). With the more than eight - in - one heap, the thermal level and duration of
ashing was so great that the ash produced was predominantly crystalline. It has been
established (8) that not only the temperature but also the duration of husk burning determines
the crystallinity or otherwise of the ash produced.
Vol. 23, No. 2 STRENGTH, STIFFNESS, RICE HUSK ASH, CONCRETE 389

The heap was left to stand for 17 to 20 hours during which period about 70% of the heap
turned into ash. The ash was carefully separated from the 'coke' or 'charcoal' and the latter
retired in the furnace for about 30 minutes and subsequently heaped for another 17 to 20
hours, within which period it turned into ash.

About 40% by weight of the ash consisted of particles smaller than 75 microns. This
fraction of the ash was not ground before use whereas the remaining 60% was ground and
sieved through 150 microns sieve size. Table 1 shows the grading of the ash while Table 2
shows its chemical composition, the latter determined using the atomic absorption
spectrometric method.

TABLE 1
Sieve Analysis of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
and Rice Husk Ash (RHA)
Sieve Size % Passing
(microns)
OPC RHA
212 94.00 100.00
150 90.50 100.00
75 85.00 72.00

In all the mixes made, ordinary Portland cement was used and was later partially replaced
with RHA. The fine aggregate was burrow-pit sand to grading zone 2 ofBS1201 : Part 2 (9)
while the coarse aggregate was crushed granite with 100% of the material passing 19.00 mm
sieve size, 35% passing 9.52 sieve and none passing 4.76mm sieve size. The crushed granite
had a crushing value of 33.2 and a ten percent fines value of 9.3 tons.

Four types of mixes with RHA contents of 0%, 30%, 40% and 50% (by volume of
cement) respectively, were used for the study. Using each of these mixes, 100mm cubes were
cast for each of the five grades of concrete, for each of the two workability groups and for
testing after curing for 7, 14, 28 and 90 days. The method of mix design used was that
published by the Department of the Environment, United Kingdom (10). For the mixes
containing RHA, the combination of cement and RHA was proportioned by volume.
Proportioning by volume was adopted because of the remarkable difference in the specific
gravities of the RHA and cement (2.12 for the ash and 3.15 for cement). Table 3 shows
sample batch quantities of the mixes.

The workability of each mix was assessed using the slump and compacting factor tests in
accordance with the provisions of BS 1881 : Part 2 (11). The slump and compacting factor
values indicated that 50% of the mixes had low workability while the remaining 50% had
medium workability (10). The workability tests were immediately followed by casting of
cubes in 100mm moulds. These specimens (cubes) were prepared in accordance with the
provisions of BS 1881 : Part 2 (11). They were subsequently cured in water at a temperature
of 25+- 0.5C.

At each of the four curing ages, the cubes were tested for the ultrasonic pulse velocity in
accordance with the provisions of BS 4408 : Part 5 (l 2). This test was usually followed by the
compressive strength test for each cube, performed using an Avery - Denison Universal
Testing Machine.
390 A.A. Ilq~ng Vol. 23, No. 2

TABLE 2
Chemical Composition of Rice Husk and Rice Husk Ash
Constituent Percent Present
rice husk rice husk ash
Si02 15.30 82.13
A1203 0.56 4.27
Fe203 0.07 0.38
Na20 0.082 0.14
K20 0.18 1.23
C.aO 0.018 0.16
MgO 0.37 1.65
L.O.I. 83.12 8.60
P205 0.30 1.44

TABLE 3
Low Workability Mix Proportions (per m 3 of Concrete)

Design %RHA Cement RHA Water Sand Coarse

strength content (kg and (litres) (kg) (kg) aggregate
(N/mm 2) litres) (Kg)

0 270Kg -- 185 873 1112

20 30 156L 67 197 873 1112
40 134L 89 204 874 1112
50 lllL 111 211 873 1112

0 298 Kg -- 186 842 1115

25 30 172L 74 204 842 1115
40 148L 98 208 842 1115
50 123L 123 214 842 1115

0 321Kg -- 192 812 1122

30 30 185L 79 196 812 1122
40 159L 106 203 812 1122
50 132L 132 216 812 1122

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Rice husk ash

Table 1 shows the results of the sieve analysis carried out on the ash and cement used for
this study. It shows that the ash has particle size distribution comparable to that of cement
which it replaced. The specific gravity of the ash was 2.12 which is about two-thirds o f the
specific gravity value of 3.15 for cement (1).

