The International Journal of Cement Composites and Lightweight Concrete, Volume 6, Number 4 November 1984

SYNOPSIS
Use of rice Rice husk ash was prepared as a pozzolana by a special
process such that the final product conformed to engin-
eering requirements in terms of physical and chemical
h u s k ash in properties, and the silica remained in an amorphous form
with a minor amount of unburnt carbon. Results indi-

concrete cated that such a pozzolana can be produced with vary-

ing pozzolanic activity index depending on the degree of
grinding and the burning temperature. The effect of rice
husk ash content as partial replacement of cement on
Moayad N. AI-Khalaf* and compressive strength and volume changes of different
mixes is investigated. Test results showed that up to
Hana A. Yousift 40% replacement can be made with no significant
change in compressive strength compared with the con-
trol mix. However, the effect on volume changes is
within the limit specified in the American Standard.

KEYWORDS
Concrete materials, pozzolans, rice husk ash, cement
replacement, chemical composition, compressive
strength shrinkage, construction materials, cements,
wastes, strength of materials.

* Assistant Professor in Concrete Technology.
t Assistant Lecturer in Concrete Technology, Department of Building
and Construction, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq
(~) Construction Press 1984
0262-5075/84/06430241/$02.00
INTRODUCTION
Several investigations have been carried out to utilise
waste materials in construction. Apart from getting rid of
these materials, their use in construction protects the
environment from contamination. The waste product,
rice husk, generated from the accumulation of the outer
covering of rice grains during the milling process, con-
stitutes about 20% of 300 million metric tons of rice
produced annually in the world [1 ]. The chemical analysis
of husks [2] indicates that its major constituents are ash
(13-39% by weight), lignin, cellulose and moisture con-
tent. Attempts to utilise rice husks should therefore take
advantage of their high ash content, which consists
essentially of SiO 2, derived from the amorphous silica
present in the cellular structure [2]. Rice husk ash (RHA)
in a highly reactive form has been used as an excellent
filler for rubber [3], as a suitable raw material for making
hydraulic cement [4], as a good corrective admixture for
reducing expansion due to a l k a l i - silicate reaction [5],
and also to reduce temperature in high-strength mass
concrete [6].
The primary work on (RHA) was started at the Asian
Institute of Technology by Columna [7], who found out
that 'village burnt' husks were converted to ash at tem-
peratures less than 300C. Rice husk ash prepared in this
way is expected to have a considerable amount of carbon
which has an advberse effect upon its pozzolanic activity.
A study of the efficiency and effects of burning methods
on the quality and properties of RHA was carried out by
Mehta [8]. He found that field burning of rice husks
produced crystalline silica ash. However, burning the
husks in a controlled temperature furnace, the residual
silica ash is in a highly reactive form, and when mixed
with lime produced a rich black cement. Mehta con-
tinued his work by investigating the effect of rice husks
burned at an industrial furnace on the compressive
strength and durability of lime and portland-RHA
cements [4].

241
Use of rice husk ash in concrete AI-Khalaf and Yousif

6.
Cook, et al. [1] used the RHA as a pozzolanic mate- 1
rial. The material was prepared by burning the husks at I
5
450C for 4 hours and grinding the ash by using a ball mill
for 1 hours. They carried out tests to determine the
strength and volume change characteristics of concretes !
and pastes containing different percentages of RHA as
partial replacement by weight of cem'ent. E 3
.m

The aim of this work is to utilise the locally available Suit aide 'tin~
rice husks as a pozzolana such that it meets with the -

necessary engineering requirements. Some properties Ic

of cement pastes and mortars containing different per-

_______ .__.._~ t ~ -
centages of RHA as partial replacement by weight of _ ._._____ --------

cement are also investigated. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

0

EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME weight loss of dry husks Qt 1 0 5 C

P r e p a r a t i o n of R H A Burning of rice husks was carried

Figure 2 Characteristics of rice husks b u r n e d at 500C
out in a furnace with controlled temperature in order to
establish the optimum burning temperature and burning
time. In the first part of this study, the temperature was
increased by 100C per hour, after every hour the sample
(500 gm) was removed from the furnace, cooled and
weighed to an accuracy of 0.01 gm. The results were
then expressed as a percentage by weight of dried sam-
ple at 105C. To establish the most suitable burning time,
a sample of 200 gm of rice husks, dried at 105C, was
burnt at various temperatures namely 450, 500, 550,
,ooo1
u I

