The Effect of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) Mixtures on Geotechnical Properties of Soil

Abstract

Nowadays, a major issue in construction industry is about soil stability. RHA is one of the potential stabilizers and can be easily found in Malaysia. RHA can create a negative effect on the environment if it is being dumped as a waste since it can cause air pollution from its fine grains when blown by the wind. Therefore, this study will utilize this waste and it hopefully can reduce the above-mentioned hazard. The samples were prepared with different proportions of RHA which are 4, 8, and 12% of the soil mass. On top of that, the samples were added with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) to ignite the pozzolonic reaction between the soil particles and the additives. The amount of cement used in every sample is 2% of the soil mass. Unconfined Compression Test (UCT) was conducted to determine the maximum strength that can be sustained by the modified samples. The higher strength can be gained with addition of RHA together with OPC. It is recommended that 8% of RHA content with 2% cement is the optimum amount for practical purposes. In conclusion, RHA and OPC are suitable to be used for soil stabilization.