Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691

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Construction and Building Materials

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Effects of rice husk ash and fiber on mechanical properties of pervious

concrete pavement
Saeid Hesami a, Saeed Ahmadi a,⇑, Mahdi Nematzadeh b
a
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, 47148-71167 Babol, Iran
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Mazandaran University, 47416-13534 Babolsar, Iran

h i g h l i g h t s

! Physical and mechanical properties were tested.

! Rice husk ash (RHA) and fibers were used to make pervious concrete (PC).
! These RHA could be used as pozzolan to produce PC with acceptable properties.
! The contribution of RHA and fiber to the mechanical properties was significant.
! Reduction of permeability was occurred in containing RHA and fiber concrete.

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

Article history: The use of pervious concrete pavement is significantly increasing due to reduction of road runoff and
Received 25 July 2013 absorption of noise. However, this type of pavement cannot be used for heavy traffic due to a high
Received in revised form 3 November 2013 amount of voids and consequently low strength of pervious concrete. In this paper, rice husk ash
Accepted 20 November 2013
(RHA) was used in order to strengthen pozzolanic cement paste and the effect of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%,
Available online 17 January 2014
10% and 12% weight percentages as a cement replacement in concrete mixtures on the mechanical prop-
erties was studied. Moreover, 0.2% Vf of glass (where Vf is the proportion of fiber volume to total volume
Keywords:
of concrete), 0.5% Vf of steel and 0.3% Vf of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fibers were used to improve the
Rice husk ash (RHA)
Fibers
mechanical properties of the pervious concrete. Also, several water to cement (w/c) ratios were made and
Pervious concrete then, physical and mechanical properties of hardened concrete including porosity, permeability, com-
Physical and mechanical properties pressive strength, tensile strength and flexural strength were investigated. The results indicated a signif-
icant increase in compressive, tensile and flexural strengths. Also, in all of w/c ratios, a similar trend was
observed in the compressive, tensile and flexural strengths of concrete containing RHA and fibers but the
optimum percentage of RHA was different so that, it increases rapidly to the optimization point but grad-
ually decreases after this point. The w/c ratio of 0.33 significantly increased the mechanical properties of
the pervious concrete and reduces the amounts of voids and its permeability.
! 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Pervious concrete consists of cement, water and coarse aggre-
gates (with low or without fine aggregates). Regarding the open
structure of pervious concrete, air and water can penetrate into
the subsoil through voids existing within the concrete. Due to con-
nectivity of pervious concrete voids, flow pipes are generated,
which work as a filter and absorb pollutants (e.g. oil or other pol-
lutions on the ground) [1]. Pervious concrete is usually used in
⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Faculty of Civil Engineering, BabolNoshirvani
University of Technology, Babol, Postal Box: 484, Babol, Postal Code: 47148-71167,
Iran. Tel.: +98 9151173217; fax: +98 1113231707.
E-mail addresses: s.hesami@nit.ac.ir (S. Hesami), ahmadi.saeed89@yahoo.com
(S. Ahmadi), m.nematzadeh@umz.ac.ir (M. Nematzadeh).
north of Iran because of heavy rainfalls in these regions and also
its environmental benefits such as controlling runoff, restoring
groundwater supplies and finally reduction of underground water
pollution. Pervious concrete has acoustic properties due to its high
porosity that can reduce noise pollution [2,3]. Although pervious
concrete was available since the middle of 19th century, its first
application in many countries specially USA and Japan was about
1980. Pervious concrete pavement is better than asphalt or ordin-
ary concrete pavement environmentally [3]. High penetration
velocity of water into pervious concrete has led into using this kind
of pavement in other cases such as hydraulic structures, tennis
courts, greenhouses and as a base course of heavy traffic pave-
ments [4]. However, because of lower durability and strength of
pervious concrete, compared to ordinary ones, its application is
only in regions with low traffic congestion such as parking lots,