600, 700 and 850C. For each burning temperature, the

sample was removed from the furnace after 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, ~ IOOQO
2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 hours, cooled and weighed. The
weight loss was then determined.
Grinding was effected by using a modified Los-
"C" SO00 Bur
Angles machine. Two methods were tried on samples,
weighing 1 kg, and burned at 450C for 2 hours - - the
first by using steel balls, and the second, using a steel
chain of 2 m length and 450 gm/m weight in addition to

i 5
Grinding t i m e - h r s
90Q-

Figure 3 Relationship between grinding time and fineness

800- ol rice husk ash burned at v a r i o u s
temperatures for 2 h o u r s
700-

o
O 60 0 -
the steel balls. It appeared, from Blaine fineness tests,
500-
that the second method produced more efficient grind-
ing and therefore was adopted throughout this work. In
40 0 -
addition, tests and measurements were also made to
find the relationship between time of grinding, burning
3oo-
temperature and fineness of RHA.

C h e m i c a l a n a l y s i s and x-ray diffraction analysis of

f 200 -
R H A Chemical analysis of RHA was made on samples
2~
burned at various temperatures for 2, 3 and 4 hours and
100-
ground for 1 hours. The results were expressed as a
percentage by weight of dried sample at 105C.
lo 20 30 ~o so 60 To eo 90 The silica content of the ash, which is derived from
the amorphous silica present in the cellular structure of
/o w e i g h t loss
the husks, was checked after the remcval of the car-
Figure 1 Characteristics of rice husks on ignition with bonaceous matter during the burning process by means
respect to dry husks at 105C of x-ray diffraction.

242
Use of rice husk ash in concrete
60
50
t.0
:>,,
6~0.
-
- ,
m20.
10
15 l& 13 12
Diffraction
Figure 4 x-ray diffraction analysis of RHA burned at 500C for 2 hours
Pozzolanic activity of RHA at various fineness and
burning temperatures Based on previous tests, and to
investigate the relationship between the fineness of
RHA and its pozzolanic activity, samples burned at 500C
for 2 hours were ground for different periods. Further, to
study the relationship between the pozzolanic activity of
RHA and the burning temperature, samples were burned
at 450, 500, 550, 600 and 700C for 2 hours and ground
for the same period (6 hours).
The preparation and testing of plain mortar and
cement-RHA mortar specimens for pozzolanic activity
test were carried out in accordance with ASTM C 618 80..
The materials used throughout the work were distilled
water, ordinary portland cement and natural sand graded
in accordance with section (4) of ASTM C 109 77. The
percentage oxide composition, by weight, of cement
was as follows: Loss
CaQ SiO2 AI203 Fe203 SO 3 M g O K20 Na20
62.95 22.04 5.84 2.80 2.09 2.56 0.50 0.12 0.94
Strength and volume change tests All specimens of
pastes and mortars were prepared using the materials
described for pozzolanic activity tests except that the
burnt husks at 500C for 2 hours were ground for 1hour
(fineness 11,500 cm2/gm).
For the strength tests mortar cubes of 1:2 and 1:3
cement to sand ratio with 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% RHA
replacement by weight of cement and having the same
consistency (as determined by the flow test) were used.
In addition, other 1:2 mortar mixes with 0, 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50% RHA replacement by weight of cement but
with variable W/(C + RHA) ratio for each cement-RHA
combination were used to determine the influence of
W/(C + RHA) on compressive strength. Three 50 mm
cubes were moulded from each mix. After casting, the
AI-Khalaf and Yousif
S O
II
(%1
11 10
angle 2~(o)
specimens were placed immediately in a moist closet
maintained at a temperature of 23 + 2C and RH of about
95% for 24 hours, after which the specimens were
removed from the moulds and stored in water at a tem-
perature of 23 + 2C. The specimens were tested in
compression after 1,3, 7, 28 and 60 days of curing.
The volume change tests were made using five
types of paste mixes with 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% RHA
replacement by weight of cement. For shrinkage
measurement of mortars, five mixes of 1:2 cement to
sand ratio were also used with cement replacement up
to 40%. Sufficient amount of distilled water was added
to each mix to produce a flow of 110%. For each of the
shrinkage or swelling test, three 25 x 25 x 280 mm
prisms were prepared from each mix. After moulding the
specimens were placed in a moist closet at 23 + 2C and
RH of about 95% for 24 hours. The specimens were
on
demoulded and placed immediately in water at a tem-
ignition perature of 23 + 2C for 28 days (including the period in
the mould). The specimens for shrinkage studies were
then left in dry air with an average temperature of 30C
and an average humidity of 40% for 32 days, while
specimens used for swelling studies were kept in water.
Volume change measurements were taken at regular
intervals up to 60 days.
TEST RESULTS A N D DISCUSSION
Loss on ignition The loss on ignition test results are
shown in Figure 1, which indicates that the most conven-
ient and economical temperature required for conversion
of rice husks into ash with approximately constant
weight is 500C. However, during ignition the tempera-
ture of the samples rose to higher values than the ones
stated above for a short period depending on the weight
of the sample. Below this temperature, the ignition was
243
 Use of rice husk ash in concrete AI Khalaf and Yousif

