Development of self-compacting concretes using rice husk or fly ashes and different cement types

Abstract Self-compacting concretes (SCCs) are considered promising materials in the civil engineering field. Their main characteristic is the ability to compact only through gravitational force. Mineral additions such as rice husk ash (RHA) and fly ash (FA) are recommended to be used in SCCs during their mix designing, in order to increase fluidity and mechanical strength. These materials are also considered wastes from industry, without a certain destination, which contributes to environmental pollution. In this study, four mixtures of SCC were tested using RHA and FA with two different types of Portland cement, CEM CP IV and white CEM. For the fresh state tests, all of the SCCs mixtures showed satisfactory results. The SCCs with white CEM showed higher mechanical strength at 7 days than CEM CP IV. Analyzing the mineral additions, their use improved the mechanical strength of SCCs at 28 days, there is also observed a higher pozzolanic effect to RHA.