8th IEEE International Conference Humanoid, Nanotechnology, Information Technology

Communication and Control, Environment and Management (HNICEM)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Philippine Section
9-12 December 2015 Water Front Hotel, Cebu, Philippines

Effect of Rice Husk Ash as Cement Replacement in

the Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement
Mortar Cube
Darla T. Ambas
Giovann Mikhael C. Dela Rosa
Lance Joseph A. Esquejo
Jomaris D. Gil
Micah L. Magtalas
Cleo Jean D. Rubinas
Civil Engineering Department
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
Manila, Philippines

Reynaldo Ted L. Peas II, M.Sc.Engg

Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
Manila, Philippines
theengineerpen@gmail.com
Abstract This study introduces the use of Rice Husk
Ash (RHA) as a cement replacement in testing the
compressive strength of hydraulic cement mortar cubes.
The sample cement and sand were acquired from a local
hardware store and the RHA from rice mills of Bocaue,
Bulacan. The sample mortars were molded from 2-in.
cubes using a cement-sand ratio of 1:2.75 (1 part cement,
2.75 parts sand by weight). The samples were tested during
its 15th day strength. Regression equations and correlation
were obtained to provide the best fit curve that can be used
in predicting the compressive strength of a cement mortar
with RHA replacement. Other physical and chemical
properties are not taken into notice in this study.
Keywords Rice Husk Ash, Hydraulic Cement Mortar

Cubes
I. INTRODUCTION
Cement is a very valuable commodity as it can be used to
construct structurally sound buildings and infrastructure.
However, in many developing countries cement is expensive
due to the limited local resources in producing enough cement.
For a country to meet the demand of this material, it has
therefore to be imported. In rice producing countries, rice husk
ash, a material naturally high in silica, can be used as a
supplementary cement material and can substitute a portion of
cement in concrete without sacrificing the compressive
strength [1].
The Philippines is a major agribusiness sector, which has
achieved remarkable success over the years. Its economic

978-1-5090-0360-0/15/$31.00 2015 IEEE

resources, even agricultural wastes, can be great contributors

not only to the progressive money growth and advancement in
industrial infrastructures of the country but also to the
recycling agricultural wastes such as rice husks. Agricultural
waste or residue is made up of organic compounds from
organic sources such as rice straw, oil palm, empty fruit
bunch, sugar cane bagasse, coconut shell, rice husk and others.
Rice husk from paddy (Oryza sativa) is one example of
alternative material that has a great potential. It is also a good
substitute for cement mixtures.
This husk is used as fuel in the rice mills to generate steam
for the parboiling process. The produced partially burnt husk
from the milling plants, when used as a fuel, also contributes
to pollution, which many are exerting effort to overcome this
environmental issue by utilizing this material as a
supplementary cementing material. The chemical composition
of rice husk is found to vary from one sample to another due
to the differences in the type of paddy, crop year, climate and
geographical conditions (Journal of Materials Science,
Norwell).
Rice husk gives a good quality of pozzolanic ash
containing silica, which is considered a good substitute for
cement [2],[3]. It is prepared by burning the husk at a low
enough temperature to form ash, which can be ground into a
fine powder, adding lime that can be mixed into cement (30%
RHA, 70% Portland cement). Cement is a very important
building material, but today it is very much short in supply.
With the increase in constructional activities, its demand will
also increase. A study [4] on strength and carbonation model
of rice husk ash cement mortars with different fineness was
observed on a sieve no. 325. Three fineness levels, original

8th IEEE International Conference Humanoid, Nanotechnology, Information Technology

Communication and Control, Environment and Management (HNICEM)
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Philippine Section
9-12 December 2015 Water Front Hotel, Cebu, Philippines

(RAO), medium (RA1), and fine (RA2), were used to partially

replace ordinary portland cement and the mortars were tested
for compressive strength, porosity, and carbonation depth. The
results showed that the mortars with fine rice husk were the
strongest, became the least porous, and has the lowest
carbonation depth among the other samples. The replacement
level increase for each mortar indicated a significant increase
in carbonation depth, a decrease in compressive strength, and
an increase in water requirement.
Other properties such as chloride permeability and
sorptivity (measure of the capacity of the medium to absorb or
desorb liquid by capillarity) were also investigated [5], and it
was evident that the chloride permeability is well-correlated
with the compressive strength, making rice husk ash a highly
reactive pozzolan that improves strength and absorption
characteristics of cement.
II. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Based on the materials and procedures stated in Standard
Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement
Mortars or simply known as ASTM C109/C109M, 2-in. or
[50-mm] Cube Specimens are used.
A. Mortar Concrete Mixing
The mixing proportions of materials to be used in this test
will be one part of cement to 2.75 parts of the graded standard
sand by weight. Instead of the water-cement ratio conformed
in the ASTM C109, there will be no certain amount of water
mixed because rice husk ash has a property to absorb water.
Thus, the mixing of water will be little by little until the
mixture turns into a clay-like texture. The rice husk ash was
obtained from a rice mill in Bocaue, Bulacan, and a cement
percentage 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% will be the amount
replaced by the rice husk ash. Three cubes or samples per
percentage composition are produced for the experiment.
B. Curing
The hardened mortar cubes will be submerged for 14 days
in the curing chamber prepared. After this, it will be crushed
to determine its compressive strength.
C. Compressive Strength Test
In accordance with the standard procedure, the weights of
the block samples are taken before conducting the
compressive strength test. During the compressive test,
compressive strength data will be recorded. Computations will
commence once all the data needed is obtained.
D. Statistical Test
In order to assess the significance of the composition of
rice husk ash in the concrete mortar cube, necessary statistical
tests must be done. Table 1 and Table 2 shows the formula
that is used to determine parameters in the descriptive
statistics and regression analysis respectively. Consistencies of
the data obtained can be determined by analyzing the mean

and variance while the regression analysis can establish the

mathematical model, and reliability of each model, that can
best represent the trend of change in concrete mixture
composition.
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics Table of Formula
Parameter