not fully completed and the considerable amount of the
unburnt carbon was expected to have an adverse effect
upon the pozzolanic activity of the resulting ash. Cook et
al. [1 ] found that the suitable temperature for burning rice
husks is 450C. The results shown in Figure 2 suggest
that the most suitable time to produce the ash from rice
husks burned at 500C is at about 2 hours. Beyond this
time, any further weight loss is too small and can be
neglected. In the tests by Cook etal. [1] the suitable time
to produce the RHA was found to be four hours, which
appears to be rather high in relation to these tests. Simi-
lar results were also obtained for rice husks burned at
450, 550, 600, 700 and 850C.
Grinding time tests The results of the tests grinding
time, burning temperature and fineness of RHA are
shown in Figure 3. The data indicate that the fineness of
RHA (expressed in terms of specific surface)increases
with increase in grinding time for all burning tempera-
tures. In general, for a given grinding time, three was a
considerable reduction in the specific surface area of
RHA as the burning temperature increased. Such reduc-
tion in the specific surface area may be due to the
decrease in carbon content with the increase in burning
temperature as shown in Table 1, indicating that the
carbon particles are too fine and have too high specific
surface area compared with the silicate particles.
For samples burned at 450C for 2 hours there was a
greater variation in specific surface area between sam-
ples. Although the reason for this is not fully known, it is
thought that this is due partly to the availability of a
considerable amount of unburnt and non-uniformly dis-
persed carbon particles. However, samples burned at
450C have specific areas which are nearly the same as
that of samples burned at 500C, Figure 3. This similarity
between the specific surface of the two samples was
continued for up to two hours of grinding. Beyond this
time, the difference in the measured specific surface
areas increased, but not significantly. In order to control
the quality and uniformity of the final RHA product, it is
suggested that they should not be burnt at a temperature
of less than 500C.
Chemical analysis and x-ray diffraction The chemical
analysis of RHA prepared under the specified burning
and grinding conditions showed that its main constituent
is silica - - typically 85-88%; the ash also contained
some minor oxides such as alkalis, sulphate, calcium and
few traces of other elements Table 1. Further, for all
burning temperatures, the loss on ignition, as an approx-
imation of carbon content, is within the limit specified by
most standards [9,10].
The x-ray diffraction patterns (Figure 4) of RHA
burned at 450, 500, 550, 600 and 700C for 2 hours
indicated that the silica content of the ash, which is
derived from the amorphous silica present in the cellular
structure of the husks, remained amorphous after the
removal of carbonaceous matter during the burning pro-
cess, and there were no crystalline phases of silica such
as quartz, tridymite and cristobalite. On the other hand,
results for husks burned at a temperature of 850C for 2
hours, indicate the development of silica into a quartz
crystalline phase. Results also showed that the silica
remained in the amorphous form, when husks were
burnt at temperatures between (450-700C for 3 and 4
hours. Since the crystalline forms of silica have 16wer
reactivity than the amorphous one, it is essential that rice
husks should not be burnt at a temperature of 850C and
higher.
Based on data presented in Table 1 and on ASTM
C618 (section 2) definition, the prepared RHA can be
classified as an artificial pozzolan of siliceous material.
Further, the RHA used throughout this work, conformed
to the chemical and physical requirements of ASTM
C618 class N pozzolans. The specific gravity of RHA was
found to be 2.14. This value is within that specified for
other pozzolans, which is usually between 2.1 and 2.4
[11]. This is also very close to the value reported by
Mehta and Polivka [5] for rice hull ash which was 2.08.
However, Cook et al. [1 ] reported a value of 3.14 which is
rather high.
Pozzolanic activity The relationship between the fine-
ness of RHA and the amount of water required for stan-
dard consistency of mortars, having (cement + RHA) to
sand ratio of (0.73 + 0.27) : 2.75, expressed in terms of
W/(C + RHA) ratio (Figure 5) suggests that the water
requirement decreases as the fineness of RHA
increases. This is mainly due to the fact that the consis-
tency of mortar mix increases due to the lubricating
ability of the (cement-RHA) paste in mortar and to an
increase in the cohesion of the mixture as the fineness of
RHA increases. Results also showed that for the same
mix proportions, the amount of water required for stan-

