THE USE OF CELLULOSE WASTES IN LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE: IMPROVEMENT OF PROPERTIES BY ADMIXTURES

摘要

Rice husk has a pozzolanic quality and can be used in lightweight concrete; additionally its fibrous nature improves flexural strength. Tests were carried out on 40x40x160 mm~3 samples of an OPC / rice husk mortar cured for 7 days at 100% RH. Two low cost admixtures intended to improve the physical properties of the material were studied. The first admixture, dune sand, was found to improve compressive strength with an increase in mortar density and reduction in flexural strength. The second admixture, aluminium sulphate acts as a foaming agent. This had the effect of reducing density and increasing the flexural / compressive strength ratio; moreover, further work is required to examine the long term durability.