Effect of Tricalcium Aluminate on Durability Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete Incorporating Rice Husk Ash and Metakaolin

Abstract

In this work, the effects of rice husk ash and metakaolin additions on magnesium sulfate and corrosion resistance properties of self-compacting concrete are reported. Comparisons are made to unblended self-compacting concrete to show the influence of the additions and replacements. Cement is replaced on a binary and ternary basis by 5–30% and 10–40%, respectively, of rice husk ash and metakaolin. Magnesium sulfate and corrosion resistance are analyzed after magnesium sulfate immersion for one year and with an accelerated corrosion test. The observational results showed that specimens exposed to a 5% magnesium sulfate solution exhibited the lowest weight loss for 10% rice husk ash, 20% metakaolin, and 20% rice husk ash in combination with metakaolin-blended self-compacting concrete. Likewise, it was noted that the tricalcium aluminate content of the binder influences the sulfate and the corrosion properties of self-compacting concrete.