Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Acid resistance and durability properties of steel fiber-reinforced

concrete incorporating rice husk ash and recycled aggregate
Mahdi Koushkbaghi a, Mahyar Jafar Kazemi b, Hossein Mosavi c, Ehsan Mohseni d,⇑
a
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Hormozgan, Qeshm, Iran
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University, West Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
c
Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, PO Box 116580, Gainesville, FL 32611-6580, USA
d
School of Architecture and Built Environment, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia

h i g h l i g h t s

The RHA improved the resistivity against acid.

The RHA increased the rate of hydration of concrete at later ages of concrete.

The durability of RCA concrete increase with incorporating RHA.

The RHA mitigated the inferior performance of the recycled aggregate concrete.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) produced from concrete waste has recently been a good alternative to
Received 8 October 2018 natural aggregate because of the increased focus on sustainable development and environmental bene-
Received in revised form 24 December 2018 fits. However, concrete incorporating RCA has inferior properties when compared to natural aggregate
Accepted 31 December 2018
concrete. The inferior properties of RCA concrete can be improved by incorporating supplementary
cementitious materials (SCMs). Fly ash and silica fume are commonly used SCMs in the concrete industry
which improve the mechanical properties and durability of concrete. Nevertheless, there is an imminent
Keywords:
deficiency of material in certain parts of the world, and finding a replacement is a challenge for the future
Rice husk ash
Recycled concrete aggregate
of the concrete industry. Rice husk ash (RHA) is a waste material that can be used as a partial replacement
Acid resistance to improve the inferior property of RCA concrete. In this study, mechanical properties such as compres-
Chloride diffusion sive strength and splitting tensile strength are studied. Durability properties such as water absorption,
Durability chloride diffusion and acid attack were also investigated. Furthermore, fibrous and non-fibrous concrete
were made to study the effect of RHA and RCA. The results revealed that RHA can be used to mitigate the
poor performance of RCA concrete and improve the bond between concrete and fibers.
Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The production of cement has rapidly grown in the recent years
because of the overwhelming increase in the demand for infras-
tructure development. Satisfying this demand requires an
immense supply of cement or any partial replacement material.
In 2018, the production of cement surpassed 4.1 billion tons a year,
which is the highest production of any material after water.
Cement production is a very energy intensive process. Currently,
the cement industry produces about 5% of global CO2. It is expected
that the increase in the demand will be more than 8% for the
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ehsan.mohseni@uon.edu.au (E. Mohseni).
coming years, which is particularly high for one industry. It is also
reported that replacing 30% of cement used with supplementary
cementitious materials (SCMs) will reverse the rise in CO2 emission
[1–3].
Moreover, in the recent decades, a massive amount of concrete
waste has been produced due to urbanization. The waste from the
demolished concrete causes environmental issues when it is dis-
posed of in landfill sites [4]. Instead, the wastes can be turned into
a valuable material by crushing them into a suitable size for use as
concrete aggregate. The crushed materials are ground, sieved, and
cleaned to be turned into what is known as recycled concrete
aggregate (RCA). The use of crushed aggregate also reduces the
extraction of raw materials from the earth, further diminishing
the adverse environmental impact. The recycled aggregates