0950-0618/$ - see front matter ! 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.11.070
 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691
road shoulders, streets and local roads [5,6]. Void content of pervi-
ous concrete is usually 15–25%, and it is compressive strength is
about 2.8–28 MPa [4,7]. Since fine aggregates content is low or
sometimes there are no fine aggregates in pervious concrete, ce-
ment paste covers coarse aggregates and preserves integrity of
voids [8]. On the other hand, compressive, tensile and flexural
strengths of pervious concrete is less than ordinary ones due to
its high porosity and lack of fine aggregates [9]. So, the serviceabil-
ity life of this concrete is less than its design life [1,10]. Several
studies have been carried out on mechanical properties of pervious
concrete by Sonebi and Bassuoni [11], Shu et al. [12], Chen et al.
[13], Lian et al. [14] and Agar-Ozbek et al. [15].
The use of various fibers in concrete and making fibrous con-
crete (FRC) is an effective step in preventing the expansion of mi-
cro-cracks and cracks and compensating tensile strength
weakness of concrete [16]. Important characteristics of fibrous
concrete are energy absorption, flexibility and impact resistance
that considerably reduce the risk of concrete failure, especially in
areas under repeated loading. In general, the fibers in the pervious
concrete significantly increase permeability while slightly increas-
ing air in pervious concrete and improve its tensile strength
[5,17,18].
Contact area, the interfacial zone between cement paste and
aggregates or fiber, plays an important role in permeability, dura-
bility and strength of concrete and is a function of the thickness of
the contact area, type of fiber, type of cement, type of pozzolan, w/c
ratio and concrete age. Also, the micro-structure of the cement
paste in the contact area differs from that within the cement paste
and has more porosity and micro-cracks. In this experimental
investigation, rice husk ash (RHA) as artificial pozzolan, was used
to strengthen the contact area. Recycling the components of waste
materials saves energy in cement production and preserves natural
resources and environment. One of pozzolanic materials applicable
in the constituent components of agricultural waste is rice husk
that contains relatively large amounts of silica. In addition, the
use of materials with pozzolanic reactions can often significantly
improve the properties of concrete [19–21]. Due to the large num-
ber of rice paddies in the north of Iran and other areas of this coun-
try, a large amount of rice husk is produce annually. At present,
these husks are of no or limited used. In addition getting rid of
them will have some serious environmental issues as they are
burned and a lot of smoke and pollutants are emitted. However,
it should be noted that husk is a precious agricultural product
and a raw industrial substance of various uses.
RHA, as a partial replacement of cement, increase compressive
strength of normal concrete and its optimal value is betwee-
n 10% and 30% [22]. Different studies have suggested optimal val-
ues for RHA. Andres et al. [23] reported 10% of RHA as optimal
for achieving maximum compressive strength. In some studies,
including a study by Ganesan et al. [24] 15% replacement leads
Regulations limit
Gradation curve of gravel
100
Percent passing the sieve
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.1
Fig. 1. Gradation curve of fine and coarse aggregates with ASTM C33 standard limits.
681
to higher compressive strength in comparison with 10%. However,
these differences depend greatly on how it is burnt which, has a di-
rect impact on pozzolanic properties. Therefore, for a comprehen-
sive case, the optimum range of 10–15% replacement is a better
suggestion than precisely 10% replacement. It is necessary to be
noted the rice husk obtained from different areas has differ-
ent effects even with the same replacement percentages. For
example, Gemma [25] used the same amount of RHA from two dif-
ferent regions and provided a good comparison between the ob-
tained compressive strength.
In this paper, the effect of fiber type, including PPS, steel and
glass fibers with different percentages of RHA (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%,
10% and 12%) on the physical and mechanical properties of pervi-
ous concrete is investigated. In addition, three water to cement (w/
c) ratios of 0.27, 0.33 and 0.4 are evaluated. This study is an at-
tempt to establish a balance between permeability and strength
of pervious concrete. The compressive strength, tensile strength,
flexural strength, porosity and permeability of pervious concrete
are examined. The results of this study show that compressive,
tensile and flexural strengths increase for up to 8–10% higher
RHA replacement (as an optimized value) and then reduce for
higher amounts of RHA. Also, substituting the RHA for cement is
economically justifiable and also helps protect the environ-
ment. Moreover, PPS fibers have caused better improvement phys-
ical and mechanical properties of pervious concrete.
2. Experimental design
2.1. Materials
2.1.1. Aggregate
Coarse aggregate size used in this study was from 2.36 to 19 mm which is
ranked #67 in the standard ASTM C33 [26]. The sand was selected from sieved
No 4.75 mm equivalent value (SE = 80%). Fine and coarse aggregate curves of the
used materials, according to ASTM C33, are shown in Fig. 1.
2.1.2. Cement
The cement used was of Portland type II. The chemical and physical composi-
tion is given in Table 1.
2.1.3. Rice husk ash (RHA)
Firstly, rice husk was burned for 2 h in the furnace outdoors. Black products
from the furnace represent a high percentage of carbon content that reduces its
pozzolanic properties. Then the ash is burned and decarbonized in a special furnace.
Consequently, the ash is let to cool in the ambient temperature. This method leads
to an increase in specific surface area and pozzolanic properties of RHA [27]. Chem-
ical and physical properties of RHA can be seen in Table 2.
Comparing Tables 1 and 2, we can conclude that the amount of silica and cal-
cium oxide, are completely different from each other in cement and RHA so that
the amount of cement silica and RHA are 21.9% and 86.02%, respectively and the
Calcium oxide of the cement and RHA are 63.33% and 1.12%, respectively. As it
can be seen from the total chemical properties of rice husk, the total amount of
silica and Al2O3 and Fe2O3 is 86.5%, which are much more than the amount (min
70%) specified in ASTM-C618 standard [28]. Thus, RHA is known as a pozzolanic
Regulations limit
Gradation curve of sand
1 10 100
Sieve size (mm)
682 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691

Table 1 2.2. Specimen preparation

Chemical and physical composition of the cement.
All specimens were cast by rodding 25 times in three layers while applying a
Chemical analyses of cement Weight of percent (%) vibration for 10 s after rodding each layer. After mixing, the specimens were re-
SiO2 21.9 moved from the molds and kept in 22–25 "C water until they reach the age of
Al2O3 4.86 28 days when they are ready for the experiments. Three 150 " 300 mm cylindrical
Fe2O3 3.30 specimens were made to determine the compressive and tensile strengths. Also
MgO 1.15 three 100 " 100 " 500 mm prismatic beams were cast to obtain the flexural
CaO 63.33 strength. Moreover, in order to calculate the permeability coefficient and porosity,
SO3 2.10 three 100 " 100 mm cylindrical specimens were cast.

Physical properties
Specific gravity 3.14 2.2.1. Compressive strength test
Specific surface area (cm2/gr) 3050 Compressive strength test was carried out according to ASTM C39 [29] standard
to evaluate the compressive strength of 150 " 300 mm cylindrical concrete speci-
mens. Equivalent loading speed was equal to 0.30 MPa/s which according to the rel-
evant standard, is in the range of 0.15–0.35 MPa/s.

