Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 973978

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Construction and Building Materials

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

Flowing ability of the mortars formulated from self-compacting concretes

incorporating rice husk ash
Md. Sauddin *, J.S. West, K.A. Soudki
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 19 January 2010
Received in revised form 19 April 2010
Accepted 19 June 2010

Keywords:
Flowing ability
Flow spread
High-range water reducer
Mortar
Rice husk ash
Self-compacting concrete
Waterbinder ratio

a b s t r a c t
This paper presents the owing ability of the mortars formulated from various self-compacting concretes
(SCCs) incorporating rice husk ash (RHA). The mortars were produced with different RHA contents and
waterbinder (W/B) ratios, as used in their parent SCCs. The owing ability of the mortars was determined with respect to the ow spread at various dosages of a polycarboxylate based high-range water
reducer (HRWR). The effects of RHA, W/B ratio, and HRWR on the owing ability of mortars were
observed. The mortar owing ability decreased with the higher RHA content and W/B ratio, but increased
with the greater HRWR dosage. However, the excessive HRWR dosages were not conducive to the mortar
owing ability due to the segregation problem in the form of bleeding. The overall mortar owing ability
results were useful to examine the suitability of RHA, and to x the HRWR dosages for different SCCs.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is a special concrete that provides excellent owing ability in fresh state [1,2]. The owing ability is a workability property of SCC that allows it to ll the spaces
in formwork and pass between congested reinforcing bars under
self-weight, and without any means of compaction [3,4]. The owing ability of SCC can be assessed based on the ow time and
spread of concrete obtained from different tests [5].
The owing ability of SCC depends on its constituent materials
and mixture composition. In general, high-range water reducer
(HRWR) improves the owing ability of SCC. However, the excessive dosage of HRWR provides a very high uidity that may cause
segregation problems in the form of bleeding, aggregate piling, and
aggregate sedimentation. In such cases, an appropriate supplementary cementing material (SCM) can be used to improve the segregation resistance, while maintaining an excellent owing ability
in fresh SCC. Most common SCMs such as y ash, silica fume, slag,
and limestone powder have been used to produce SCC with a good
owing ability [6,7]. Similarly, rice husk ash (RHA) can be used in
SCC. RHA is obtained by burning rice husks, which are generated in
the rice milling industry as agricultural wastes during the processing of paddy rice. In rice producing countries, about 120 million
metric tons of rice husks are available annually for disposal [4].
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 519 888 4567x37128; fax: +1 519 888 4349.
E-mail address: [email protected] (Md. Sauddin).
0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.06.084

The majority of this amount is generated in China, India, Indonesia,

and Bangladesh. When this agro-waste is incinerated, crystalline or
non-crystalline (amorphous) RHA can be obtained depending on
the burning time and temperature. The uncontrolled incineration
at high temperature (>800 C) produces crystalline RHA, which
possesses a poor pozzolanic property [8]. Conversely, the controlled incineration of rice husks between 500 and 800 C results
in non-crystalline RHA, which possesses a very high content of
amorphous silica [8,9]. Due to a high silica content, the amorphous
RHA is highly pozzolanic, and therefore more suitable than crystalline RHA for use in concrete. This type of RHA has been successfully
used to produce high strength and high performance concretes
with a good workability [10,11]. However, limited research has
been conducted to produce SCC with RHA, while investigating its
possible effects on the workability or owing ability of this special
concrete. Generally, the role of RHA on the owing ability of SCC
should be investigated by testing fresh concrete. But it is often very
difcult and time-consuming to study a wide range of variables in
the case of concrete because of numerous trial mixtures having relatively a large batch size. In addition, it is not cost-effective due to
the loss of materials and labor. As an alternative, the mortar formulated from SCC can be tested to study the potential effects of RHA
on the owing ability of fresh concrete.
The fresh concrete consists of coarse aggregates and mortar matrix. Therefore, the owing ability of SCC is related to the owing
ability of its mortar component. Earlier studies reported that the
target owing ability of SCC can be achieved if the owing ability