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.12.224
0950-0618/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275
contain around 65–70% natural aggregate by volume, followed by
30–35% old cement mortars. Compressive strength and other prop-
erties of concrete containing RCA are affected by the properties of
parent concrete, mix proportion, workability, etc. [5]. The RCA con-
crete has inferior mechanical and durability performance com-
pared to natural aggregate concrete. The inferior performance of
the recycled aggregate concrete can be mitigated by using partial
replacement of mineral additives and pozzolanic materials. These
additives improve the durability by filling the porous microstruc-
ture and reducing the permeability [6,7].
The effect of incorporating RCA on the mechanical and durabil-
ity properties of concrete has been studied. It is reported that
replacement of recycled aggregate with natural (normal) aggregate
has an undesirable effect on the mechanical properties and dura-
bility of concrete. This can be attributed to a weak interfacial tran-
sition zone (ITZ) between old concrete and new concrete and high
porosity of recycled aggregate [8,9]. Another major drawback of
using RCA in concrete is the long-term durability concerns. The
inferior performance of RCA concrete can me enhanced using poz-
zolanic material by improving the porosity in the cement
microstructure. Pozzolanic admixtures improve the RCA by gener-
ating CSH gel and refining the porous structures of RCA [10].
Fly ash, silica fume, and other cement replacements are used to
improve the performance of concrete [11]. However, there is a
shortage of some SCMs in the world. In particular, there is a mas-
sive shortage of fly ash. In states like Florida, the shortage of fly ash
is because of environmental restrictions, lower supply of natural
gas, and using of alternative energy sources which has shortened
the productions. Accordingly, the resources are limited in certain
parts of the world, and finding a cheap alternative for SCMs is a
challenge [12–14]. An environmentally friendly material that can
mitigate the poor performance of RCA is required to replace or
combine with the existing SCMs. One of the materials that has
been a hot topic among researches is rice husk ash.
Rice husk ash (RHA) is an agricultural waste which is commonly
used for making concrete. Replacing the Portland cement with RHA
will help to reduce CO2 emission in the atmosphere [15]. Up to 150
million hectares of world’s arable land (More than 10% of the
world’s arable land) is used for growing rice. A significant amount
of waste is produced during production of rice which pollutes the
environment; eliminating the wastes is a costly process. Using RHA
in concrete has environmental and economic benefits [16,17]. After
burning the rice hull, the leftover material is an amphorous low-
carbon silica which is known as rice husk ash (RHA). RHA is a poz-
zolanic material that improve some properties of concrete such as
strength and corrosion resistance, and it reduces the chloride pen-
etration and permeability of concrete [18]. The reaction of RHA
improves the concrete physically and chemically by the filler effect
in the porous structure. Moreover, the RHA improves the workabil-
ity of concrete.
Fibers are frequently used to improve the ductility and tensile
capacity of the cement-based materials [9,19,20]. The type of the
fiber and its percentage of volume in the mix have a significant
effect on the properties of the concrete [21,22]. Steel fibers are
the most commonly used type of fiber in the concrete industry.
They are used to improve concrete ductility, toughness, and resis-
tance to cracking caused by fatigue and impact loads [6]. The
amount of steel fiber directly affects the mechanical performance
of concrete. However, it is reported that after an optimum amount
of 1.5% by volume of concrete, increasing the fiber content pro-
duces insignificant improvement in the performance. Furthermore,
the aggregate type, matrix, and SCM type affect the mechanical
performance of steel fiber in the concrete. It is also reported that
fibers will increase the restraint the microcrack development and
reduce the propagation of the macrocracks in the concrete. The
effect of incorporating fibers on the compressive strength is
267
insignificant, but the flexural strength can be improved signifi-
cantly, especially for concrete incorporating RCA.
Water is involved in any type of deterioration in the concrete
[23,24]. In porous concrete, the rate of water penetration and
movement inside the microstructure plays a major role in the dete-
rioration of concrete [25]. It is reported that microstructure param-
eters of concrete can be related either through the diffusivity of
ions through water-filled pores into the concrete or through per-
meability inside the concrete [26]. Corrosion of reinforcing steel
occurs in chloride-bearing environments such as sea water or
where de-icing salts are used. The corrosion due to chloride short-
ens the service life of the concrete structure. The chloride penetra-
tion into the concrete is quantified by chloride diffusion [27].
Chloride penetration at the surface of the concrete occurs by cap-
illary suction which is limited to the surface of concrete.
Concrete pipes are a good solution in terms of environment and
economy for handling sewers in big quantities. However, because
of the highly acidic environment, it is important to have concrete
that is durable against acid to avoid corrosion of reinforcement.
Deterioration of concrete by acid starts with the reaction of sulfuric
acid with calcium hydroxide (CH) to form gypsum in the concrete
as shown in Eqs. (1)–(3). Formation of gypsum aggravates the cor-
rosion by increasing the volume of the reaction processes (Eq. (1));
however, the amount of expansion of gypsum is reported to be
controversial.
Eq. (2) shows the reaction of gypsum with calcium aluminate
hydrate (C3A), the ettringite formation in this reaction is signifi-
cant. This reaction is primarily responsible for huge expansion
which is 2–7 times bigger than the initial compound. The increase
in the volume increases the internal pressure and causes deteriora-
tion of the concrete [28].
CaðOHÞ2 þ H2 SO4 ! CaSO4  2H2 O ð1Þ
3CaO  Al2 O3  12H2 O þ 3ðCaSO4  2H2 OÞ þ 14H2 O
! 3CaO  Al2 O3  3CaSO4  32H2 O ð2Þ
CaO  SiO2  2H2 O þ H2 SO4 ! CaSO4 þ SiðOHÞ4 þ H2 O ð3Þ
It is reported that resistance against acid can be improved by
using SCMs such as silica fume and fly ash [29]. Aggregate type,
cement type, and other parameters are also effective in the resis-
tance against acid [30]. However, there is not a major report on
the resistance of concrete against acid attack.
The objective of this research is to determine the performance
of mixtures incorporating RCA and RHA in terms of mechanical
and durability performance. The mechanical performance was ana-
lyzed using compressive strength and splitting tensile strength.
The durability and water transport properties were investigated
by testing chloride bulk diffusion, water absorption, and resistance
to acid attack. Eventually, the correlation between the water trans-
port properties and mechanical properties was determined.
2. Experimental program
2.1. Materials and mixture proportions
In this study, cement type I was used according to ASTM C150
[31]. According to the ASTM-C311 standard, RHA can be used as
a pozzolanic material [32]. The physical properties of RHA as a
raw material for making the concrete samples, substantially
depend on the burning conditions. Particularly, the temperature
and period of burning influence on the microstructure and crys-
tallinity of RHA [33]. In this study, an electric kiln was used to burn
the rice husk pellets. Heating cycles were conducted by an electric
system with a heating rate of 5 °C/min. Each sample was held at
268 M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275