Table 2 shows the chemical composition of the ash. The Table indicates that the combined
proportion of silicon dioxide (Si02), aluminium oxide (A1203) and iron oxide (Fe203) in the ash
was 86.78%. This satisfies the ASTM C618-78 (13) requirement for chemical constitution
which stipulates a minimum combined proportion of 70%. The carbon content o f the ash
Vol.23, No. 2 STRENGTH,STIFFNESS,RICEHUSKASH,CONCRETE 391

determined as loss on ignition, was 8.60%. This also satisfies the ASTM requirement for loss
on ignition which is put at a maximum of 12%.

Fresh paste and concrete

Setting

Initial and final setting time tests were performed on plain cement paste and pastes having
RHA contents of 30, 40 and 50% (by volume of cement) respectively. The results are shown
in Table 4. They show increases for OPC-RHA pastes over those of plain cement paste. This
may be due to the slower pace of heat-induced evaporation of water from the OPC-RHA paste
due to its lower cement content. The reaction between cement and water is exothermic (1) and
a greater amount of heat would be evolved by the plain cement paste because of its higher
cement content.

TABLE 4
Initial and Final Setting Times of Pastes
% RHA Content Initial Final
(hr + min) (hr + min)
0 2 + 05 4 + 03
30 3 + 28 4 + 32
40 4 + 05 5 + 39
50 4 + 41 6 + 32

The results also show that the setting times increased with the RHA content of the pastes.
It is obvious that the higher the RHA content, the lower would be the cement content of the
paste and, therefore, the slower would be the pace of heat-induced evaporation. The setting
times were, however, still within the recommended range for ordinary Portland cement paste.
The results agree with the findings of Cook et al (7) who reported increases o f setting times of
OPC-RHA pastes over those of plain cement paste.

Slump and compacting factor values

From the results of the slump and compacting factor tests performed on the mixes, the
following deductions can be made regarding the workability o f the conventional and RHA
concretes.

To attain the same level of workability, the mixes containing RHA required a higher water
content than their corresponding conventional mixes. This was reflected in the water-cement
ratios of the four mixes (0%, 30%, 40%, and 50% RHA contents) for each design strength and
workability level, which had been calculated on the assumption of a constant cement content by
weight (using the cement content of the mix containing 0% RHA). As would be expected, the
low workability mixes required less water than their corresponding medium workability mixes.

Data and further details on the workability of RHA concrete are available in Ikpong and
Okpala (6).

Hardened concrete

Compressive strength - pulse velocity relation

The variation of compressive strength with pulse velocity, stiffness constant, and RHA
content for all medium workability mixes and at all ages is presented in Table 5 while the rates
 TABLE 5
Variation With Age of Compressive Strength a~ (in N/mm2)~ Pulse Velocity V(in Kin/s) and Stiffness Constant Eu(in KN/mm 2) of Medium Workability Conventional and R H A Concrete.

% RHA 7 days 14 days 28 days 90 days bo

Content oo V Eu ao V Eu a~ V E~ oc V E~

Design Strength of 15 N/ram 2

0 13.1 3.78 32.5 17.8 4.17 40.3 25.8 4.13 40.1 28.3 4.29 43.9

30 12.1 3.55 28,6 16.0 4.03 36.4 25.0 4.29 42.2 27.6 4,38 44.2

40 8.9 3.49 28.3 11.8 3.77 33.6 19.9 3.95 35.7 24.7 4.26 40.9

50 5.7 3.27 24.1 10.3 3.67 30.5 13.7 3.78 32.8 17.8 3.95 35.7

Design strength of 20N/ram 2

0 17.5 4.12 40.2 23.9 4.29 44.9 33.1 4.46 48.5 37.1 4.59 51.2

30 15.8 4.08 40.1 18.2 4.07 39.7 29.1 4.42 45.9 35.2 4.53 49.5

40 13.4 3.87 35.5 15.2 3.97 37.8 27.2 4.34 46.7 33.9 4.49 47.2 ).

