Author(s)

Issiaka Sanou^1,2*, Moustapha Sawadogo¹, Mohamed Seynou¹, Lamine Zerbo¹, Raguilnaba Ouedraogo¹

¹Laboratoire de Chimie Moléculaire et de Matériaux, équipe de physico-chimie et de Technologie des matériaux, UFR/Sciences Exactes et Appliquées, Université Joseph KI-ZERBO, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
²Laboratoire de Chimie et Energies Renouvelables, Unité de recherche en Physico-Chimie et Technologie des Matériaux UFR/Sciences et Techniques, Université Nazi BONI, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

The purpose of this work is to study the influence of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) on the mechanical strength of mortars. For this purpose, ash was produced by calcining rice husk at 680°C for 5 hours to produce reactive pozzolan. The chemical and mineralogical composition studied by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) showed that this ash is rich in amorphous silica. The ash presents a good pozzolanic activity with a lime fixation rate of 100% after only 7 days of treatment. The addition of RHA to cement contributes to the formation of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) and calcium aluminate hydrate of C₃ASH₆ type. The presence of RHA in the mortars improves their mechanical strength. This improvement is due to the filler effect of RHA and to formation of the CSH resulting from the pozzolanic reactivity between the amorphous silica of the RHA and the portlandite released by hydration of the cement.

Mortar, Rice Husk Ash, Mechanical Strength, Filler Effect, CSH

Sanou, I. , Sawadogo, M. , Seynou, M. , Zerbo, L. and Ouedraogo, R. (2019) Study of the Mechanical Behaviour of Mortars Modified with Rice Husk Ash. Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, 7, 373-384. doi: 10.4236/jmmce.2019.76025.