temperatures between 500 and 700 °C for 6 h. The physical proper- Table 2
ties and chemical composition of the cement and RHA are given in Recycled coarse and natural aggregate properties.

Table 1. From XRF results, it was found that RHA is mainly com- Properties measured Fine Natural coarse Recycled coarse
posed of silica, which constitutes 91% of the total mass. The reac- aggregate aggregate aggregate
tion between the amorphous silica and Ca2+, OH and calcium Water absorption (%) 1.2 0.69 4.3
hydroxide forms the calcium silicate hydrate gel during the hydra- Specific gravity 2. 2.3 1.9
tion process that contributes to superior strength and durability Maximum particle 4.75 12.5 12.5
size (mm)
[34]. River sand with fineness modulus of 2.8, and crushed lime-
stone gravel with maximum nominal size of 12.5 mm were used
as natural aggregates. The RCA with maximum nominal size of
12.5 mm, supplied by a local plant in Tehran, Iran, was used to par- Table 3
tially replace the natural coarse aggregate. Due to the high absorp- Properties of steel fiber.
tion characteristics of RCA, the aggregates were pre-wetted before Property Value
mixing the concretes. All the aggregates were in saturated surface
Shape of fiber Hooked-end
dried condition prior to concrete mixing. The details of natural and Unit weight (g/cm3) 7.7
recycled aggregates used in this study are given in Table 2. Tensile strength (MPa) 1030
Hooked-end steel (ST) fiber with an average length of 50-mm Aspect ratio l/d 67
and an aspect ratio of 80 was also used in this study. Table 3 gives Length (mm) 50
Diameter (mm) 0.75
different properties of steel fiber. The appearance of different
materials used in this study have been shown in Fig. 1. Further-
more, polycarboxylic ether based high range water reducer
(HRWR) namely Glenium51 with a density between 1.06 and
1.08 g/cm3 (at 20 °C) was used to increase the flowability of 2.3. Test methods
concrete.
The focus of this research was mainly on the interaction The compressive strength test was conducted according to
between RHA with RCA and fibers. Overall, 12 mix designs with ASTM C39 at 28, 90, and 236 days. Accordingly, concrete cylinders
varying RCA replacement of 0, 50 and 100% were made. RHA was of 100 mm diameter and 200 mm height were used. The spitting
replaced the cement at ratio of 10% by weight of cement. Moreover, tensile strength test was performed according to ASTM C496 at
1.5% steel fiber was added to the mixes. The ratios of RHA and steel ages of 28 and 90 days. The water absorption test was used to
fiber were used based on the preliminary trials. The details of the determine the sorptivity of the hardened concrete according to
mix designs are given in Table 4. ASTM C642-13 [36]. Three samples for each mix were tested. Sam-
ples were cured for 90 days and were oven dried at 110 ± 5 °C for
24 h, followed by 48 h of submerging the samples in the water.
2.2. Mixing procedure
At each step, the mass was measured for each specimen. The pro-
cess was repeated for another 24 h until there was less than 0.5%
The procedure for mixing the samples was as follows: Cement,
difference between the measurements. The absorption of the sam-
RHA, coarse (NA and RCA) and fine aggregates were dry mixed at a
ples was determined using the following equation [36].
moderate mixing speed (80 rpm) for 1 min. Then, 70% of mixing
water was added and the mixture was mixed for 90 s. Afterwards, W SD  W dry
the mixture was added with specified amount of fiber and mixed Absorption ¼  100 ð4Þ
W dry
for one more minute. Then the remaining water and HRWR were
added and the mixture was mixed at a high speed (120 rpm) for where Wdry is the mass of the oven-dried sample (g) and WSD is the
a further 30 s. The mixture was allowed to rest for 90 s, and finally surface dried mass of the sample after immersion (g).
mixing was continued for additional 1 min before conducting the The chloride bulk diffusion test was conducted to determine the
fresh concrete tests. The samples were demoled 24 h after mixing chloride ingress through the concrete. The samples were cured for
and then cured until testing age. All samples were cured according 28 days and then cut into two pieces. The outermost 4-inch section
to ASTM C511-13 [35]. Accordingly, the specimens were cured in of the cylinder was used as a test specimen, and from the remain-
water storage tanks until the testing ages. The storage tank main- ing cylinder, 1 in. was used to determine the initial chloride con-
tained at temperature of 23 ± 2 °C. The average of three specimens tent. The samples were exposed to 16.5% NaCl for 6 months.
was reported as the compressive strength. 16.5% NaCl by weight of solution was used as high chloride concen-
tration for bulk diffusion test [33,34]. The apparent diffusion coef-
ficient was calculated according to ASTM C1556 using the
Table 1 following equation [37]:
Physical and chemical properties of the binder.  
x
Chemical analysis Cement (wt%) Rice husk ash (wt%) C ðx; t Þ ¼ C s  ðC s  C i Þ  erf pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð5Þ
4Dt
SiO2 21.56 91.15
Al2O3 6.67 0.41 where C(x,t) is the chloride content concentration at depth  (m)
Fe2O3 6.17 0.21 and time t (s), Cs is the surface chloride, Ci is the initial chloride, t
CaO 49.88 0.41 is the time, D is the apparent diffusion coefficient (m2/s), and erf
MgO 4.51 0.45
SO3 2.75 0.62
is the error function.
K2O 0.76 6.25 The resistance against acid attack is defined in terms of the
Na2O 0.43 0.05 mass and strength loss after a period of determined exposure to
LOI 2.79 0.45 sulfuric acid. Accordingly, 5% sulfuric acid solution was used to
Physical properties determine the resistance against acid attack. The samples were
Specific gravity (g/cm3) 3.15 2.07 cured for 28 days in water, followed by 28 days at the standard
Specific surface area (cm2/g) 3250 4091
lab condition of 23 ± 2 °C. They were then put in the 5% sulfuric
 M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275 269