50 10.6 3.34 25.9 12.7 3.59 30.8 23.0 3.88 35.5 28.7 3.86 36.0

Design Strength of 25 N/ram 2 t~

0 22.9 4.24 44.1 27.2 4.36 46.4 35.4 4.55 50.1 39.2 4.66 52.6

30 18.7 4.18 40.5 23.8 4.27 44.5 31.1 4.44 46.9 37.5 4.57 50.1

40 14.8 3.95 36.8 21.0 4.22 42.0 28.6 4.40 46.3 34.0 4.48 49.4

50 10.5 3.47 28.1 16.4 3.96 34.0 23.6 3.98 37.7 27.0 4.15 39.6

Design Strength of 30 N/ram 2

0 28.4 4.38 46.8 37.6 4.57 52.0 43.5 4.70 55.0 46.3 4.74 54.6

30 22.6 4.23 42.9 32.0 4.41 45.1 38.3 4.63 51.7 43.2 4.68 53.0

40 16.7 4.00 38.4 27.5 4.34 44.7 31.8 4.44 47.9 37,1 4.60 51,6

50 9.1 3.15 22.9 16.2 3.41 28.2 19.6 3.61 29.5 22.1 3.81 31.1

Design Strength of 40 N/ram 2

0 32.4 4,45 47.7 38.8 4.64 52.8 44.2 4.70 54.6 47.6 4.79 56,4 o

30 24.0 4.27 43.4 33.5 4,46 46.4 39.4 4.68 53.0 44.9 4,71 53.5

40 18.5 4.15 41.0 29.3 4.42 45.7 34.6 4.50 49.6 38.9 4.63 51.9
bo
50 10.0 3.52 28.3 18.1 3.79 33.1 22.5 3.87 35.9 22.9 3.96 37.4
Vol.23, No. 2 STRENGTH,STIFFNESS,RICEHUSKASH,CONCRETE 393

of strength and pulse velocity gain are shown in Table 6. To save space the low workability
values have been left out of Tables 5 and 6, but have been plotted in Figures 1 and 2, for RHA
concrete only. Table 5 shows that, with very minor variations, each of compressive strength
and pulse velocity increased with age but decreased with RHA content.

The explanation for the former trend could be as follows. It is known that the velocity of
propagation of ultrasonic pulse through conventional concrete increases with the age of the
concrete (1). It has also been established (1) that the strength of concrete depends to a very
large extent on its physical structure. Now the physical structure o f concrete at an advanced
age is markedly different from that of the same concrete at an early age; the former consists of a
compact network of aggregates strongly held together by cement gel whilst the latter consists of
a near discrete pack of aggregates, stiffened cement paste, capillary water and a relatively small
proportion of cement gel. It is the attendant increase in the geVspace ratio (which translates into
an improved physical structure) of concrete at advanced age that accounts for the increased
strength of such concrete. This phenomenon attains an even greater expression in the case of
RHA concrete, which initial gel/space ratio is invariably much less than that of a corresponding
conventional concrete but which ratio at advanced age could come very close to that of the latter
(6).

The increase in pulse velocity with age is, on the other hand, closely related to the gel/space
ratio phenomenon from another perspective. Since the pulse velocity through voids is less than
that through solid matter (1), it then follows that the greater the gel/space ratio (which increases
with age) the less will be the volume of eapillary pores and the greater would be the velocity of
pulse propagated through the concrete.