Table 2
2.2.2. Tensile strength test
Chemical and physical properties of RHA.
The tensile strength of concrete was measured using the ASTM C 496 [30] stan-
Chemical analyses of RHA Weight of percent (%) dard tensile test. This test was done in accordance with the compressive strength
tests on cylindrical specimens with a diameter of 150 mm and height of 300 mm.
SiO2 86.02
Equivalent loading speed was equal to 1 MPa/min which, according to the relevant
Al2O3 0.36
standard, is in the range of 0.7–1.4 MPa/min.
Fe2O3 0.16
MgO 0.39
CaO 1.12 2.2.3. Flexural strength test
Na2O 1.15 The flexural strength of concrete was measured according to ASTM C 78 [31]
standard test on prismatic beams with dimensions of 100 " 100 " 500 mm. Equiv-
Physical properties
alent loading speed was equal to 0.95 MPa/min which, according to the relevant
Specific gravity 2.1
standard, is in the range of 0.86–1.12 MPa/min.
Specific surface area (cm2/gr) 3500

2.2.4. Permeability test

material. According to ASTM-C618, pozzolan is defined as a silica material which is
not adhesive by itself but shows chemical reaction with calcium hydroxide in the
vicinity of moisture at normal temperature and produce compositions with adhe-
sive and cementitous properties. This reduces the porosity of the cement paste
and subsequently increases its strength. So pozzolan is a natural or artificial mate-
rial containing active silica. Being fine is the most important physical property of
RHA that increase the concrete strength. Compared to cement, RHA is finer than ce-
ment and has better efficiency as cementitious materials. Therefore, it is expected
that these factors may significantly impact the strength properties of concrete.
2.1.4. Superplasticizer
A superplasticizer (SP) of carboxylic ether (Glenium-110P, BASF) with 1.1 g/cm3
specific gravity (at 20 "C) is used.
2.1.5. Fibers
Fibers including PPS, steel and glass were used. The properties of the fibers used
are shown in Table 3 and Fig. 2.
The best definition for a pervious and permeable concrete is its permeability
and porosity properties. Permeability is a function how pores are related to each
other. To define the permeability of a material, the permeability coefficient
should be determined that is the amount of fluid flowing through a unit area
per unit time under a unit hydraulic gradient (that is usually expressed in terms
of centimeters per second). Pervious concrete permeability can be determined
using the falling head tests. In these tests, lateral surfaces of the specimens are
covered and pressurized water is applied on the upper surface of the specimens.
When there is a steady stream of water, the amount of water passing from a cer-
tain height within a specified time is measured. Average permeability coefficient
is calculated according to Eq. (1) based on Darcy’s law and layer flow assumption
[32]. The average results of the tests on three cylindrical specimens with a diam-
eter and height of 100 mm are reported as the permeability coefficient. A picture
of the device used to determine the permeability of pervious concrete is shown in
Fig. 3.
! "
aL h1
k¼ LN ð1Þ
At h2

Table 3
Properties of glass, steel and PPS fibers.

Type Length (mm) Diameter (mm) Thickness (mm) Young modulus (kg/cm2 " 105) Specific gravity (gr/cm3)
Steel 36 0.7 – 16 7.8
PPS 50–54 – 0.07 3.5 0.90
Glass 12 0.1 – 8.7 2.65

Fig. 2. (a) Steel fibers, (b) PPS fibers and (c) glass fibers used in this study.
 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691 683

2.3. Concrete mix design

In this study four mix designs namely A, B, C and D are made. Mixes A, B and C,
respectively have a w/c ratio of 0.27, 0.33 and 0.4 and each contains three types of
fiber, 0.5% Vf steel, 0.2% Vf glass and 0.3% Vf PPS. Also in each of these mix designs 0%,
2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, and 12% RHA cement replacement has been used. Moreover, the
mix design of D series includes mixtures without fiber and 4%, 8% and 12% RHA ce-
ment replacement. The amounts of gravel, sand and water were constant in each of
the four mix designs. So that 7 wt.% natural sand was used as coarse aggregate
replacement. The parameter Vf in Tables 4–7 represents the percentage of fiber vol-
ume to concrete volume.
Considering the mix designs in the given tables, specific surface area of RHA is
significantly greater than the cement. Therefore the concrete performance is re-
duced drastically and more water is needed to fix it. Because the concrete perfor-
mance should not be changed, the amount of superplasticizer is increased.
Habeeb et al. [34] produced ashes with fineness of 27.4 m2/g, 29.1 m2/g and
30.4 m2/g by grinding ashes at intervals of 180, 270 and 360 min, respectively.
The results of their study showed that the finer the ash particles, the more superp-
lasticizer is needed to achieve the same slumps. Since in this study more than 10%
of RHA in concrete, has made the slump too low even with heavy use of superplast-
icizer, it seems that the most desirable amount of RHA is 10% which requires a rea-
sonable amount of plasticizer. It should be noted that the RHA is a waste material
but too much superplasticizer is needed to achieve the desired slump, economically
justifiable. Also, high percentages of RHA reduce the concrete strength and slump.