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Md. Sauddin et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 973978

of its mortar component is adequate [5,12]. For this reason, many

researchers investigated the owing behavior of mortar with respect to the ow time and ow spread to facilitate the design process of SCC [1316]. However, none of these studies examined the
effect of RHA on the owing ability of mortar or concrete.
The present study reports the owing ability results of the mortar components of various SCC mixtures incorporating RHA. It
shows the effects of HRWR dosage, RHA content, and waterbinder
(W/B) ratio on the owing ability of mortars. These results are useful to facilitate the mixture proportioning process of SCC. The suitable contents of cement and SCM such as RHA, and the required
dosage of HRWR for an SCC mixture can be determined based on
the owing ability of its mortar component. These processes minimize the volume and time of laboratory work as well as the loss of
materials and labor involved in the mixture proportioning of SCC
due to the reduced number and size of trial mixtures.

Table 2
Mortar formulations and designations.
Series

Mortar type

Parent concrete

W/B ratio

RHA (% B)

M30-RHA0
M30-RHA15
M30-RHA20
M35-RHA0
M35-RHA15
M35-RHA20

SCC30-RHA0-AC6
SCC30-RHA15-AC6
SCC30-RHA20-AC6
SCC35-RHA0-AC6
SCC35-RHA15-AC6
SCC35-RHA20-AC6

0.30
0.30
0.30
0.35
0.35
0.35

0
15
20
0
15
20

M35-RHA10
M35-RHA25
M35-RHA30
M40-RHA0
M40-RHA15
M40-RHA20

SCC35-RHA10-AC6
SCC35-RHA25-AC6
SCC35-RHA30-AC6
SCC40-RHA0-AC6
SCC40-RHA15-AC6
SCC40-RHA20-AC6

0.35
0.35
0.35
0.40
0.40
0.40

10
25
30
0
15
20

M35-RHA0a
M35-RHA0b
M35-RHA15a
M35-RHA15b
M35-RHA20a
M35-RHA20b

SCC35-RHA0-AC4
SCC35-RHA0-AC8
SCC35-RHA15-AC4
SCC35-RHA15-AC8
SCC35-RHA20-AC4
SCC35-RHA20-AC8

0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35

0
0
15
15
20
20

2. Experimental studies
2.1. Constituent materials
Pit sand (S), normal (ASTM Type I) portland cement (C), amorphous RHA, normal tap water (W), and a polycarboxylate based HRWR were used to produce various mortars. Pit sand was incorporated in mortar mixtures to act as ne aggregate.
Cement and RHA acted as the binder (B). The RHA was collected from North Carolina, USA. The RHA particles were angular and much ner than cement. The median
particle size of RHA was 6 lm, whereas that of cement was 15 lm. The major physical properties of pit sand, cement, RHA and HRWR are given in Table 1.

Table 3
Mortar mixture proportions (mortar volume: 3 l).
Mortar type

M30-RHA0
M30-RHA15
M30-RHA20
M35-RHA0
M35-RHA15
M35-RHA20
M35-RHA10
M35-RHA25
M35-RHA30
M40-RHA0
M40-RHA15
M40-RHA20
M35-RHA0a
M35-RHA0b
M35-RHA15a
M35-RHA15b
M35-RHA20a
M35-RHA20b

2.2. Formulation and designation of mortars

The mortars (series 13) were formulated from their corresponding parent
SCCs. The W/B ratios and RHA contents of the mortars were kept the same as used
in their parent concretes. In addition, the proportions of sand, cement, RHA and
water in the mortars were the same as used in the parent concretes. The formulation of different mortars is shown in Table 2. It should be mentioned that no air content was used in the formulation of mortars although the concretes were airentrained. It was assumed that the effect of air content on the mortar owing ability
is not signicant as compared with other parameters such as W/B ratio and RHA
content.
The mortars were designated based on the W/B ratio and RHA content used in
their parent concretes. For instance, the M30-RHA0 designation was selected for
the mortar prepared with a W/B ratio of 0.30 and 0% RHA content, as used in its parent concrete SCC30-RHA0-AC6 (W/B = 0.30; RHA = 0%; air content = 6%). The supplementary letter a or b was added at the end in case of series 3 mortars,
which were formulated from the concretes with 4% and 8% design air content,
respectively. In mortar designation, no notation was used for air content. This is because the mortars were prepared without considering the air content of concrete.

