Development of Polymer Modified Rice Husk Ash Concrete (PMRHAC)
The polymer modification of the concrete has been performed successfully for last more than 85 years. A number of polymer-based admixtures are being used to alter the properties of concrete to be used for repair and rehabilitation of concrete. The initiated research focuses on a new approach of development of polymer-modified concrete with appropriate replacement of cement with rice husk ash (RHA) produced by the incineration of rice husk. This paper presents the optimum possible replacement of cement with rice husk ash by not compromising on mechanical properties of concrete and addition of optimum proportion of re-dispersible polymer powder (RPP).The Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were conducted to verify silica content and amorphous silica in RHA. The replacement of cement with RHA was done with 1% to 15%. The significant improvement in compressive strength with 10 % replacement of cement with RHA is obvious in the results. Further, on inclusion of various % age dosages of RPP in the optimum mix of rice husk ash concrete, the visible improvement in the strength, particularly in the tensile strength is achieved with 2.5 % (of weight of cement) inclusion of re-dispersible polymer powder.