Fig. 3. The constructed device for permeability test. 3. Analysis of results

3.1. Effect of fiber type on mechanical properties

where k is the coefficient of permeability, cm/s; a the cross sectional area of the
standpipe, cm2; L the length of sample, cm; A the cross-sectional area of specimen,
cm2; t the time in seconds from h1 to h2; h1 the initial water level, cm; h2 is the final
water level, cm.
2.2.5. Porosity test
Porosity is the amount of the concrete pores and cavities defined as a percent-
age of total volume of the matter. The porosity of the specimens was measured by
calculating the difference between dry and weight under water according to Eq. (2)
[33]. First, specimens are placed in oven at 105 "C for 24 h and then weighing the
specimens the dry weight (W2) is obtained. Then, the dried specimens are weighed
in water and the weight under water (W1) is obtained. Using Eq. (2) the porosity of
the specimens are calculated. The average test results on three cylindrical speci-
mens of 100 mm diameter and height is reported as the porosity percentage.
! !
W2 & W1
""
P¼ 1& 100ð%Þ ð2Þ
Vol ' qW
where P is the total porosity, %; W1 the weight under water, kg; W2 the oven dry
weight, kg; Vol the volume of sample, cm3; qw the density of water @ 21 "C, kg/cm3.
3.1.1. Compressive strength
Fig. 4 shows the effect of fiber type (glass, steel and PPS) with-
out RHA on the compressive strength of pervious concrete in accor-
dance with the results of series A, B and C, respectively. In w/c ratio
of 0.27, compressive strength, compared to the control concrete
(without fibers), increases by 32%, 24% and 28% for glass, steel
and PPS fibers, respectively. In the w/c ratio of 0.33, with glass,
steel and PPS fibers the compressive strength is increased by
46%, 40% and 50% compared to the control concrete (without fi-
bers), respectively. Moreover in w/c ratio of 0.4 the compressive
strength increases by 36%, 26% and 30% when glass, steel and
PPS fibers are used, respectively. It is clear that when the vertical
compressive force is exerted to the concrete element, the specimen
inclines to show lateral strain increase. Due to high flexibility and
length of PPS fibers and also their proper placement and distribu-
tion in the concrete mixture which makes better interlocking be-
tween the fiber and the paste, the lateral strain is delayed and
consequently the compressive strength increases. It should be

Table 4
Mixes with w/c ratio of 0.27 (Series A).

Component RHA
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
PPS fiber Vf = 0.3% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 93 93 93 93 93 93 93
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4
Steel fiber Vf = 0.5% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 93 93 93 93 93 93 93
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4
Glass fiber Vf = 0.2% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 93 93 93 93 93 93 93
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4
684 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691

Table 5
Mixes with w/c ratio of 0.33 (Series B).

Component RHA
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
PPS fiber Vf = 0.3% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 112 112 112 112 112 112 112
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4
Steel fiber Vf = 0.5% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 112 112 112 112 112 112 112
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4
Glass fiber Vf = 0.2% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 112 112 112 112 112 112 112
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4

Table 6
Mixes with w/c ratio of 0.40 (Series C).

Component RHA
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
PPS fiber Vf = 0.3% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 135 135 135 135 135 135 135
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4
Steel fiber Vf = 0.5% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 135 135 135 135 135 135 135
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4
Glass fiber Vf = 0.2% Cement (kg) 340 333.2 326.4 319.6 312.8 306 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 6.8 13.6 20.4 27.2 34 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 135 135 135 135 135 135 135
SP (kg) 0 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.5 4

Table 7
Mixes containing RHA (Series D).
Compressive Strength (MPa)

Component RHA
0 4 8 12
Fiber Vf (%) = 0% Cement (kg) 340 326.4 312.8 299.2
RHA (kg) 0 13.6 27.2 40.8
Gravel (kg) 1395 1395 1395 1395
Sand (kg) 105 105 105 105
Water (kg) 93 93 93 93
SP (kg) 0 2.2 2.8 3.5

noted that because of high flexibility and length of PPS fibers and Control PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber
also their proper placement, the pull strength is also increased as
well as the compressive strength. Fig. 4. Bar chart compressive strength of pervious concrete containing fibers (Series
A, B and C).

3.1.2. Tensile strength

Fig. 5 shows the effect of fiber type (glass, steel and PPS) the amount of fibers, similar to the compressive strength trend at
without RHA on the tensile strength of pervious concrete in presence of fibers. In the w/c ratio of 0.27, tensile strength, com-
accordance with the results of series A, B and C, respectively. As pared to the control concrete (without fibers), increases 31%, 27%
shown in the figure, tensile strength is increased by increasing and 28% when glass, steel and PPS fibers are used, respectively.
 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691 685

Mix containing RHA

3 w/c=0.27 w/c=0.33 w/c=0.40
18

Compressive Strength (MPa)

Tensile Strength (MPa)

2.5
16
2

1.5 14

1
12
0.5

0 10
Control PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Rice husk ash (%)
Fig. 5. Bar chart tensile strength of pervious concrete containing fibers (Series A, B
and C). Fig. 7. The compressive strength of concrete containing RHA without fibers (Series
D).

3.5 w/c=0.27 w/c=0.33 w/c=0.40 Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber
Flexural Strength (MPa)

3 Mix With PPS Fiber

30

Compressive Strength (MPa)

