Preliminary Assessment of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) as Functional Interphase Agent in Sustainable Composite Systems for Structural Strengthening

Abstract:

Over the last few years, the effectiveness of textile-reinforced mortar (TRM) composite systems for structural retrofitting has led to the widespread adoption of these materials in the practice and to the issue of up-to-date design guidelines. Nonetheless, the weak interfacial bonding that is frequently observed between matrix and fibres is likely to cause inconsistent failure modes and, generally speaking, to severely limit the reinforcing potential of the textile. A promising solution to tackle this issue consists in treating the surface of the reinforcing fibres with a functional coating to improve the adhesion at the interphase. In this paper, a pilot study is presented to assess the effectiveness of a fully sustainable polymer coating, consisting in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) loaded with with rice husk ash (RHA) or with a 50/50 mixture of RHA and silica fume (SF). The coating was applied on basalt fabrics to reinforce TRM coupons that were mechanically tested under uni-axial tensile loads. The mechanical properties of the TRM samples were significantly increased by up to 20%, and the peak load was attained at a higher deformability level, which is a clue of the enhanced ductility of the reinforced elements.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 919)
• Pages: 98-107
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-hxrr02
• Online since: May 2022
• Authors: Antonella Sola*, Cesare Signorini, Miriam Hanuskova, Mauro Zapparoli
• Keywords: Mechanical Tests, Natural Fibres, Rice Husk Ash, Sustainability, Textile Reinforced Mortar

References

[1] C. E. Bakis, L. C. Bank, V. Brown, E. Cosenza, J. Davalos, J. Lesko, A. Machida, S. Rizkalla, T. Triantafillou, Fiber-reinforced polymer composites for construction-state-of-the-art review, Journal of composites for construction 6 (2) (2002) 73-87.

DOI: 10.1061/(asce)1090-0268(2002)6:2(73)

[2] L. Hollaway, A review of the present and future utilisation of FRP composites in the civil infrastructure with reference to their important in-service properties, Construction and building materials 24 (12) (2010) 2419-2445.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.04.062

[3] V. Mechtcherine, Novel cement-based composites for the strengthening and repair of concrete structures, Construction and Building Materials 41 (2013) 365-373.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.11.117

[4] L. N. Koutas, Z. Tetta, D. A. Bournas, T. C. Triantafillou, Strengthening of concrete structures with textile reinforced mortars: State-of-the-art review, Journal of Composites for Construction 23 (1) (2019) 03118001.

DOI: 10.1061/(asce)cc.1943-5614.0000882

[5] A. D'Ambrisi, F. Focacci, A. Caporale, Strengthening of masonry-unreinforced concrete railway bridges with PBO-FRCM materials, Composite Structures 102 (2013) 193-204.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2013.03.002

[6] T. D'Antino, C. Papanicolaou, Mechanical characterization of textile reinforced inorganicmatrix composites, Composites Part B: Engineering 127 (2017) 78-91.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.02.034

[7] J. Donnini, F. De Caso y Basalo, V. Corinaldesi, G. Lancioni, A. Nanni, Fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix behavior at high-temperature: Experimental and numerical results, Composites Part B: Engineering 108 (2017) 108-121.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.10.004

[8] D. A. S. Rambo, F. de Andrade Silva, R. D. Toledo Filho, O. d. F. M. Gomes, Effect of elevated temperatures on the mechanical behavior of basalt textile reinforced refractory concrete, Mater Design 65 (2015) 24-33.

DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2014.08.060

[9] M. Messori, A. Nobili, C. Signorini, A. Sola, Effect of high temperature exposure on epoxycoated Glass Textile Reinforced Mortar (GTRM) composites, Construction and Building Materials 212 (2019) 765-774.[10] T. D'Antino, F. G. Carozzi, P. Colombi, C. Poggi, Out-of-plane maximum resisting bending moment of masonry walls strengthened with FRCM composites, Composite Structures 202 (2018) 881-896.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2018.04.054

[11] Z. Cohen, A. Peled, Effect of nanofillers and production methods to control the interfacial characteristics of glass bundles in textile fabric cement-based composites, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 43 (6) (2012) 962-972.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2012.01.022

[12] C. Signorini, A. Nobili, C. Siligardi, Sustainable mineral coating of alkali-resistant glass fibres in textile-reinforced mortar composites for structural purposes, Journal of Composite Materials 53 (28-30) (2019) 4203-4213.

DOI: 10.1177/0021998319855765

[13] C. Signorini, A. Nobili, Targeting functionalised carbon nanotubes at the interphase of textile reinforced mortar (TRM) composites, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 144 (2021) 106330.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2021.106330

[14] C. Signorini, A. Sola, A. Nobili, C. Siligardi, Lime-cement textile reinforced mortar (TRM) with modified interphase, The Journal of Applied Biomaterials and Functional Materials 17 (1).

DOI: 10.1177/2280800019827823

[15] P. Di Maida, E. Radi, C. Sciancalepore, F. Bondioli, Pullout behavior of polypropylene macrosynthetic fibers treated with nano-silica, Construction and Building Materials 82 (2015) 39-44.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.02.047

[16] C. Signorini, A. Sola, B. Malchiodi, A. Nobili, A. Gatto, Failure mechanism of silica coated polypropylene fibres for fibre reinforced concrete (FRC), Construction and Building Materials 236 (2020) 117549.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117549

[17] C. Signorini, V. Volpini, Mechanical performance of fiber reinforced cement composites including fully-recycled plastic fibers, Fibers 9 (3) (2021) 16.