Fig. 1. Physical appearance of a) RCA, b) RHA, c) steel fiber and d) concrete sample containing RCA, RHA and steel fiber.

Table 4
Mixture proportions of the concrete.

Mix ID Cement (Kg/m3) RHA (Kg/m3) Water (Kg/m3) Steel fiber (Kg/m3) Sand (Kg/m3) Coarse HRWR (Kg/m3) Slump (mm)
aggregate
(Kg/m3)
NCA RCA
RHA0-RCA0 500 0 175 – 875 893 0 4 86
RHA0-RCA50 500 0 175 – 875 445 406 4 79
RHA0-RCA100 500 0 175 – 875 0 812 4 75
RHA20-RCA0 400 65 175 – 875 893 0 4 83
RHA20-RCA50 400 65 175 – 875 445 406 4 74
RHA20-RCA100 400 65 175 – 875 0 812 4 71
RHA0-RCA0-SF1 500 0 175 76 860 880 0 5 71
RHA0-RCA50-SF1 500 0 175 76 860 440 400 5 68
RHA0-RCA100-SF1 500 0 175 76 860 0 800 5 66
RHA20-RCA0-SF1 400 65 175 76 860 880 0 5 64
RHA20-RCA50-SF1 400 65 175 76 860 440 400 5 63
RHA20-RCA100-SF1 400 65 175 76 860 0 800 5 58