a
b

Sand
(kg)

Cement
(kg)

RHA
(kg)

Water
(kg)

HRWR dosage (% B)
Dsa

D ub

4.03
3.91
3.88
4.25
4.14
4.11
4.18
4.08
4.04
4.41
4.32
4.29
4.31
4.19
4.20
4.08
4.17
4.05

2.36
1.99
1.86
2.06
1.73
1.63
1.84
1.52
1.42
1.82
1.54
1.45
2.02
2.09
1.71
1.76
1.60
1.65

0.00
0.35
0.47
0.00
0.31
0.41
0.20
0.51
0.61
0.00
0.27
0.36
0.00
0.00
0.30
0.31
0.40
0.41

0.71
0.70
0.70
0.72
0.71
0.71
0.72
0.71
0.72
0.73
0.72
0.72
0.71
0.73
0.70
0.73
0.70
0.72

1.25
2.50
3.00
1.00
2.00
2.50
1.50
3.00
3.50
0.75
1.25
1.50
1.00
1.00
2.00
2.00
2.50
2.50

1.002.00
1.503.00
2.004.00
0.751.75
1.252.50
1.503.00
1.002.00
1.753.50
2.504.50
0.501.50
1.002.00
1.503.00
0.751.75
0.751.75
1.252.50
1.252.50
1.503.00
1.503.00

Saturation dosage of HRWR.

Used dosages of HRWR.

2.3. Mixture proportions of mortars

In total, 18 different mortars (series 13) were prepared in the present study.
The mixture proportions of sand, cement, RHA, and water for the mortars are given
in Table 3. These proportions were determined based on the mixture proportions of
the corresponding parent SCCs. At rst, the mortar volumes (excluding air content)
of the SCCs were calculated from the mixture proportions of concretes. Then these
volumes were scaled down to 3 l to ease the preparation of mortars without any

signicant loss of materials and labor. The mortar proportions given in Table 3
are based on this volume, except for the HRWR dosages. HRWR was used in the
mortars as an additive. The dosages of HRWR for the mortars were varied in the
vicinity of saturation dosages. The detailed procedure for determining the saturation dosages of HRWR is given in a previous publication by Sauddin et al. [5].
The HRWR dosages smaller than the lower limits as shown in Table 3 were not used
to avoid the mixing and handling difculties of the mortars.

Table 1
Major physical properties of sand, cement, RHA, and HRWR.
Material

Properties

Pit sand (S)

Saturated surface-dry based relative density: 2.62

Absorption: 1.0%
Total evaporable moisture content: 0.1%
Void content: 28%

Normal portland cement (C)

Relative density: 3.16

% Retained on 45-lm wet sieve: 7.5%
Specic surface area (Blaine): 412 m2/kg

Amorphous rice husk ash (RHA)

Relative density: 2.07

Specic surface area (Blaine): 2330 m2/kg

High-range water reducer (HRWR)

Relative density: 1.07

Solid content: 41%

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Md. Sauddin et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 973978

The mortars were prepared using an epicyclic revolving type small mechanical
mixer conforming to ASTM C 305 [17]. The volume of the mortars prepared was 3 l.
Before batching, the water correction was done considering the absorption of sand
and the water contribution of HRWR. Accordingly, the proportions of sand and mixing water were adjusted. These adjustments were required since the air-dry pit
sand and liquid HRWR were used in preparing the mortars. Nevertheless, the sand
and binder (cement alone or with RHA) were taken in the mixing bowl, and drymixed for 60 s using a stainless steel spoon. The mixing water was added into the
bowl and a rest period of 30 s was allowed for absorption by the sand. Then the
mixer was started and the initial dosage of HRWR was gradually added to the mortar within 510 s. The initial wet mixing of mortar was carried out for 60 s. Later the
mixer was stopped, and the mortar was quickly scraped from the side and bottom
of the mixing bowl over a period of 30 s. The mixer was restarted and run for 60 s.
Thereafter, the mixer was stopped again, the mortar from the bottom and side of
the bowl was scraped, and the mortar agglomerates were broken if any over a period of 30 s. The mixer was restarted again and the mixing was continued for 60 s.
Later, the subsequent dosages of HRWR were used to vary the owing ability of
the mortars. For each incremental HRWR dosage, further mixing was conducted
for 60 s. In all stages, the mixing was conducted at a slow speed to minimize the
entrapped air content in mortars.
2.5. Testing of mortars
The mortars were tested to examine the owing ability with respect to ow
spread. The mortar ow spread test is a smaller version of the concrete slump ow
test. The slump ow test is widely used as a standard test for the owing ability of
SCC. A good relationship has been observed between the ow spread of mortar and
the slump ow of concrete [12,13]. Hence, the mortar ow spread test may provide
an indication for the probable slump ow of SCC.