And now the decrease o f each o f compressive strength and pulse velocity with RHA
content. The primary products of hydration formed by the reaction between cement and water
account for a greater proportion of the compressive strength and pulse velocity through the
RHA concrete than do the secondary products of hydration resulting from the reaction between
calcium hydroxide (liberated by the former reaction) and the silica and alumina contained in the
ash (6). In other words a unit volume o f cement contributes more to the strength and pulse
velocity through the RHA concrete than does an equivalent volume of the ash. This must be
so, for, besides each of the compressive strength and pulse velocity of the RHA concrete
decreasing with increase in RHA content, the corresponding conventional concrete attained a
higher strength than the RHA concrete for all designed mixes and at all ages. The situation was
the same in respect of pulse velocity except for 2 or 3 cases out of 120. This meant that the
mixes having higher RHA contents were bound to attain lower compressive strength and pulse
velocity values.

The trend in the decrease of each of compressive strength and pulse velocity with increase
in RHA content can be much better appreciated if the values of these two quantities in Table 5
(as presented for the RHA mixes) are expressed as a ratio of the corresponding values for the
30% RHA content mixes. The ratios so obtained would reveal that, in general, the rate o f
decrease reduces with age. The reason for this is that at early ages, compressive strength
development and pulse velocity performance of RHA concrete are, for all practical purposes, a
function of cement hydration alone. At later ages these two phenomena are a function of two
components, namely, the hydration of cement and the pozzolanic reaction involving the silica
and alumina present in the ash. The situation is thus such that the effect at early ages of even a
small difference in the cement content of the mixes is more pronounced than at later ages when
the compensating action of the pozzolana (RHA) would have bridged the gap to a very large
extent.

All these features show that the introduction of RHA into concrete affect both the
compressive strength and pulse velocity along the same direction and that the response of either
to the incorporation of RHA could be used to predict the response of the other.
394 A.A. Ikpong Vol. 23, No. 2

TABLE 6
Ratio of 28-Day and 90-Day to 7-Day Strength
and Pulse Velocity Values
Design strength %RHA 28 -to 7-day ratios 90- to 7-day ratios
(N/mm 2) content Oc V Oc V
0 1.97 1.09 2.16 1.13
15 30 2.07 1.21 2.28 1.23
40 2.24 1.13 2.78 1.21
50 2.40 1.16 3.12 1.22

0 1.89 1.08 2.12 1.11

20 30 1.84 1.08 2.23 1.11
40 2.03 1.12 2.53 1.16
50 2.17 1.16 2.71 1.16

0 1.56 1.07 1.71 1.10

25 30 1.66 1.06 2.01 1.09
40 1.93 1.11 2.30 1.13
50 2.25 1.15 2.57 1.20

0 1.53 1.07 1.63 1.08

30 30 1.69 1.09 1.91 1.11
40 1.90 1.11 2.22 1.15
50 2.15 1.15 2.43 1.21

0 1.36 1.06 1.47 1.08

40 30 1.64 1.10 1.87 1.10
40 1.87 1.08 2.10 1.12
50 2.25 1.10 2.29 1.13

r.~ 5o
A 4..o Z ~ H A


e 50 % ~HA e
e e e,
I: c~ = J7.1V-4-4--i e A A ee ~
" = 0-775 a A
:Z
la z,o
o e % / e ~,e--

IU

~-- 40 0

8 0 0

0 I I I I I I I I I !
2--8 5-0 3 "2. ,5.4- ,.~- 6 ,,.~- 15 .4-, 0 4'2. 4 "-4- ,4.: 6. 4-'8
PULSE Vff__..LOCIT",( [_K~,.'s]

FIG. 1
Variation of compressive strength with pulse velocity at all ages, for all levels o f cement
replacement (RHA content) and for both workability levels
Vol. 23, No. 2 STRENGTH, STIFFNESS, RICE HUSK ASH, CONCRETE 395

Figure 1 shows the plot of compressive strength against pulse velocity through the RHA
concrete of both workability levels, different design strengths, RHA contents and ages. Based
on this figure, the relationship between these two quantities is linear and takes the form:
Oc = 17.1V- 44.1
where Oc is the compressive strength of the concrete (N/mm2);
V is the pulse velocity through the concrete (Km/s).
The coefficient of correlation is 0.775.