2.5

2 25

1.5
20
1

0.5 15

0
Control PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber
Fig. 6. Bar chart flexural strength of pervious concrete containing fibers (Series A, B
and C).
Also in w/c ratio of 0.33, with glass, steel and PPS fibers the tensile
strength is increased 28%, 33% and 37%, compared to the control
concrete (without fibers), respectively. Moreover in w/c ratio of
0.4, the tensile strength increases 19%, 30% and 31% when glass,
steel and PPS fibers are used, respectively. As a conclusion, the ef-
fect of PPS fibers is much better than the glass and steel fibers be-
cause the PPS fibers have more interlock in the matrix of cement
due to their suitable flexibility and appropriate placement within
the concrete. Therefore the resultant tensile strength is higher
compared to the concrete containing glass and steel fibers.
3.1.3. Flexural strength
Fig. 6 shows the effect of fiber type (glass, steel and PPS) with-
out RHA on the flexural strength of pervious concrete in accor-
dance with the results of series A, B and C, respectively. As
shown in the figure, flexural strength is increased by increasing
the amount of fibers, similar to the tensile and compressive
strengths trends at presence of fibers. In the w/c ratio of 0.27, flex-
ural strength, compared to the control concrete (without fibers),
increases by 24%, 22% and 21% when glass, steel and PPS fibers
are used, respectively. Also in w/c ratio of 0.33, with glass, steel
and PPS fibers the flexural strength is increased by 17%, 19% and
21%, compared to the specimen control concrete (without fibers),
respectively. Moreover in w/c ratio of 0.4, the flexural strength in-
creases by 7%, 13% and 17% when glass, steel and PPS fibers are
used, respectively. As a conclusion, the effect of PPS fibers is much
better than the glass and steel fibers because the PPS fibers have
more interlocking in the matrix of cement due to their suitable
flexibility and appropriate placement within the concrete.
Therefore the resultant flexural strength is higher compared to
the concrete containing glass and steel fibers.
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Rice Husk Ash (%)
Fig. 8. The compressive strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c ratio
0.27 (Series A).
3.2. Effect of RHA on compressive strength
In terms of microstructure, concrete is composed of three
phases: aggregate, cement and transition zone. Although most of
the concrete is aggregate and cement phase, the transition zone
is more effective on the mechanical properties of concrete in spite
of its smaller proportion than the two other phases and thus plays
a critical role in the concrete structure [35,36]. In pervious concrete
without admixtures, concrete failure generally occurs on the sur-
face of the hardened paste or the transition zone between the
aggregates and the paste [37]. Pozzolanic properties of rice husk,
as well as its role as a chemical filler improves the physical struc-
ture of the cement and makes the cement paste denser. The RHA as
a pozzolan reacts with calcium hydroxide in the hydration process
and improves aggregate-paste connectivity and hence reduces
transition zone thickness between aggregate and cement paste.
This causes the failure occurs in the through aggregate which is in-
tended because this phase has definitely higher strength than the
transition zone and improves the mechanical properties of the con-
crete including compressive, tensile and flexural strengths. The ef-
fect of RHA on the concrete compressive strength is shown in Fig. 7
based on the results of concrete containing RHA (series D). As ob-
served, the compressive strength of concrete containing RHA is 29%
more than control concrete and a RHA of 8% was considered as
optimum.
3.3. Combined effect of fiber and RHA on the mechanical properties of
concrete
Due to the low pull strength of fibers in pervious concrete con-
taining fiber (Series A, B, C), it appears that the total capacity of the
686 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691

Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber

Mix With PPS Fiber Mix With PPS Fiber

Compressive Strength (MPa)

30 3.6

Tensile Strength (MPa)

25 3.2

20
2.8

15
2.4
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
2
Rice Husk Ash (%) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Rice Husk Ash (%)
Fig. 9. The compressive strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c ratio
0.33 (Series B). Fig. 12. The tensile strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c ratio 0.33
(Series B).

Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber

Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber
Mix With PPS Fiber
Compressive Strength (MPa)

30 Mix With PPS Fiber

Tensile Strength (MPa) 3.6
25
3.2
20
2.8
15
2.4
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
2
Rice Husk Ash (%) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Rice Husk Ash (%)
Fig. 10. The compressive strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c
ratio 0.40 (Series C).
Fig. 13. The tensile strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c ratio 0.40
(Series C).

Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber

Mix With PPS Fiber Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber
3.6
Tensile Strength (MPa)

Mix With PPS Fiber

5
Flexural Strength (MPa)

3.2

4
2.8

3
2.4

2
2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
1
Rice Husk Ash (%) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Fig. 11. The tensile strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c ratio 0.27
Rice Husk Ash (%)
(Series A).
Fig. 14. The flexural strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c ratio
0.27 (Series A).

fiber is not used. However, due to the low value of fine aggregate,
cement matrix of pervious concrete is poor. Thus the interlocking
between fibers and concrete components should be improved
through strengthening the cement paste. However, it should be ta-
ken into account that the volume of the cement paste cannot be in-
creased since this would affect the permeability of the concrete
which contradicts the nature of pervious concrete. Thus, a propor-
tion of the existing cement can be removed and the same amount
of RHA can be substituted so that pozzolanic property of RHA is
utilized. RHA has a high pozzolanic activity and is commonly used
as pozzolanic materials in concrete.
Increase in the strength and durability of concrete contain-
ing RHA is due to strengthened the transition zone, void structure
reformation, blocking large voids in the hydrated cement paste be-
cause of pozzolanic reaction. Another important pozzolanic mate-
rial is silica. Improvement of the mechanical properties and
reduction of the permeability of concrete containing micro-silica
is due to the reduction of the thickness of the transition zone be-
tween aggregate and cement paste [38]. Hence, because fine mi-
cro-silica is extremely fine and has high pozzolanic reactivity,
this material decreases the permeability of concrete and reduces
the amount of calcium hydroxide. Since micro-silica is finer than
RHA, it reduces the porosity of the transition zone and further im-
proves the mechanical properties of the concrete compared to RHA
[39].
 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691 687

Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber Table 9

Percentage of tensile strength increase for optimum RHA amount compared to control
Mix With PPS Fiber concrete.
6
Flexural Strength (MPa)

w/c PPS fiber Steel fiber Glass fiber

5 0.27 37 41 30
0.33 28 30 31
4 0.4 32 33 38

2
Table 10
1 Percentage of flexural strength increase for optimum RHA amount compared to
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 control concrete.
Rice Husk Ash (%) w/c PPS fiber Steel fiber Glass fiber