In the present study, a standard ow mould (refer to Fig. 1) conforming to ASTM

C 230/C 230M [18] was used to determine the ow spread of mortars. The ow
mould was placed over a leveled plexiglass plate. The mortar was poured into the
mould in one layer and without any compaction. Then the mould was lifted vertically so that the mortar can ow freely over the plexiglass plate (refer to Fig. 1). The
diameter of the mortar spread was measured along two pairs of perpendicular lines
that divided the entire ow patty into eight equal segments. The average diameter
was recorded as the ow spread of mortar.

3. Test results and discussion

The results of the ow mould test for various mortars are illustrated in Figs. 24. These gures exhibit the owing ability of the
mortars with respect to the ow spread at various dosages of
HRWR. The ow spread varied in the range of 288326 mm for
320

Mortar flow spread (mm)

2.4. Preparation of mortars

315
310
305
300
295
290
285
280

M30-RHA0

M30-RHA15

M35-RHA0

M35-RHA15

0.5

1.5

2.5

M30-RHA20
M35-RHA20

3.5

4.5

HRWR dosage (% B)
Fig. 2. Flow spread of various mortars under series 1 (W/B = 0.300.35; RHA = 0
20%).

Mortar flow spread (mm)

320
315

M35-RHA10

M35-RHA25

M35-RHA30

M40-RHA0

M40-RHA15

M40-RHA20

310
305
300
295
290
285
280

Test setup

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

HRWR dosage (% B)
Fig. 3. Flow spread of various mortars under series 2 (W/B = 0.350.40; RHA = 0
30%).

Mortar flow spread (mm)

330
325
320
315
310
305

M35-RHA0a

300

M35-RHA0b

Fig. 1. Test setup and testing for the mortar ow spread.

M35-RHA15b

290

M35-RHA20a

285
280

Testing for the mortar flow spread

M35-RHA15a

295

M35-RHA20b

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

HRWR dosage (% B)
Fig. 4. Flow spread of various mortars under series 3 (W/B = 0.35; RHA = 020%).

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Md. Sauddin et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 973978

all mortars. The inside bottom diameter of the ow mould was

100 mm. It gives that the bottom diameter of the mortar samples
was 100 mm at the beginning of ow. Hence, the mortars spread
laterally by 188226 mm for different HRWR dosages. For various
saturation HRWR dosages, the mortar ow spread differed from
297 to 317 mm. A mortar ow spread ranging from 275 to
335 mm generally suggests a slump ow of 550850 mm for SCC
[4,12].
The ow curves given in Figs. 24 represent the mortars under
series 13, respectively. It was observed that the ow curves progressively shifted towards the downward right-hand direction
with the increased W/B ratio and RHA content, thus showing a
reduction in the ow spread of mortar. This trend of the ow
curves can be explained based on the mixture composition of mortars. The mixture parameters that can affect the ow spread of
mortars are listed in Table 4. These parameters were computed
based on the mixture proportions of the mortars (refer to Table
3). The decrease in the ow spread of mortar occurred depending
on the net effect of volume fraction of sand, surface area and volume fraction of binder, and paste volume (refer to Figs. 24, and
Table 4).
The ow curves illustrated in Fig. 4 exhibit that M35-RHA0b,
M35-RHA15b and M35-RHA20b provided a higher ow spread
than M35-RHA0a, M35-RHA15a and M35-RHA20a, respectively.
The increase in the ow spread of M35-RHA0b, M35-RHA15b
and M35-RHA20b is due to the combined effect of greater paste
volume and reduced sand content, which decrease the resistance
to mortar ow. Moreover, the sand content affects the amount of
free water in mortar. The sand particles conne some of the mixing
water in mortar. The amount of conned water is approximately
proportional to the volume content of sand [16]. It means that a
lesser amount of water is conned at a reduced sand content. Consequently, a greater amount of free water was available in M35RHA0b, M35-RHA15b and M35-RHA20b containing a lower sand
content, and therefore the owing ability of these mortars was
increased.
3.1. Effect of HRWR
The effect of HRWR on the owing ability (ow spread) of the
mortars is evident from Figs. 24. In general, the ow spread of