acid solution. To ensure a constant condition, the pH of the samples
was regularly checked. After 180 days of exposing samples to acids,
the compressive strength of the samples was determined. To
consider the effect of aging, the compressive strength test was
performed on samples that were cured in the water instead of acid.
Mass reduction because of decomposition was determined by
measuring the mass of the specimens before and after acid
exposure.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Compressive strength
Compressive strength is one of the most important properties of
concrete. The compressive strength test was conducted at the ages
of 28, 90 and 236 days with varying RCA and RHA content for
fibrous and non-fibrous concrete. Influence of RCA replacement
270 M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275
on the compressive strength at each age is shown in Fig. 2. All of
the results have been averaged from three specimens. It is
observed that at each age, the highest strength is for the mix
including both RHA and steel fibers, followed by mixtures with
20% RHA and no fibers, followed by mixtures including no RHA
with fiber. The lowest compressive strength among the mixtures
is for a sample where neither fiber nor RHA is used.
An increase in the compressive strength was observed in all the
specimens as the concrete aged. At 90 days, the compressive
strength was increased 8% and 10% for concrete with 0% and 20%
RHA replacement, respectively, when compared to 28-day
strength. At 236 days the increase was 16% and 23% for 0 and
20% RHA replacement, respectively. Fig. 3 shows the increase in
the compressive strength of the concrete incorporating 20% RHA
compared to controlled samples with no RHA for fibrous and
non-fibrous concrete at ages of 28, 90 and 236 days. It is seen that
as the concrete aged, the compressive strength increased because
of the hydration process. However, it is seen that incorporating
RHA increased the rate of hydration at later ages. This is likely
due to the release of absorbed water in RHA to the surrounding
cement matrix as the concrete aged. It is concluded that the rate
of compressive strength increases over time improved with the
partial replacement of cement with RHA. Furthermore, the
strength gain rate is higher in concrete including steel fiber due
to the better bond that formed between the steel fibers and con-
crete by the increase in the degree of hydration as concrete aged.
For mixtures with no RHA, the increase in the strength for mix-
tures with steel fibers is slightly higher than corresponding non-
fibrous concrete. The difference is significant for mixtures includ-
ing 20% RHA. This is due to the better interaction that was provided
by RHA between fibers and micro/macro cracks which lead to
higher load capacity.
Incorporating RHA increased the compressive strength of con-
crete. For 20% RHA, the increase of 1.9%, 3.95% and 8.6% at ages
of 28 days, 90 days and 236 days is observed. The increase could
be due to better Si-O-Si bonds in the concrete due to the excessive
amount of reactive silica that is introduced by the RHA to the con-
crete. The RHA can influence the surface area by refining the pores,
densifying the matrix, and reducing the porosity which will lead to
an increase in the compressive strength. The higher compressive
strength at later ages occurs due to the release of absorbed trapped
mixture water into the pores which improves the hydration. There-
fore, the formation of C-S-H increases, and a denser microstructure
is constructed [38].
The compressive strength of the concrete decreased as the
replacement of natural aggregate with recycled aggregated
70
28 Days
Compressive strength (Mpa)
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
0 50 100
Fig. 2. Compressive strength at ages of 28, 90 and 236 days.
10%
Increase in the compreessive strengh
8%
6%
No Fiber
4%
Fiber
2%
0%
28 days 90 days 236 days
Age
Fig. 3. Increase in the compressive strength of concrete with RHA at different ages.
increased. In the 100% replacement with RCA, a decrease of
22.1%–28.8% was observed when compared to natural aggregate
concrete between all tested specimens, in the case of 50% replace-
ment with RCA, the reduction in the strength was 9.4%–11.9% com-
pared natural aggregate concrete. The reduction is due to
microcracking in the old mortar at the surface of RCA.
Inside the RCA concrete, there are three types of interfacial
zones: The zone between aggregates and new cement mortar,
the zone between old and new cement mortar and the third zone
is within recycled aggregate between old adhered mortar and
aggregate. Among the three interfacial zones in the RCA concrete,
the weakest one is the transition zone between the old adhered
mortar and aggregates. The existence of microcracks in the transi-
tion zone results in concrete with lower strength when compared
to concrete containing natural aggregates.
3.2. Splitting tensile strength
The tensile strength is among the important mechanical proper-
ties of concrete for designing concrete structures in terms of initi-
ation and development of cracks, shear, and anchorage of
reinforcing steel. The splitting tensile test is usually performed
due to its simplicity [39]. Splitting tensile strength was conducted
at the ages of 28 and 90 days for the 12 different mixes. Influence
of RCA replacement on the splitting tensile strength at the age of
28 and 90 days is shown in Fig. 4. It is observed that the splitting
tensile strength of samples with no fibers at 90 days increased
5.8% compared to tested samples at 28 days, but for the samples
incorporating steel fibers, there was a decrease in the splitting ten-
sile strength of 8.2%.
90 Days 236 Days
RHA=0%, No Fiber
RHA=0%, Fiber
RHA=20%, No Fiber
RHA=20%, Fiber
0 50 100 0 50 100
RCA (%)
 M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275 271

8
28 Days 90 Days
7

Splitting tensile (MPa)

6

5
RHA=0%, No Fiber
4
RHA=20%, No Fiber
3 RHA=0%, Fiber
2 RHA=20%, Fiber

0
0 50 100 0 50 100
RCA (%)

Fig. 4. Splitting tensile strength at 28 and 90 days.