Table 1 Chemical analysis of rice husk ash

Temperature Loss Percentage oxide composition
and time of on
burning ignition SiO2 K~O SO3 CaO Na~O MgO AI203 P~Os CI Fe203 MnO
450C for 2 hrs 3.49 85.88 4.10 1.24 1.12 1.15 0.46 0.47 0.34 0.39 0.18 0.091
500C for 2 hrs 3.30 86.89 3.84 1.54 1.40 1.15 0.37 0.40 0.35 0.45 0.19 0.087
550C for 2 hrs 2.89 87.19 4.10 1.54 1.30 1.05 0.43 0.37 0.32 0.33 0.17 0.091
600C for 2 hrs 2.69 86.02 3.76 1.82 1.12 1.15 0.39 0.36 0.30 0.27 0.16 0.086
700C for 2 hrs 2.38 85.81 4.10 1.88 1.40 1.22 0.40 0.38 0.30 0.14 0.17 0.091
850C for 2 hrs 1.89 87.72 3.96 1.25 1.43 1.11 0.36 0.40 0.30 0.16 0.16 0.090

244
Use of rice husk ash in concrete AI-Khalaf and Yousif

120
! 1 I 1
11o
|c+RHA) :sand
ii (0-73+(~27):2.75 1o0 --

20000. I
i i 90,

f
c
i
I
E ~ 8 0 - min. pozzoLanit activity
' I X
!

/,
I
I x ?O
/ I
U 15000-
"- 60,
I f
i
< ~ SO ; I
-1- >
tI
./
tY o 40

\
10000
O .~
t"
sooo
u_
0.2 0.4 0.6 0-8 1-0 1.2
W~'c* RHA)
Figure 5 Relationship between the fineness of RHA
and W/(C + RHA) ratio for cement-RHA mortars
of a standard c o n s i s t e n c y
dard consistency of cement-RHA mortar is always
higher than that required for plain mortar of the same
consistency even if it contains too fine RHA.
Results obtained from pozzolanic activity index tests
(Figure 6) show that the pozzolanic activity increases as
the specific surface increases. The minimum pozzolanic
activity of RHA required by class N section [4], of ASTM
C618-80 can be obtained when RHA has a specific sur-
face of about 11 500 cm2/gm. Considering Figure 3 for
samples burned at 500C for 2 hours, the corresponding
grinding time required is 1 hours. Further, Figure 6 also
shows that the strength of cement-RHA mortar having
(cement + RHA) to sand ratio of (0.73 + 0.27) : 2.75
approaches the strength of plain mortar of the same mix
proportions when the specific surface of RHA is about
17 000 cm2/gm. Moreover, a highly active RHA can be
30
7 I
~ 2o
g I
10
I
I
I
I
o I
I sooo ~ ooo o ~ sooo ~oooo 25000
I
I
i
Specific surface of RHA crn~/gm
;
Figure 6 Relationship between specific surface of RHA and
1-~, 1-6
its pozzolanic activity index with portland cement
obtained when its specific surface is about 21,000 cm2/
gm. This can be reached by grinding for 12 hours.
The relationship between the pozzolanic activity of
RHA burned at various temperatures and the corre-
sponding burning temperature is shown in Table 2. The
results indicate that, in general, pozzolanic activity
increases as burning temperature increases. This may be
due to the decrease in carbon content which replaces
part of the weight of RHA but which has no pozzolanic
activity. However, there is no significant difference
between the pozzolanic activity of ashes burned at 500
and 700C. Taking into consideration the additional
energy required for burning at a higher temperature, it is
obvious that the most suitable burning temperature is
500C.
Strength r e s u l t s Mortar mixes of different mix propor-
tion were used to investigate the effect of using RHA as
partial replacement by weight of cement, as well as the
effect of W/(C + RHA) ratio upon the compressive

Table 2 Pozzolanic activity of rice husk ash at v a r i o u s b u r n i n g t e m p e r a t u r e