From the foregoing the behavior of RHA concrete with respect to pulse velocity can be
summarized thus. The RHA concrete exhibited an increase in pulse velocity with age although,
in general, the pulse velocity through conventional concrete was higher at all ages. Pulse
velocity increased as the compressive strength of the concrete increased and decreased as the
latter decreased. The relationship between these two quantities was linear just as reported for
conventional concrete by Neville (1), Kaplan (14) and Nwokoye (15). Therefore between
conventional and RHA concrete there is no difference in the nature of the relationship between
compressive strength and pulse velocity.

Pulse velocity - RHA content relation

As discussed in the preceding section, pulse velocity decreased as the RHA content was
increased (see Table 5). There was a parallel observation in the fact that for the mixes
containing RHA, the required water content (for equal workability) increased as the RHA
content increased. The effect of this would be that more capillaries are left in the RHA
concrete as hydration progressed. It has been recognized (1) that the presence of voids in
concrete is perhaps the most important factor influencing the velocity of ultrasonic pulse
transmitted through it; the speed of pulse propagation is much less through voids than through
solid matter. In fact the pulse cannot travel directly through the void but is deflected round it so
that the pulse can be transmitted through the solid concrete matter. This increases the time of
travel of the pulse and hence decreases the calculated velocity.

It is, however, not very clear if there is actually an increased voids content since the fact
that the workability of all the mixes in each of the two workability groups was held constant,
meant that no mix (conventional or RHA) could have a higher free-water content than another
in the same group. Still in this connection, it is noteworthy that the carbon particles present in
the ash are known to absorb some of the mixing water, thus reducing the free-water content of
each RHA mix to the same level as that of the corresponding conventional mix. In the event of
this happening, there wouldn't be any increase in the capillary water content of the RHA mixes
(over those of the corresponding conventional mixes in the respective workability groups) and
therefore no increase in the ultimate volume of capillary pores.

Another possible cause of reduction in pulse velocity through the RHA concrete is the
propagation velocity through the ash phase of the mix. It has been suggested (15) that the
velocity of pulse propagation through concrete be taken as the sum of the velocities of pulse
propagation through its discrete constituents. Going by this model, the velocity of pulse
propagation through the RHA concrete would decrease if the velocity of propagation through
the material of the ash is less than that through the other constituents of concrete (cement paste,
fine and coarse aggregates). These aspects of the pulse velocity through RHA concrete need to
be further investigated.

A third possibility is the effect of entrapped air pores between the ash particles. As a
proportion of the ash acts as an inert filler, especially at early age, it is quite possible that some
of the air pores which could not be eliminated during vibration and placing would remain so in
the hardened concrete. This also is an area requiring further research. In addition, the
396 A.A. llcpong Vol. 23, No. 2

dominating action among these possibilities is not clear to the author, and may be further
investigated.

Compressive strength - stiffness constant relation

Stiffness constant has been recognized as one of the elastic properties of concrete, and is
defined, for a concrete test specimen, as the product of the density o f the specimen and the
square of the velocity of ultrasonic pulse through it (15). Thus Eu = PV 2.

where W the velocity of ultrasonic pulse through the concrete specimen

(in Km/s, etc.)
p = the density of the specimen (in Kg/m 3, etc.)
Eu = the stiffness constant of the concrete (in KN/mm 2, etc.).

Table 5 shows, amongst other things, the variation of compressive strength with stiffness
constant for medium workability mixes only, at all ages and for all levels o f cement
replacement (RHA content). As noted earlier the corresponding data for low workability mixes
have been left out in order to save space. The Table shows that, with very minor variations,
each of compressive strength and stiffness constant, for any given designed mix, increased
with age but decreased with RHA content. The Table also shows that beyond the age of 7
days, the rate of increase of stiffness constant was faster for the mixes containing RHA than
for the conventional mixes. Finally, it shows that stiffness constant increased as the
compressive strength increased and decreased as the latter decreased.

