Evaluation of ordinary portland cement substitution by rice husk ash when applied on the paving

Abstract

Nowadays ordinary Portland cement is one of the most consumed products worldwide. In the same way, it is one of the major responsible for the emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere due to of the way it is produced. There is an urgent necessity to substitute this one or at least to reduce its consumption. The overall trend is one society that starts to consume and reuse its own residue due to your own necessity and to decrease the usage of natural raw materials and, in the same time, consequently by the inevitability of treatment of those that needs a correct disposal. In this way, numerous alternative materials have emerged susceptible to substitution of the conventional ones, such as the Rice Husk Ash result of the burning process of the organic material remaining from the rice husk. In the current work, the partial and total replacement of the cement by Rice Husk Ash is verified, evaluating its potential of use in the paving. The substitutions were conducted in the contents of 20%, 50% and 100% in relation to the dry mass of the cement. A specific apparent dry weight of 20 kN/m³ was adopted as well as a moisture content of 7% for the preparation of test specimens following the Marshall methodology. After this the specimens were evaluated by Splitting-Tensile Strength. The substitution of 20% was favorable considering the minimum requirements of usage determined by DNIT 167/2013-ES, therefore, it can represent a drastic reduction in the consumption of cement in these cases, contributing technically, economically and environmentally.