The splitting tensile strength was found to decrease as the recy-
cled aggregated content increased. In the mix with 100% RCA
replacement, a decrease of 22.2% and 14.7% was observed for
non-fibrous and fibrous specimens, respectively, compared to nat-
ural aggregate concrete. In the case of 50% replacement with RCA,
the reduction in the strength was 9.6% and 6.6% for non-fibrous
and fibrous concrete, respectively, compared to natural aggregate
concrete. The reduction in the splitting tensile strength could be
related to higher absorption of RCA concrete and existence of por-
ous mortar on the aggregate surface or RCA.
Incorporating 20% RHA into non-fibrous concrete has negligible
adverse effect in the splitting tensile strength at ages of 28 days
and 90 days. For fibrous concrete, the reduction of the splitting ten-
sile strength was 2.2% and 5.6% at ages of 28 days and 90 days,
respectively.
Steel fibers significantly increased the splitting tensile strength
in the early age of the concrete comparing to the corresponding
non-fibrous concrete. The increase in the splitting tensile strength
was 34.6% and 16.6% at ages of 28 and 90 days, respectively, com-
paring to non-fibrous concrete. The margin between fibrous and
non-fibrous splitting tensile reduced as the concrete aged. At
younger ages, steel fibers have the major contribution on the split-
ting tensile strength. As the concrete matured, the paste is
hydrated, and the contribution of paste is increased at later ages.
3.3. Chloride diffusion
Fig. 5 shows the chloride ion diffusion coefficient for each of the
mixes at the age of 90 days. It is observed that in the case of 100
replacement of recycled aggregate, the average increase in the dif-
fusion coefficient among all mixtures was 10.7% and 15.4% for non-
fibrous and fibrous concrete, respectively. The lowest diffusion
coefficient value was for concrete incorporating steel fibers and
20% RHA, followed by non-fibrous concrete incorporating 20%
RHA. The third lowest was fibrous concrete without RHA replace-
ment. The highest diffusion coefficient was for non-fibrous con-
crete with no RHA. It is concluded that RHA significantly reduced
the diffusivity of chloride ions; all mixtures with RHA substitutions
had a lower diffusion coefficient than those of the references. The
lower diffusion coefficient of the RHA concrete could be due to
finer pore structure and lower porosity of concrete with RHA.
The RHA is attributed to a higher amount of CSH gel formed which
refines the pore structure of concrete.
As the recycled aggregate replacement increased, the chloride
ion diffusion increased. The recycled aggregate makes the concrete
more permeable than normal aggregate concrete due to the pres-
ence of the old ITZ and adhered mortar.
3.4. Water absorption
The durability of concrete is directly influenced by water
transport into the microstructure. The water absorption test
gives an indirect measure of concrete porosity. The volume of
permeable voids inside the concrete is affected by the connectiv-
ity of pores inside the concrete. The water absorption test was
conducted at age of 90 days to measure the permeable voids
inside the concrete. The absorption of the different specimens
is illustrated in Fig. 6.

8 9
8
Water absorption (%)

7 7
Diffusion coefficeint (m2/s)

6
6
RHA=0%, No Fiber 5 RHA=0%, No Fiber
RHA=0%, Fiber 4 RHA=20%, No Fiber
5
RHA=20%, No Fiber RHA-0%, Fiber
3
RHA=20%, Fiber RHA=20%, Fiber
4 2
1
3 0
0 50 100 0 50 100
RCA (%) RCA (%)