the mortars increased with the greater dosages of HRWR. It indicates that the deformability of the mortars increased with the
higher dosages of HRWR. This is mostly attributed to the liquefying
and dispersing actions of the HRWR. The liquefying action of
HRWR decreases the ow resistance and consequently increases
the ow spread of mortar. In addition, more free water becomes
available in the mortar due to the dispersing action of HRWR, thus
resulting in a greater ow spread.
The effect of HRWR on the ow spread of the mortars was also
examined by visual inspection. The excessive HRWR dosage (equal
to or greater than saturation dosage) was not conducive to the ow
spread of the mortars. In general, the increase in ow spread was
insignicant beyond the saturation dosage. Furthermore, signicant bleeding (a form of segregation) occurred in most of the mortars and the bleed water appeared at the periphery of the ow
spread when the HRWR dosages exceeded the saturation dosage
(refer to Table 5). In few cases, the bleeding took place when the
HRWR dosage was equal to the saturation dosage. For example,
the onset of bleeding occurred in M40-RHA0 mortar for the HRWR
dosage of 0.75% (saturation dosage), as evident from Fig. 5. Based
on the results of visual inspection, it is recommended that the
use of HRWR at or above saturation dosage should be avoided to
prevent bleeding, thus improving the uniformity of mortar. The
overall results of visual inspection also suggest that a HRWR dosage lower than saturation dosage should be used to improve the
uniformity of concrete without any form of segregation.
3.2. Effect of W/B ratio
The effect of W/B ratio on the owing ability of the mortars was
examined based on the ow spreads obtained at the saturation
dosages of HRWR. The saturation ow spreads of the mortars under series 1 and 2 were noted from Figs. 2 and 3, and are plotted
in Fig. 6 for different W/B ratios. The saturation ow spreads of
the mortars under series 3 were not considered in this gure, because they were formulated from the SCCs containing different
air contents (4% and 8%). Nevertheless, it can be seen from Fig. 6
that the saturation ow spread decreased with the increase in
W/B ratio. This is mostly due to the lower paste volume and greater
sand content. At the higher W/B ratio, the paste volume decreased
Table 5
Results of visual inspection on the ow spread of mortars.

Table 4
Various mixture parameters of mortars.
Mortar type

sa
(10

M30-RHA0
M30-RHA15
M30-RHA20
M35-RHA0
M35-RHA15
M35-RHA20
M35-RHA10
M35-RHA25
M35-RHA30
M40-RHA0
M40-RHA15
M40-RHA20
M35-RHA0a
M35-RHA0b
M35-RHA15a
M35-RHA15b
M35-RHA20a
M35-RHA20b
a
b
c
d

bb
3

m3/m3) (10

514
499
494
542
529
524
533
520
516
563
551
547
549
534
536
521
532
516

Volume fraction of sand.

Volume fraction of binder.
Surface area of binder.
Volume fraction of paste.