Formula

Mean or Average

x
x = n

Variance

( x x )2
s 2 = n 1

Standard Deviation

( x x )2
s = n 1

Nonlinear modelssuch as the exponential, power and

hyperbolicshould be linearized first before determining their
respective models and correlation coefficients.
Table 2. Regression and Correlation Table of Formula
Mathematical
Model

Formula

y = A + Bx,
Linear

n xy x
y
where B = 2 2 , A = y Bx
n x ( x )
Correlation of Coefficient
n xy x y
r=
2
2
2
n
x

( x ) n y2 ( y )

Exponential

y = aebx

Power

y = ax b

Hyperbolic/
Saturation

y=

ax
x +b

III. DATA, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The result of the compressive strength test is shown in
Table 3. An inverse relationship can be drawn by observing
the data of the percentage mix of RHA and its compressive
strength. Computed values for mean and variance are
presented in Table 4. The 40% RHA-mixed samples have
shown a very low compressive strength but its variation with
respect to the mean is very small. The compressive strength
average increases as the composition mix of RHA decreases.
This indicates that an ample addition of RHA in place of
cement composition can enhance the compressive strength of
the concrete.

8th IEEE International Conference Humanoid, Nanotechnology, Information Technology

Communication and Control, Environment and Management (HNICEM)
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Philippine Section
9-12 December 2015 Water Front Hotel, Cebu, Philippines

Table 3. Data Obtained from the Compressive Strength Test

6
5.5

Average
Actual Data
Linear
Exponential
Power
Hyperbolic

Compressive Strength (MPa)

Table 4. Calculated Descriptive Statistics Parameters

Parameters (in MPa)
% RHA

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5

sx2

sx

0
(Control Mix)
10

12.31

4.83

0.7237

0.851

20

3.2

0.1757

0.419

30

2.74

0.3551

0.596

Figure 1. Scatter Plot and Curve Plot of the Regression Models

40

1.52

0.0231

0.152

The results have shown that the average compressive

strength of the concrete mortars decrease with an increase in
percent composition of RHA. A linear model has been
established and it showed a strong correlation between the
percent compositions of RHA against the average compressive
strength of the samples.

Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient has been

obtained using the percentage composition of RHA against the
mean of compressive strength for each mix. The resulting
values are presented in Table 5. The r-values are all negative,
exhibiting an inverse relationship where the compressive
strength increases every time the percentage of RHA
decreases and vice-versa. The best fit model is the linear
model, also showing a strong correlation for the two variables
being tested.
Table 5. Regression and Correlation Analysis
Mathematical Model

Pearson Product-Moment
Correlation Coefficient (r)

Linear

0.9798

Exponential

0.9771

Power

0.9437

Hyperbolic

0.7917

The scatter plot and regression curves can also be seen in

Figure 1. The indication of the linear model as the best
mathematical model to represent the relationship of RHA
percentage mix and the compressive strength of RHA-mixed
concrete mortars is also evident in the plot. The averages of
the points for each percentage composition of RHA have
minimal error to the best fit line.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
In this study, three samples for each composition mix of rice
husk ash have been tested for compressive strength. Five
different percentages by weight of RHA were presented: 0-,
10-, 20-, 30- and 40-percent mix in place of cement for each
concrete mortar cube.

2
1.5
1
0.1

0.15

0.2
0.25
0.3
Composition of Rice Husk Ash (%)

0.35

0.4

Further study on the effect of rice husk ash on concrete can

be done by more trials and samples to increase the consistency
of the data obtained in the experiment. Different percentages,
other than what has been used in this paper, can also be
explored to establish a finer regression model for the
correlation of the two parameters used in this study.
REFERENCES
[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Bin Mahmud, H. Hamid, N.A.A., Koay Yew Chin, Production of high

strength concrete incorporating an agricultural waste rice husk ash,
2nd Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering (ICBEE),
2010.
Zhong Yuxia, Wang Xianli, Hu Xiangxiu, Chen Xiaoyu, Zhnag Rui,
Study on the Effects of Rice Husk Quantity and Particle Size on the
Compressive Strength of Concrete Based on Experiment, 7th
International Conference on Intelligent Computation Technology and
Automation (ICICTA), 2014.
Swaminathen, A.N., Indian Rice Husk Ash Improving the strength
and durability of concrete: A review, International Conference on
Current Trends in Engineering and Technology (ICCTET), 2013.
Rukzon, S. and Chindaprasirt, P., Strength and Carbonation of Rice
Husk Ash Cement Mortar with Different Fineness, Journal of Materials
in Civil Engineering ASCE 22(3), p. 253-259, 2010.
Muthadhi, A. and Kothandaraman, S., Experimental Investigations of
Performance Characteristics of Rice Husk Ash-Blended Concrete,
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering ASCE 25(8), p. 1115-1118,
2013.