Fig. 5. Chloride Ion diffusion at 90 days. Fig. 6. Water absorption at age of 90 days.
272
Is it seen that an increase in RCA content from 0 to 100% for
non-fibrous and fibrous concrete increased the water absorption
by 43.8% and 32.5%, respectively. The increase in the absorption
is due to the permeable and porous old mortar in the RCA. The
presence of voids in the old mortar in the recycled aggregate
increases connectivity in the microstructure. Furthermore, the
cracks in the old mortar establish a path for water to flow in the
concrete [40].
Incorporating steel fibers increased the water absorption by
9.0% comparing to corresponding samples with no fibers. Fibers
increased the connectivity between the pores and micro-
channels which resulted in higher absorption.
Incorporating 20% RHA decreased the absorption of the concrete
compared to sample without RHA. The finer RHA particles were
uniformly arranged inside the matrix and made it denser; there-
fore, concrete incorporating RHA had fewer pores. It can be seen
that the influence of incorporating RHA was higher on fibrous con-
crete compared to non-fibrous concrete in terms of improving the
porosity. RHA improved the bond between concrete and fibers by
filling the pores connecting fibers to concrete.
3.5. Acid resistance
To study the effect of acid exposure on the strength of the con-
crete, two sets of samples were prepared. The first set was cured in
water, and the second set was exposed to acid. Fig. 7 shows the
compressive strength of concrete cured in water versus the com-
pressive strength of concrete exposed to acid. A linear trend is
observed with an R2 value of 0.99. Accordingly, as the RCA content
increased, the strength decreased. The strength reduction of con-
crete exposed to acid was 8.0% compared to corresponding con-
crete which was cured in water. It is seen that the increase in the
RCA content decreased the resistance to acid. However, the ratio
of the compressive strength of samples exposed to acid compared
to the control specimens is independent of RCA replacement.
Fig. 8 shows the SEM images of concrete with no RHA before
and after acid exposure. Images show that ettringite is formed by
the reaction of sulfuric acid with calcium hydroxide and also the
reaction of calcium aluminate hydrate with gypsum. Accordingly,
the ettringite causes massive expansion which leads to deteriora-
tion of concrete.
Fig. 9 shows the concrete incorporating 20% RHA before and
after acid exposure. It is seen that due to the pozzolanic reaction,
CSH have been formed and pores have been filled with RHA parti-
cles. Ettringite and gypsum are observed after exposure to acid
attack. It is observed that by filling the pores by RHA, connectivity
of the micro store has reduced therefore the resistance against acid
is increased. In the concrete with RHA, less ettringite is formed
70
Compressive strength by acid
65
60
attack (MPa)
55
50
45
40
35
30
40 45 50 55
Compressive strength in water (MPa)
Fig. 7. Effect of acid attack on compressive strength.
M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275
compared to reference sample which results in more durability
against acid attack compared to reference concrete.
Influence of RCA replacement on the strength reduction and
mass loss of the concrete exposed to acid is shown in Fig. 10. The
steel fibers improved the strength of concrete in all the mixtures
exposed to acid. The important factor affecting the acid attack
the permeability of the concrete which is influenced by connectiv-
ity, size, and distribution of the pores in the concrete. The RCA con-
crete has a higher porosity which leads to faster leaching of
Calcium from CSH and Ca(OH)2. During the decalcification, prod-
ucts of high volume is produced from the dehydrated cement
paste. As the RCA increases, the decalcification increases, leading
to higher mass loss compared to the control mix [40]. Concrete
incorporating RHA has a lower mass loss and strength reduction
compared to concrete with no RHA replacement. RHA improved
the resistance against acid attack in almost all of the mixes. This
could be due to the lower calcium hydroxide content in the RHA
concrete, which makes the concrete less vulnerable to acid attack
[30].
The correlation between mass loss and compressive strength of
concrete exposed to acid is shown in Fig. 11. A weak inverse rela-
tion is seen, where RCA content significantly affects the acid
resistance.
3.6. Correlation of compressive strength vs splitting tensile strength
The compressive strength and splitting tensile strength are cor-
related by some factors such as the age of concrete, amount of air
content, curing method, and degree of compaction. Fig. 12 shows
the splitting tensile strength as a function of the square root of
compressive strength at ages of 28 days and 90 days. For non-
fibrous concrete a linear relationship is observed. Similar linear
trends are determined for concrete incorporating steel fiber at ages
of 28 days and 90 days. Accordingly, the following relations are
determined:
0:5
f t ¼ 0:72 f cu for non  fibrousð28 days & 90 daysÞ ð6Þ
0:5
f t ¼ 0:8363 f cu for fibrous ð90 daysÞ ð7Þ
0:5
f t ¼ 0:9491 f cu for fibrousð28 daysÞ ð8Þ
where ft is the splitting tensile strength (MPa) and fcu is the com-
pressive strength (MPa). It was observed that for non-fibrous con-
crete, the correlation between splitting tensile strength and
compressive strength was constant at different testing ages. The
correlation between splitting tensile strength and compressive
strength changed as the concrete matured due to the interaction
of fiber and concrete. Therefore, the relation between splitting ten-
y=0.92x sile strength and compressive strength of concrete incorporating
R2=0.99 RHA and fibers should be determined based on the age of concrete.
Trend line
3.7. Correlation between water absorption and resistance against acid
RCA = 0%
RCA = 50% A linear relation between the absorption and mass loss due to
RCA = 100% acid exposure is shown in Fig. 13. Both tests are based on connec-
tivity of the pores and permeability of matrix microstructure. The
values correlate with an R2 value of 0.84 which is relatively high.
Increased RCA replacement results in higher porosity and higher
60 65 70
the absorption rate. The existence of pores leads to quicker leach-
ing of calcium from CSH and Ca(OH)2, which causes lower acid
resistance and higher mass reduction [40].
 M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275 273

a) Before acid exposure b) After acid exposure

Fig. 8. SEM images of specimens with no RHA before and after exposure to sulfuric acid.

a) Before acid exposure b) After acid exposure

Fig. 9. SEM images of concrete with 20% RHA before and after acid exposure.

9 10
9
Strength Reduction (%)

8
7 8
Mass loss (%)

6 7
6
5 RHA=0%, No Fiber
5
4 RHA=0%, Fiber 4
3 RHA=20%, No Fiber 3
2 RHA=20%, Fiber 2
1 1
0 0
0 50 100 0 50 100
RCA (%) RCA (%)

Fig. 10. Effect of RCA on strength reduction & Mass loss.