DOI: 10.3390/fib9030016

[18] M. Ahsani, R. Yegani, Study on the fouling behavior of silica nanocomposite modified polypropylene membrane in purification of collagen protein, Chemical engineering research and design 102 (2015) 261-273.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2015.06.035

[19] N. Baccile, F. Babonneau, B. Thomas, T. Coradin, Introducing ecodesign in silica sol-gel materials, Journal of Materials Chemistry 19 (45) (2009) 8537-8559.

DOI: 10.1039/b911123a

[20] S. A. Khedr, M. N. Abou-Zeid, Characteristics of silica-fume concrete, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 6 (3) (1994) 357-375.

DOI: 10.1061/(asce)0899-1561(1994)6:3(357)

[21] V. Sata, C. Jaturapitakkul, K. Kiattikomol, Influence of pozzolan from various by-product materials on mechanical properties of high-strength concrete, Construction and Building Materials 21 (7) (2007) 1589-1598.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2005.09.011

[22] K. Ganesan, K. Rajagopal, K. Thangavel, Rice husk ash blended cement: assessment of optimal level of replacement for strength and permeability properties of concrete, Construction and building materials 22 (8) (2008) 1675-1683.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2007.06.011

[23] S. Demis, J. Tapali, V. Papadakis, An investigation of the effectiveness of the utilization of biomass ashes as pozzolanic materials, Construction and Building Materials 68 (2014) 291-300.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.06.071

[24] H. Tchakouté, D. Tchinda Mabah, C. Henning Rüscher, E. Kamseu, F. Andreola, M. Bignozzi, C. Leonelli, Preparation of low-cost nano and microcomposites from chicken eggshell, nanosilica and rice husk ash and their utilisations as additives for producing geopolymer cements, Journal of Asian Ceramic Societies 8 (1) (2020) 149-161.[25] C. Signorini, A. Nobili, A. Sola, M. Messori, Designing epoxy viscosity for optimal mechanical performance of coated glass textile reinforced mortar (GTRM) composites, Construction and Building Materials 233 (2020) 117325.

DOI: 10.1080/21870764.2020.1718860

[26] AZ Tech Srl, Microsil DM, http://www.aztech.it/public/pdf/Microsil%20DM.pdf (2021).

[27] ICC AC434, Acceptance criteria for masonry and concrete strengthening using fiber-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composite systems, Tech. rep., International Code Council (2018).

DOI: 10.14359/51702356

[28] Consiglio Superiore dei Lavori Pubblici, Italian standard for the qualification of FRCM composite systems for externally bonded reinforcement of existing structures, Tech. rep., Consiglio Superiore dei Lavori Pubblici (8 Jan 2019).

DOI: 10.30687/978-88-6969-515-5/010

[29] J. Hartig, F. Jesse, K. Schicktanz, U. Häußler-Combe, Influence of experimental setups on the apparent uniaxial tensile load-bearing capacity of textile reinforced concrete specimens, Materials and Structures 45 (3) (2012) 433-446.

DOI: 10.1617/s11527-011-9775-0

[30] RILEM 232-TDT, Test methods and design of textile reinforced concrete, Tech. Rep. 12, International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (2016).

DOI: 10.1617/s11527-016-0839-z

[31] F. Focacci, T. D'Antino, C. Carloni, The role of the fiber-matrix interfacial properties on the tensile behavior of FRCM coupons, Construction and Building Materials 265 (2020) 120263.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120263

[32] A. Nobili, Durability assessment of impregnated glass fabric reinforced cementitious matrix (GFRCM) composites in the alkaline and saline environments, Construction and Building Materials 105 (2016) 465-471.

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.12.173

[33] S. Zhang, S. Tie, F. Zhang, Cristobalite formation from the thermal treatment of amorphous silica fume recovered from the metallurgical silicon industry, Micro & Nano Letters 13 (10) (2018) 1465-1468.

DOI: 10.1049/mnl.2018.5167

[34] A. Nobili, F. O. Falope, Impregnated carbon fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix composite for rehabilitation of the Finale Emilia hospital roofs: Case study, Journal of Composites for Construction 21 (4) (2017) 05017001.

DOI: 10.1061/(asce)cc.1943-5614.0000780

[35] F. Falope, L. Lanzoni, A. Tarantino, Modified hinged beam test on Steel Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (SFRCM), Composites Part B: Engineering 146 (2018) 232-243.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.03.019

[36] G. P. Lignola, C. Caggegi, F. Ceroni, S. De Santis, P. Krajewski, P. B. Lourenço, M. Morganti, C. C. Papanicolaou, C. Pellegrino, A. Prota, et al., Performance assessment of basalt FRCM for retrofit applications on masonry, Composites Part B: Engineering 128 (2017) 1-18.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.05.003

[37] C. Signorini, A. Nobili, A. Sola, M. Messori, Optimal epoxy dilution for epoxy-coated textile reinforced mortar (TRM): An experimental perspective, in: Conference of the Italian Association of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Springer, Cham, 2019, pp.499-511.

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-41057-5_41

[38] EN 1990:2002/A1:2005, Eurocode: Basis of structural design, Tech. rep., Comité Européen de Normalisation (CEN) (2002).