Rick husk waste amounting to 1.

2MT is generated yearly in Nigeria this has an adverse effect

on the environment. This study investigates the properties of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) as a
partial replacement for cement in High Strength Concrete (HSC) for sustainable and
economic construction using Fracture Mechanics Parameters such as Crack Tip Opening
𝑠
Displacement test (𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑫𝒄 ) and Stress Intensity Factor (𝐾𝐼𝐶 ) to understand the behaviour of
the concrete to fracture toughness which is an indication of the strength of the concrete when
subjected to loading.
The rice husks were obtained from Ire Ekiti, calcined to ash in a furnace under a temperature
range of 700℃ for 6 hrs sieved and milled to 42µm. Further milling was done to achieve
0.72µm and improve the surface area to 127𝑚2 /𝑔. The ash was subjected to a chemical
analysis to determine its composition. Two samples of RHA (milled and unmilled) were
prepared and 𝑅𝐻𝐴 − 𝐶𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 blends were prepared by replacing 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%
and 50% by weight of cement with RHA. To obtain the optimum percentage replacement of
RHA for our target streangth of 60Mpa,12 cubes each of 60Mpa specification were casted for
7, 14, 21 and 28 days respectively for the compressive strength test. Based on the optimum
percentage RHA replacement, 78 beams (18, 30 and 30 for 0%, 10% and 20% 𝑅𝐻𝐴 −
𝐶𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 blend HSC) were prepared. To obtain 𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑫𝒄 − 𝑲𝒔𝑰𝑪 function an experimential
Fracture Mechanics three-point bending test (TPBT) was conducted recording the peak load
for each beam. A combination of numerical and statistical models was employed to develop
𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑫𝒄 − 𝑲𝒔𝑰𝑪 function and evaluated.
In the RHA produced, the combined proportion of silicon dioxide (𝑆𝑖𝑂2 ), Aluminium oxide
(𝐴𝑙2 𝑂3 ), and Iron oxide (𝐹𝑒2 𝑂3 ) gives 91.48% (87.32%, 3.11% and 1.05% respectively)
with loss of Ignition (𝐿𝑂𝑖) of 3.79%, thus, satisfying the ASTM 70% minimum requirement
for the combined proportion of these oxides and 6% maximum Loss of Ignition. From the
compressive strength test, the unmilled 𝑅𝐻𝐴 − 𝐶𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 blends performed poorly with
respect to the control mix while the milled 𝑅𝐻𝐴 − 𝐶𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 shows a progressive increase in
strength and peaked at 10% with an average 28 days compressive strength of 63.70 𝑀𝑃𝑎
while 20% RHA gives 59.85 𝑀𝑃𝑎. Given the close proximity of the average compressive
strength of the 20% RHA to the target strength of 60 𝑀𝑃𝑎, 10% and 20% RHA mixes were
chosen as the likely optimum RHA replacement level. In view of this, 78 beams (30 beams
for 10% and 20% RHA and 18 beams for control) were cast and subjected to loading till
failure adopting Fracture Mechanics (TPBT) experiment and the peak loads were recorded.
Based on the numerical analysis done, there was a progressive increase in 𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑫𝒄 and 𝑲𝒔𝑰𝑪
with increase in RHA content in the concrete mixes with 20% having the highest
𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑫𝒄 and 𝑲𝒔𝑰𝑪 (𝟏. 𝟒𝟏𝟗𝟕 𝑴𝑷𝒂√𝒎 and 𝟎. 𝟎𝟑𝟏𝟕𝒎𝒎) values compared to the control and
the 10% RHA.
The use of Nigerian sourced RHA in HSC proofed to be a suitable material for the partial
replacement of concrete while enhancing the fracture behaviour of concrete structures.
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