Comparison of Compressive Strength by Partial Replacement of Cement using Glass Powder, Red Clay, and Rice Husk Ash

Abstract

Cement is one of the most widely used construction materials with huge consumption rate. The mass production and consumption of cement not only contributes to environmental pollution but also reduces overall natural resources; cement manufacturing is responsible for around 7–8% of global CO₂ emissions with large amount of resource (limestone, clay, gypsum, and fuel etc.) depletion. Today it has become essential to address this problem and research on alternative cementitious materials. Therefore, this research investigates partial replacement of cement with Rice Husk Ash (RHA), Glass Powder (GP), and Red Clay (RC) by 25%, 50%, and 75%. A total of 10 cases were designed with 90 cylindrical concrete specimens in each case. Particularly for this study, specimens were prepared for 1:1.5:3 mix ratio with water to-binder ratio of 0.5. Compressive strength test was conducted at curing periods of 7, 21, and 28 days respectively. 28 days’ compressive strength data shows that concrete achieves 1.18% increased compressive strength for 25% replacement with red clay than control mix with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). This finding aims to evaluate the influence of alternative materials on performance of concrete while reducing conventional resources.