249
266
272
218
233
238
228
243
248
193
207
211
214
221
229
237
234
242

Abc
3

pd

m3/m3) (103 m2/m3) (103 m3/m3)

323.8
544.0
616.2
282.5
475.4
539.0
411.0
602.0
665.1
250.5
421.5
478.3
278.0
287.3
467.7
483.3
530.8
548.1

486
501
506
458
471
476
467
480
484
437
449
453
451
466
464
479
468
484

a
b

Mortar type

Dsa (% B)

Dub (% B)

Observation on the ow spread

of mortar

M30-RHA0
M30-RHA15
M30-RHA20
M35-RHA0

1.25
2.5
3
1

1.002.00
1.503.00
2.004.00
0.751.75

M35-RHA15
M35-RHA20
M35-RHA10
M35-RHA25
M35-RHA30
M40-RHA0

2
2.5
1.5
3
3.5
0.75

1.252.50
1.503.00
1.002.00
1.753.50
2.504.50
0.501.50

M40-RHA15

1.25

1.002.00

M40-RHA20
M35-RHA0a

1.5
1

1.503.00
0.751.75

M35-RHA0b
M35-RHA15a
M35-RHA15b
M35-RHA20a
M35-RHA20b

1
2
2
2.5
2.5

0.751.75
1.252.50
1.252.50
1.503.00
1.503.00

Bleeding at and after 1.5% HRWR

No bleeding
No bleeding
Bleeding at and after 1.25%
HRWR
Bleeding at 2.5% HRWR
No bleeding
Bleeding at 2% HRWR
No bleeding
No bleeding
Bleeding at and after 0.75%
HRWR
Bleeding at and after 1.75%
HRWR
Bleeding at and after 2.5% HRWR
Bleeding at and after 1.25%
HRWR
Bleeding at and after 1% HRWR
Bleeding at 2.5% HRWR
Bleeding at 2.5% HRWR
No bleeding
No bleeding

Saturation dosage of HRWR.

Used dosages of HRWR.

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Md. Sauddin et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 973978

ume causes the sand particles to collide due to the inadequate

coating thickness of paste. Therefore, the friction among sand particles increased signicantly at a higher W/B ratio, and a lower kinetic energy was available to increase the ow spread of mortar.
3.3. Effect of RHA

Flow spread without bleeding

(M40-RHA0, HRWR = 0.50%)

Flow spread with onset of bleeding at the periphery

(M40-RHA0, HRWR = 0.75%)

320
310
300
290
280
270
260
250
240
0.275

0.3

0.325

0.35

0.375

0.4

0.425

W/B ratio
Fig. 6. Effect of W/B ratio on the ow spread of mortars.

Mortar type

Saturation flow spread of mortar (mm)

Fig. 5. Appearance of the ow spread of mortar (M40-RHA0; HRWR = 0.50% and

0.75%).

The presence of RHA eliminated the bleeding from the mortars

at saturation and higher dosages of HRWR (refer to Table 5). However, the ow spread of the mortars was decreased in the presence
of RHA, as can be seen from Figs. 24 and Fig. 7. This is mainly because of the increased volume fraction and surface area of the binder in the presence of RHA. Particularly, the increase in the surface
area of binder caused by RHA was very signicant, as evident from
Table 4. The increased surface area adsorbs a greater amount of
water, thus decreasing the quantity of free water in mortar. Hence,
the greater HRWR dosages were required at higher RHA contents
to obtain the saturation ow spread. A similar effect can be observed for any other SCMs such as y ash and silica fume, which
would exhibit the identical trend of ow curves. However, the extent of ow spread will be different based on the particle characteristics (size, shape, surface area, porosity, etc.) of SCM. Both y
ash and silica fume are spherical, whereas RHA is angular in particle shape. In addition, they are less porous, and possess a lower
specic surface area than RHA. For these reasons, y ash and silica
fume are expected to provide a greater ow spread than RHA at the
same dosage of HRWR. However, a good owing ability (ow
spread) can be achieved in the RHA mortar using a proper HRWR
dosage.
The reduction in the owing ability of the mortars was signicant for a RHA content greater than 15% although it practically
eliminated the bleeding. However, it depended on the W/B ratio
of the mortars. The water demand for 20% RHA was much higher
at a lower water W/B ratio because of the substantial increases
in binder content and surface area. For this reason, 20% RHA caused
a signicant reduction in the ow spread of the mortars at 0.30 and
0.35 W/B ratios (refer to Figs. 2, 4 and 7). In comparison, the minimum reduction in the ow spread was observed at 0.40 W/B ratio
(refer to Figs. 3 and 7). Also, it can be inferred based on Figs. 3 and 7
that the reduction in the ow spread of mortar was signicantly
high at 25% and 30% RHA. Therefore, relatively the high HRWR dosages were required to achieve the saturation ow spread for these
two RHA contents (refer to Fig. 3). The overall ow spread results
reveal that a RHA content greater than 15% was not effective for
a good owing ability of mortar. The RHA contents greater than
15% required very high HRWR dosages, which may cause cement
setting problem leading to a delayed hydration. In addition, the
M30-RHA0
M30-RHA15
M30-RHA20
M35-RHA0
M35-RHA15
M35-RHA20
M35-RHA10
M35-RHA25
M35-RHA30
M40-RHA0
M40-RHA15
M40-RHA20
M35-RHA0a
M35-RHA0b
M35-RHA15a
M35-RHA15b
M35-RHA20a
M35-RHA20b
280