Fig. 15. The flexural strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c ratio 0.27 59 54 48
0.33 (Series B). 0.33 69 63 64
0.4 53 57 63

Mix With Glass Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber

Glass Fiber
30

Compressive Strength (MPa)

Mix With PPS Fiber W/C=0.27 W/C=0.33 W/C=0.4
Flexural Strength (MPa)

5
25

4 20

15
3
10
2
5

1 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Rice Husk Ash (%)
Rice Husk Ash (%)
Fig. 16. The flexural strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers in w/c ratio 0.40
(Series C).
Steel Fiber
30
Compressive Strength (MPa)

W/C=0.27 W/C=0.33 W/C=0.4

25
Table 8
Percentage of compressive strength increase for optimum RHA amount compared to 20
control concrete.
15
w/c PPS fiber Steel fiber Glass fiber
0.27 47 43 41 10
0.33 36 37 34
0.4 41 37 30 5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Nielsen [40] using the X-ray analysis technique reported that Rice Husk Ash (%)
RHA replacement to the cement causes reduction in the relative
concentration of calcium hydroxide in the transition zone.
PPS Fiber
The properties of rice husk can be studied from two aspects, 35
Compressive Strength (MPa)

W/C=0.27 W/C=0.33 W/C=0.4

chemically and physically, both of which improve the mechanical 30
properties of concrete. The most important feature of RHA that
25
causes pozzolanic reaction to occur is its amorphous material. Pro-
duction of RHA can lead to the formation of about 85–95% amor- 20
phous silica [41]. In the cement hydration process, large amounts 15
of calcium hydroxide crystals are formed. These crystals that are
10
hexagonal and are mainly formed at the transition zone between
the aggregates and cement paste have been crucial in the concrete 5
permeability. The term ‘‘Chemical property of the RHA’’ means that 0
due to its large specific surface area, it is highly reactive. It can re- 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
act to with calcium crystals hydroxide quickly and produce C–S–H Rice Husk Ash (%)
gel. Therefore, the dimensions and quantity of calcium hydroxide
Fig. 17. The compressive strength of concrete containing RHA and fibers with
crystals are reduced and instead C–S–H gel fills voids on the con- different w/c ratios.
tact surface of cement paste with aggregates making it denser.
The physical effects of RHA include improvement of interlock- cement particles and fill the space between them. So, all these pro-
ing between solid materials and filling the space between cement cesses will strengthen the microstructure and result in a denser ce-
particles. In other words, minute RHA particles are finer than ment paste.
688 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691

Table 11 w/c=0.27 (Series A)

Porosity and permeability percentage in different w/c ratios. 0.3
Mix With PPS Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber
w/c Fiber PPS Steel Glass Mix With Glass Fiber

Permeability (cm/s)
0.25
RHA Porosity Perme- Porosity Perme- Porosity Perme-
(%) ability (%) ability (%) ability 0.2
(cm/s) (cm/s) (cm/s)
0.15
0.27 0 23.2 0.25 23.3 0.25 22.9 0.24
2 20.5 0.202 20.2 0.22 19 0.22 0.1
4 19.5 0.18 17.5 0.186 18 0.19
6 18.2 0.165 15 0.16 16 0.17 0.05
8 16.6 0.14 12.5 0.12 13.5 0.145
10 14.8 0.108 21.1 0.23 20.5 0.2 0
0 4 6 8 10 12
12 23.7 0.26 27 0.28 24 0.25 2
Rice Husk Ash (%)
0.33 0 21.5 0.21 22 0.21 19 0.19
2 19.4 0.18 20 0.19 19.5 0.16
w/c=0.33 (Series B)
4 18 0.19 17.5 0.17 16 0.13 0.3
6 17.5 0.15 15 0.14 14 0.14 Mix With PPS Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber Mix With Glass Fiber
8 15.5 0.12 12.5 0.12 11 0.1
0.25

Permeability (cm/s)
10 12 0.095 10 0.09 9 0.08
12 19 0.21 20 0.23 21 0.24
0.2
0.4 0 28 0.45 26 0.41 29 0.48
2 25 0.41 23 0.37 25 0.45 0.15
4 22 0.38 21 0.33 22 0.39
6 20 0.35 20 0.3 21 0.33
0.1
8 18 0.3 16 0.26 17 0.37
10 14 0.36 13 0.21 25 0.39
12 24 0.38 21 0.32 29 0.47
0.05

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
3.3.1. Compressive strength Rice Husk Ash (%)
The results of the compressive strength test are shown in
Figs. 8–10. As it can be seen, the compressive strength increased w/c=0.4 (Series C)
0.6
with increasing the amount of RHA, but using more of them re- Mix With PPS Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber Mix With Glass Fiber
duces the strength. Therefore, the range of 8–10% of RHA can be
Permeability (cm/s)

0.5
considered as the optimal value and leads to significant improve-
0.4
ment in strength. As it can be seen in Table 8, the compressive
strength values increase 30–41% for glass fiber, 37–43% for the 0.3
steel fibers and 41–47% for the PPS fibers. It should be noted that
due to reduction of porosity, the amount of calcium hydroxide 0.2
and the thickness of the transition zone between aggregate and ce- 0.1
ment paste, and also increase of RHA up to optimum value (8–10%)
the compressive strength increases compared to the control con- 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
crete (concrete containing fiber) and then decreases with the fur-
Rice Husk Ash (%)
ther increase of RHA. This is because workability and lack of
required water. Fig. 18. Permeability of pervious concrete containing RHA and fibers with different
w/c ratios (Series A, B and C).