All these features follow the same trend as was the case for pulse velocity and can be said
to be due to the same reasons adduced for the behavior of pulse velocity with respect to the
various variables, namely, RHA content, age and compressive strength. It is reasonable to
state that this is as would be expected since, although the density of the concrete also comes
into reckoning, the stiffness constant depends on the pulse velocity through the concrete.

Figure 2 presents the plot of compressive strength against stiffness constant for the RHA
concrete of both workability levels, different design strengths, RHA contents and ages. Again
the relationship is linear, and the associated regression equation is of the form:
oc = 0.906Eu - 10.334
where oc is the compressive strength of the concrete (N/mm2);
Eu is the stiffness constant of the concrete (KN/mm2).
The coefficient of correlation is 0.796.

This result is in agreement with the finding of Nwokoye (15) on the relationship between
the compressive strength and stiffness constant of conventional concrete. Furthermore the
calculated coefficient of correlation between stiffness constant and compressive strength
(0.796) is higher than that between pulse velocity and compressive strength (0.775). The
compressive strength of concrete is directly related to each of its density and pulse velocity (1).
A more reliable correlation should obtain where the effects of these two quantities are taken
together (as in stiffness constant) than where they are considered separately.

It could therefore be concluded meanwhile that, as suggested for conventional concrete by

Nwokoye (15), stiffness constant is a better predictor of the compressive strength o f RHA
concrete than pulse velocity. Equally importantly these results show that, even though the
values of stiffness constant for any given designed mix and age were lower for RHA concrete
than for conventional concrete, there is no difference in the nature of the relationship between
compressive strength and stiffness constant for the two types of concrete.
Voi. 23, No. 2 STRENGTH,STIFFNESS,RICEHUSKASH,CONCRETE 397

rT~
z, 4 o ~ ~HA

i 40 o 5o ~ W.HA e
F-
Oc :O.906~-10.55~ ~ e ~ e e ~"
7 )" - 0-796 a ~ a
lU 3O
t,/
F"
tn D O~b--"'~ ~ .o
It/
> 2O , O,X ~/../-%v~ ,e,
tn v _ . . e . o / ~ o - o a, ix
tO
at

o_ ,t0
y
0 Q
0

0 "" I L I I I I I I I I
18 Z2 26 50 -~4 m8 "t-Z ,46 50 54

5TIffrNE.~ CONSTANT [IX.NI/~'-]

FIG. 2
Variation of compressive strength with stiffness constant at all ages,
for all levels of cement replacement (RHA content)
and for both workability levels

CONCLUSIONS

The rice husk ash (RHA) used for the study had a carbon content of 8.60% and a combined
proportion o f silica, alumina and magnetite of 86.78%, both of which satisfy the requirements
of the American Society for Testing and Materials. It also had a specific gravity of 2.12.

For all design strengths, RHA contents and ages, the conventional concrete attained higher
values o f compressive strength , pulse velocity and stiffness constant than did the RHA
concrete. This is an indication that, for RHA concrete, the primary products o f hydration
formed by the reaction between cement and water account for a greater proportion o f each o f
these three quantities than do the secondary products of hydration resulting from the pozzolanic
reaction involving the ash.

The compressive strength as well as the pulse velocity and stiffness constant o f RHA
concrete increased with age but decreased with the RHA content. Furthermore, each of pulse
velocity and stiffness constant increased as the compressive strength increased and decreased
as the latter decreased; in each case the mathematical relationship was linear. There was a
parallel observation in the fact that, for equal workability, the required water content o f the
fresh mixes increased as the RHA content increased.

From the results obtained, it is reasonable to conclude that between conventional and RHA
concretes, there is no difference in the nature of the relationship between compressive strength
and each o f the non-destructive parameters, namely, pulse velocity and stiffness constant.
However, it appears that stiffness constant is a better predictor of the compressive strength of
RHA concrete than pulse velocity.
398 A.A. Ikpong Vol. 23, No. 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author wishes to acknowledge the financial support he received from the Research
Grant Committee of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Jos.

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