Burning Compressive Pozzolanic
Mix - description temperature strength activity index
(C+RHA):sand (C) W/(C + RHA) N/mm 2 (%)
(1.0 + 0.0):2.75 -- 0.68 24.3 --
(0.73 + 0.27);2.75 450 0.77 23.4 96.3
(0.73 + 0.27):2.75 500 0.77 23.5 96.6
(0.73 + 0.27):2.75 550 0.78 22.5 92.6
(0.73 + 0.27):2.75 600 0.78 23.6 97.1
(0.73 + 0.27):2.75 700 0.78 24.2 99.6

245
Use of rice husk ash in concrete AI-Khalaf and Yousif

strength at various ages. The results are.shown in Tables

3 and 4. These data show that, in general, the higher the
percentage of RHA content, the lower the compressive
strength at early ages. On the other hand, at 60 days the
1:2 mortar mix with 30% cement replacement reached
nearly the same strength as those of the corresponding
SO -1
plain mortar. For 50% cement replacement mixes, there
was a significant reduction in the compressive strength
at early ages as well as at 60 days.
The results also show that regardless of the agg/cem
~0'
ratio of the mix, the rate of increase in the compressive
strength of cement-RHA mortars increases relative to
those of plain mortars with the progress of hydration.
Further, this rate of increase in compressive strength is
~ o
higher for mixes of high agg/cem ratio than that for the ~ 30'
corresponding mixes of low agg/cem ratio. A higher RHA
Z
content in the mix also leads to a lower strength. This I
may be due to the fact that the quantity of RHA present in
the mix is higher than that required to combine with the
liberated lime during the process of hydration thus lead- ~ 20.
~-'~1 ~els "",%
ing to excess silica leached out and causing a deficiency
in strength as it replaces part of the cementitious mate- of ~
rial but does not contribute to strength. P
The influence of W/(C + RHA) ratio upon the com- 0 ".,diV
E
pressive strength of cement-RHA mortars was also 10-
studied using different mix proportions [12]. Typical data '~e
for such relations is illustrated in Figure 7 for 1:2 cement-
RHA mortar with 50% cement replacement. Initially, as
the W/(C + RHA) ratio decreases the strength of
cement-RHA mortars increases. However, when the 0.$ 0.6 0.'/ O,B 0-9
W/(C + RHA) ratio decreases below a certain value (0.65 /
in Figure 7), the compressive strength also decreases. W / ( c * R HA)
This is mainly due to the reduction in the flowability of the
Figure 7 Effect of water content on compressive
strength of 1:2 cement-RHA mortar containing
3O% RHA

Table 3 Compressive strength of 1:2 cement - - RHA mortars of the same consistency
Age at test
Mix-description (C 1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days 60 days
+ RHA):sand W/(C + RHA) N/mm ~ N/mm 2 N/mm 2 N/mm 2 N/mm ~
(1.0 + 0.0):2 0.62 14.1 20.9 26.7 37.9 43.2
(0.9 + 0.1):2 0.56 12.8 19.7 25.4 37.2 45.4
(0.8 + 0.2):2 0.63 11.9 18.6 23.7 35.2 43.6
(0.7 + 0.3):2 0.71 10.9 17.4 21.9 33.7 42.4
(0.6 + 0.4):2 0.80 7.6 12.2 16.3 27.3 33.7
(0.5 + 0.5):2 0.91 5.5 8.4 11.5 15.9 20.7

Table 4 Compressive strength of 1:3 c e m e n t - - RHA mortars of the same consistency

Age at test
Mix-description (C 1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days 60 days
+ RHA):sand W/(C + RHA) N/ram2 N/mm 2 N/ram~ N/ram2 N/mm 2
(1.0 + 0.0):3 0.71 6.6 8.9 14.2 23.3 26.5
(0.9 + 0.1):3 0.77 6.4 8.8 14.6 25.4 31.7
(0.8 + 0.2):3 0.81 5.9 8.1 13.6 24.1 28.6
(0.7 + 0.3):3 0.87 5.5 7.7 13.6 22.8 26.9
(0.6 + 0.4):3 0.94 3.9 5.8 11.4 20.0 25.7
(0.5 + 0.5):3 1.03 2.9 4.1 7.4 12.3 17.6