whereas the sand content was increased, as can be seen from Table
4. The dispersion of the sand particles is hindered with the lower
paste volume and greater sand content. The decreased paste vol-

285

290

295

300

305

310

Saturation flow spread (mm)

Fig. 7. Saturation ow spreads of various mortars.

315

320

978

Md. Sauddin et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 973978

handling and mixing difculties were experienced for the mortars

with a RHA content higher than 15%, particularly at lower W/B ratios. Hence, a RHA content greater than 15% is not appropriate to
produce the mortars with excellent owing ability. Based on the
owing ability results of the mortars, it can also be deduced that
a RHA content higher than 15% may not be suitable to achieve a
good owing ability in the corresponding parent SCCs.

mixtures. It was understood based on the mortar owing

ability that a HRWR dosage lower than its saturation dosage
should be used to avoid the occurrence of segregation in SCC.
In addition, a RHA content 615% should be used to obtain a
good owing ability in SCC.

Acknowledgements
3.4. Use of the owing ability results of mortars
The mortar owing ability results primarily revealed the effects
of various HRWR dosages, RHA contents, and W/B ratios. These results were useful to observe the effects of the saturation dosages of
HRWR, and consequently to decide the appropriate HRWR dosages
for various SCC mixtures. It was understood based on the mortar
owing ability results that a HRWR dosage less than its saturation
dosage should be used to enhance the uniformity of concrete without any kind of segregation. In general, the HRWR dosages in the
range of 7080% of saturation dosage should be used for SCC. The
owing ability results of the mortars were also helpful to examine
the suitability of RHA, and to select the proper RHA contents for
various SCC mixtures.
4. Conclusions
The following conclusions can be drawn based on the results of
the present study for the owing ability of different mortars formulated from various SCC mixtures including RHA:
a. The owing ability of the mortars with regard to ow spread
was increased with the greater dosages of HRWR, which
improved the deformability of mortar by its liquefying and
dispersing actions.
b. The increase in mortar ow spread was not signicant
beyond the saturation dosage of HRWR. The bleeding
occurred in most cases when the HRWR dosage was higher
than the saturation dosage.
c. The owing ability or ow spread of the mortars was inuenced by their mixture composition. Particularly, the sand
content and binder surface area greatly inuenced the ow
spread of the mortars by affecting the availability of free
water in mortar mixture.
d. The owing ability, that is, the ow spread of the mortars
decreased with the increased W/B ratio due to the greater
sand content and lower paste volume that hindered the dispersion of sand particles.
e. The owing ability of the mortars with regard to ow spread
decreased with the increased RHA content due to the greater
volume fraction and surface area of the binder. In particular,
the increased surface area greatly reduced the owing ability by decreasing the amount of free water in mortar.
f. The RHA contents greater than 15% signicantly decreased
the ow spread of mortar. Also, the mixing and handling
difculties were experienced for the mortars with a RHA
content higher than 15%. Thus, a RHA content greater than
15% was not suitable to achieve a good owing ability in
mortar.
g. The mortar owing ability results were useful to select the
proper HRWR dosages and RHA contents for various SCC

The authors express sincere gratitude to BASF Construction

Chemicals Canada Ltd., Renewable Energy Generation Inc., and Lafarge North America Inc. for supplying chemical admixtures, rice
husk ash, and cement, respectively, required for the research
program.
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