3.3.2. Tensile strength

The results of the tensile test are shown by Figs. 11–13. It can be
seen that, as it was detected for compressive strength trend, gener-
ally while the rate of cement replacement with RHA particles in-
creases, the tensile strength has an increasing trend at first, but
it decreases after a while. As it can be seen in Table 9, the tensile
strength values increase 30–38% for glass fiber, 30–41% for the
steel fibers and 28–37% for the PPS fibers. It can be said that in-
crease of RHA strengthens the cement paste. In other words, the
used fibers have better performance in the presence of RHA than
when the concrete exclude RHA particles. Other reasons why ten-
sile strength is increased is the small size of RHA particles and their
filling effect. Habeeb et al. [34] reported that the finer the RHA par-
ticles, the more the tensile strength is improved.
3.3.3. Flexural strength
The results of the flexural test are shown in Figs. 14–16. As ob-
served, generally while the rate of cement replacement with RHA
particles increases, the flexural strength has an increasing trend
at first, but it decreases after a while. The increase in flexural
strength could be due to the improvement of the bond between
the cement matrix and aggregate in the presence of RHA. As it
can be seen in Table 10, the flexural strength values increase 48–
63% for glass fiber, 54–63% for the steel fibers and 53–69%
for the PPS fibers. Gemma [25] reported that the use of RHA
results in significant improvement in the flexural strength of
concrete.
From the above results, it can be seen that, as previously men-
tioned, the optimum percentage of RHA in series D (without fibers)
is 8% while the optimum percentage of RHA in specimens contain-
ing fiber series (A, B and C) is between 8% and 10%. The difference
of RHA amount between two types of specimens is negligible. This
means that the addition of fibers to concrete containing RHA does
not affect the optimal amount considerably. It also can be seen that
the curve slope, for all w/c ratios, before the optimum of RHA is
steeper than the slope after the optimum RHA amount. In fact,
using 12% of RHA slightly decreases the compressive, tensile and
flexural strengths, compared to the 10% RHA, while considerably
increasing the permeability which is economic and practical. As
it is obvious, combination of fiber and RHA increases the compres-
sive strength in comparison with concrete containing RHA and
without fibers (series D).
 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691 689

3.4. Effect of water to cement ratio 3.5. Porosity and permeability test results

In order to evaluate the effect of the w/c ratio on the
mechanical properties of fibers and concrete containing RHA, a
bar graph for compressive strength is depicted in Fig. 17. As
can be seen the specimens with w/c ratios of 0.27 and 0.40 have
lower strengths compared to a w/c ratio of 0.33. It may be con-
cluded that, for the w/c ratio of 0.27 the failure has occurred on
cement paste that is due to insufficient water content to operate
the hydration. The w/c ratio of 0.33 leads to increased workabil-
ity of the mixture which causes full hydration of the cement
paste and consequently generates stronger mixes. In the w/c ra-
tio of 0.4, there is high-water content in the cement paste that
causes the formation of small pores in the cement paste and
thus the compressive strength will be reduced. According to
the tests carried out by Lian and Zhuge [37] on the pervious
concrete, increasing the w/c ratio to a value of 0.34 increases
the compressive strength and then further increase of the w/c
ratio will decrease the compressive strength.
w/c=0.27 (Series A)
30
Mix With PPS Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber
25 Mix With Glass Fiber
The results of the porosity and permeability tests with the w/c
ratios of 0.27, 0.33 and 0.4 are shown in Table 11. As it can be seen,
the permeability is roughly 0.08–0.48 cm/s and porosity is in the
range of 9–29%, which are high enough and can be used as a drain-
age layer in pavement. As shown in Fig. 18 for the permeability and
Fig. 19 for porosity with different w/c ratios, fiber does not have
considerable effect on the permeability while using RHA leads to
rapid decrease in porosity and the permeability. However, porosity
and permeability decrease when RHA is increased to 8–10%, and
then it increases for more RHA contents. This is opposite to the
compressive strength trend where it increases when RHA increases
to 8–10% and then decreases. As it is clear, the permeability and
porosity have a direct relationship with each other [42] in which
the permeability coefficient increases when porosity is increased.
As previously mentioned, the thickness of the transition zone de-
creases with increasing RHA and so the porosity and permeability
will be reduced to the optimization point and after that compres-
sive and tensile strengths are reduced while porosity and perme-
ability are increased as shown in Fig. 18. As shown in Fig. 18, the
permeability, in the w/c ratio of 0.27, is more than that of 0.33
but far less than the case related to the w/c ratio of 0.40.

20 w/c=0.27 (Series A)
Porosity (%)

PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber

15
Tensile Strength (MPa)

3.4
10 3.2
3
5 2.8
2.6
0 2.4
2.2
2
Rice Husk Ash (%)
15 17 19 21 23 25
w/c=0.33 (Series B) Compressive Strength (MPa)
25
Mix With PPS Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber Mix With Glass Fiber w/c=0.33 (Series B)
20
PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber
Porosity (%)

Tensile Strength (MPa)

15 3.6
3.4
3.2
10
3
2.8
5 2.6
2.4
0 2.2
2
Rice Husk Ash (%) 20 22 24 26 28 30
Compressive Strength (MPa)
w/c=0.4 (Series C)
35
Mix With PPS Fiber Mix With Steel Fiber Mix With Glass Fiber w/c=0.4 (Series C)
30
PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber
25
Tensile Strength (MPa)
Porosity (%)

3.4
20 3.2
3
15 2.8
10 2.6
2.4
5 2.2
0 2
15 17 19 21 23 25
Rice Husk Ash (%) Compressive Strength (MPa)