3.8. Correlation between compressive strength and water absorption
The relationship between compressive strength and absorption
is shown in Fig. 14. An inverse correlation between compressive
strength and absorption is observed with an R2 value of 0.82. Com-
pressive strength is a function of gel porosity, where the water
absorption is affected mainly by pore volume and the pore size dis-
tribution. It is observed that the absorption does not directly mea-
sure the paste gel porosity, but they are related. Furthermore, it is
seen that as the percentage of RCA increases, the absorption
increases and compressive strength decreases. The microstructure
of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) has an important factor in
the compressive strength and absorption of recycled aggregate.
Due to the higher porosity and absorption capacity in the RCA,
the compressive strength is lower, and the absorption is higher
than in natural aggregate concrete.
It is concluded that there is a linear relationship between RCA
replacement and the durability of concrete. As the RCA replace-
ment increased the water absorption, mass loss due acid attack
and also compressive strength of concrete reduced linearly. Fur-
thermore, replacing 20% RHA significantly improved the durability
parameters.
274 M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275

65 8
strengh after acid attack (Mpa)

y=1.294x-.655
60 y=-3.0361x+68.214 7 R2= 0.795
R2=0.7428

Chloride diffusion (m2/s)

55 6
Trend (linear)
50
RCA=0% 5 Trend
45 RCA=50% RHA=0%
4 RHA=20%
RCA=100%
40
3
35
0 2 4 6 8 10 2
Mass loss (%) 6 7 8 9 10
Mass loss from acid attack (%)
Fig. 11. Correlation between mass loss and strength of concrete exposed to acid.
Fig. 15. Correlation between chloride diffusion and mass reduction due to acid
attack.

8
Splitting tensile strength (MPa)

y = 0.9491x
7 R² = 0.6472 y = 0.8363x 3.9. Correlation between chloride diffusion and acid attack
R² = 0.7353

6 No Fiber The relation between the chloride diffusion coefficient and the
Fiber (28 days) mass reduction due to acid attack is shown in Fig. 15. Both proper-
5 Fiber (90 days)
ties are related because they are depended on water transport
y = 0.72x
R² = 0.8519 through the concrete. A linear relationship is observed with an R2
value of 0.79. In case of 20% RHA, the chloride diffusion and mass
4
reduction are significantly lower because of low porosity and den-
ser microstructure that has been developed in the concrete. It is
3
5 6 7 8 9 concluded that replacing 20% RHA significantly improved the dura-
Compressive strength0.5 (MPa0.5) bility parameters.

Fig. 12. Correlation between flexural strength and compressive strength for 4. Conclusions
concrete.

In the current study, the effect of incorporating recycled con-

9 crete aggregate (RCA), rice husk ash (RHA) and steel fibers on the
y=0.517x+3.984 mechanical behavior and durability of concrete were investigated.
R2=0.836 The following conclusion can be drawn from the experimental
Water absorption (%)

8
results:
7

6
Trend (Linear)
Replacement of Natural aggregate with RCA has a significant
RCA=0% effect on mechanical and durability properties of concrete. As
RCA=50%
5 the percentage of RCA increased, the compressive strength
RCA=100%
and splitting tensile strength decreased, and properties of con-
4 crete related to water transport of water absorption, chloride
diffusion and acid attack decreased.
3
0 2 4 6 8 10
RHA increased the rate of hydration of concrete at later ages of
Mass loss from acid attack (%) concrete. The difference between the compressive strength of
RHA concrete with control mix increased as concrete aged.
Fig. 13. Correlation between absorption and percentage of mass loss from the acid
Incorporating RHA had negligible improvement on splitting ten-
attack.
sile strength of non-fibrous concrete. For fibrous concrete, the
improvement was considerable due to the better bond that
70 RHA formed between concrete and fibers.

The RHA improved the resistivity against acid because of the
Compressive strength (Mpa)

65 y=-.3634x+94.536 lower calcium hydroxide content of RHA concrete. RHA also

60 R2=0.8214
reduced the chloride diffusivity of concrete.
55
Addition of steel fibers had a substantial effect on the
Trend (Linear) splitting tensile strength of concrete with and without RHA
50
RCA=0% replacement.
45 RCA=50%
A linear relationship between splitting tensile strength and
40 RCA=100% square root of compressive strength is observed. Similar trends
35 were found between the water transport-related properties of
water absorption and mass loss due to acid attack and chloride
30
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 diffusion vs. mass loss due acid attack.
Water absorption (%)
An inverse relation between compressive strength and water
absorption and between compressive strength and mass loss
Fig. 14. Correlation between compressive strength and absorption. after acid exposure was observed.
 M. Koushkbaghi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 202 (2019) 266–275

The durability of RCA concrete increase with incorporating RHA.
Meanwhile, concrete was less durable with an increase in the
RCA in the mix due to the existence of adhered mortar in RCA
concrete.

The RHA mitigated the inferior performance of the recycled
aggregate concrete.
These findings demonstrate that RHA is a good replacement for
cement. This is because it improves the microstructure of concrete
and improves the bond between concrete and fibers.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Megan Voss and Dr. Kyle A. Riding at the
Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering of University of
Florida for their contribution and assistance in this paper.
Conflict of interest
None.
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