246
Use of rice husk ash in concrete AI-Khalaf and Yousif

fresh mortars so that full compaction can not be
achieved. If fully compacted mortars can be obtained,
the W/(C + RHA) ratio strength relation would follow the
dotted line in Figure 7.
Swelling and shrinkage Swelling and shrinkage
characteristics of cement-RHA pastes are presented in
Figures 8 and 9 respectively. The results show that the
higher the RHA content, the higher are the swelling and
shrinkage. At 60 days, the swelling ratio of cement-RHA
paste to that of cement paste is 1.4 and 1.51 for 30 and
40% cement replacement respectively, while the corre-
sponding shrinkage ratios are 1.31 and 1.39. These val-
ues are considerably lower than those obtained Cook et
al. [1] at the same age. However the shrinkage
characteristics of cement-RHA mortars shown in Figure 10
indicate that the shrinkage ratios of cement-RHA mortar to
that of plain mortar are 1.18 and 1.26 for 30 and 40%
RHA content respectively. This percentage increase in
drying shrinkage of mortar bars seems to be within the
limit specified by ASTM C618, i.e. less than 0.03%.
Comparing the shrinkage characteristics of cement-
RHA mortars with those of cement-RHA pastes, it is
apparent that the effect of increasing RHA content for
mortar mixes is less than those for paste mixes due to
the restraining effect of fine aggregates on shrinkage.

6 00, ! _j
e
G /

s 0o e Xf -i
/ / /
, i

i,o0
- /
/

~/0/ I ,
i

i
i/
~'x"
200 /Jf / 8-- &O "1. RHA )* O &0 A* RHA
X ] 0 *J* IIHA

~ - - 20 I]1 R H A
10 'J* m4A
100 ~ , ~- ~o. RHA

r
10 20 30 t.O SO
A g e _days
80
0
J
Age _ doys
Figure 8 Swelling of cement-RHA pastes
Figure 10 Shrinkage of cement-RHA mortars

CONCLUSIONS
1, The most convenient and economical burning condi-
tions required to convert rice husks into a homogenous
and well burnt ash, taking into consideration the quality
of the produced ash and the energy used in its prepara-
tion, are 500C for 2 hours.
2. The relationship between grinding time and fineness
of RHA burned at various temperatures suggested that
for a given grinding time, there is a considerable reduc-
tion in the specific surface area of RHA as the burning
temperature increases.
3. Based on these studies, the RHA produced can be
calssified as an artificial pozzolana of siliceous material,
the material conforming to the chemical and physical
requirements of class N pozzolan (ASTM C618). It has a
specific gravity of 2.14.
4. For a mortar mix with constant RHA content, the
10 20 30 /.0 50 water requirement decreases as the fineness of the ash
A g e _ days increases. The minimum pozzolanic activity of RHA
Figure 9 Shrinkage of cement-RHA pastes required by class N can be obtained when the ash has a

E
247
Use of rice husk ash in concrete
specific surface of about 11 500 cm2/gm. The strength
of cement-RHA mortar approaches the strength of the
corresponding plain mortar of the same consistency
when the specific surface of RHA is about 17 000 cm2/
gm.
5. For 1:2 and 1:3 mortar mixes of standard consis-
tency, the optimum percentage of RHA that can be
replaced by weight of cement without the 60 day
strength being less than that of the corresponding plain
mortar was 30 and 40% respectively.
6. The higher the percentage of RHA, the higher are the
volume change characteristics compared with those of
the corresponding plain mixes. However, the percentage
increase in drying shrinkage of mortar bars seems to be
within the limit specified by ASTM C618-80.
REFERENCES
1. Cook, D. J., Pama, R. P. and Damer, S. A. 'The
behaviour of concrete and cement paste containing
rice husk ash', Proceedings, Conference of Hydraulic
Cement Pastes, Their Structure and Properties, Uni-
versity of Sheffield. April 1976, pp. 268-283.
2. Mehta, P. K. and Pitt, N. 'Energy and industrial mate-
rials from crop residues', Resource Recovery and
Conversion, (Amsterdam)Vol. 12, No. 1, 1976,
pp. 23-38.
3. Haxo Jr, H. E. and Mehta, P. K. 'Ground rice-- hull
ash as a filler for rubber', American Ceramic Society,
October 1974, pp. 273-287.
248
AI-Khalaf and Yousif
4. Mehta, P. K. 'Properties of blended cements made
from rice husk ash', Journal of American Concrete
Institute, Proceedings, Vol. 74, No. 9, September
1977, pp. 440-442.
5. Mehta, P. K. and Polivka, Milos 'Use of highly active
pozzolans for reducing expansion in concretes con-
taining reactive aggregates'. Living with marginal
aggregates, ASTM STP 597, American Society for
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