Fig. 19. Porosity pervious concrete containing RHA and fibers with different w/c Fig. 20. Relationship between tensile strength and compressive strength in
ratios (Series A, B and C). different w/c ratios (Series A, B and C).
690 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691

w/c=0.27 (Series A) w/c=0.27 (Series A)

PPS Fiber Steel fiber Glass Fiber PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber

Compressive Strength (MPa)

0.35 28
Permeability (cm/s)

0.3 26
24
0.25 22
0.2 20
18
0.15
16
0.1 14
0.05 12
10 15 20 25 30 10
Void Content (%) 10 15 20 25 30
Void Content (%)

w/c=0.33 (Series B) w/c=0.33 (Series B)

PPS Fiber Steel fiber Glass Fiber PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber

Compressive Strength (MPa)

0.25 35
Permeability (cm/s)

0.2 30

0.15 25

20
0.1
15
0.05
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 10
Void Content (%) 8 13 18 23
Void Content (%)
w/c=0.4 (Series C)
PPS Fiber Steel fiber Glass Fiber w/c=0.4 (Series C)
0.55 PPS Fiber Steel Fiber Glass Fiber
Permeability (cm/s)

Compressive Strength (MPa)

0.45 26
24
0.35 22
0.25 20
18
0.15 16
14
0.05 12
10 15 20 25 30
10
Void Content (%) 10 15 20 25 30
Void Content (%)
Fig. 21. Relationship between void content and permeability in different w/c ratios
(Series A, B and C).
Fig. 22. Relationship between compressive strength and the void content in
different w/c ratios (Series A, B and C).
As previously mentioned, RHA reacts with calcium hydroxide in
the hydration process and the amount of RHA is reduced, leading to slopes of the specimens containing PPS is more than that of steel
the production of the C–S–H gel. Thus porosity and permeability and glass fibers. Fig. 21 shows the relationship between the void
increase and the compressive strength decreases with the increase content and permeability of pervious concrete. It can be concluded
of RHA. Although, using a further amount of RHA causes reduction that the permeability of the pervious concrete is related linearly
in the compressive strength. From this stage on, the RHA had a with the amount of air. As it is apparent, permeability of concrete
negative effect on the hydration of cement and results in an in- increases with increasing the amount of air and this trend contin-
crease of porosity in the cement paste and consequently increases ues until the optimum value is reached and then the amount of air
concrete porosity and permeability. This is because high specific increases and compressive strength is reduced. One of the chal-
surface area of RHA and lack of required water absorption by lenges of using pervious concrete is to achieve an acceptable bal-
RHA particles cause the compressive strength to reduce and conse- ance between the permeability and high compressive strength.
quently increase the permeability and porosity. As is clear from Fig. 22, increasing the amount of RHA decreases
the amount of air while increasing compressive strength. That is
3.6. Relations between mechanical properties because when RHA is mixed with concrete, the compressive
strength increases due to chemical reactions and after the opti-
Figs. 20–22 show the relationship between the physical and mum point the compressive strength is reduced while porosity is
mechanical properties of the specimens containing glass fiber, steel increased.
fiber, PPS fiber and RHA with w/c ratios of 0.27, 0.33 and 0.4. These
relationships are similar to normal concrete [43]. 4. Conclusion
Fig. 20 shows the relationship between compressive and tensile
strengths of pervious concrete. As it is obvious, by increasing com- In this study the results of the experimental tests to investigate
pressive strength, the tensile strength also increases and the rela- the physical and mechanical properties of pervious concrete con-
tionship between them is almost linear. As it can be seen, curve taining fibers and RHA is as follows:
 S. Hesami et al. / Construction and Building Materials 53 (2014) 680–691
1. The optimum percentage of RHA in the specimens without
fibers (series D) is 8% while it is between 8% and 10% in the
specimens with fiber series (A, B and C). This indicates that
the addition of fibers to the concrete containing RHA does not
considerably affect the optimal amount.
2. The compressive, tensile and flexural strengths in concrete with
12% of RHA were found to be slightly lower than those of 10% of
RHA, as the optimum RHA amount, while its permeability is
considerably higher than that of 10% of RHA. Hence, it seems
that 12% of RHA can be more suitable for concrete pavements.
3. The mechanical properties including the compressive, tensile
and flexural strengths were found to be the maximum for w/c
ratio of 0.33.
4. For 8–10% replacement of RHA and w/c ratio of 0.33, the com-
pressive strength of pervious concrete containing fibers and
RHA increases by 34%, 37% and 36% for glass, steel and PPS
fibers, respectively. Also, for the above-mentioned mix design,
the tensile strength increases by 31%, 30% and 28% for glass,
steel and PPS fibers, respectively. Finally, the flexural strength
undergoes a 64%, 63% and 69% increase when glass, steel and
PPS fibers are used, respectively.
5. In three w/c ratios of 0.27, 0.33 and 0.4, a similar trend was
observed for the compressive, tensile and flexural strengths of
concrete containing both RHA and fiber but the range of opti-
mum percentage of RHA was different. Moreover for all cases,
the compressive, tensile and flexural strengths rises at a rapid
slope before the optimum percentage and drops gradually after-
wards. The same trend is detected when for concretes with
fibers and without RHA.
6. The pervious concrete permeability was obtained to be between
0.08 cm/s and 0.48 cm/s, and the porosity is in the range of 9%
and 29%, which are appropriate for a drainage layer of pave-
ment to be used.
7. The compressive strength of the pervious concrete increases
linearly with the increase of the tensile strength.
8. The permeability of concrete decreases with the increase of
RHA amount until the optimum RHA amount is reached. After
it, the permeability increases and the strengths are reduced.
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