Liu, Gerardyne Anne M.

Title: Strength development analysis of Controlled Low Strength Material utilizing rice husk ash

with lime binder

CLSM is a fluid mixture commonly made of cement, fine aggregates, ash, and water that

is used primarily as structural fill or backfill. The American Concrete Institute Committee 229 has

formally named the flowable fill as CLSM and described it as a self-compacted, cementitious

material used as backfill having a compressive strength of not more than 8.3MPa. It is divided into

two groups according to its unconfined compressive strength: excavatable CLSM’s—having

strengths ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 MPa, and inexcavatable CLSM’s—strengths reaching 2.1 MPa.

The strength of CLSM should be limited to provide adequate structural support and to

allow future excavations. Strength gain with age is expected for all concrete; thus, it is difficult to

maintain the strength concerning studies within concrete technology, but according to Pierce,

Gassman, and Richards (2002), strength loss is reported for CLSM after 600 days of curing.

Different temperatures and humidity for curing CLSM are studied by Folliard, Du, and Trejo

(2003) and found that a significant increase in strength was developed for CLSM cured at high

temperature. However, the results of these studies are limited to CLSM’s mixed with fly ash, which

are harmful since heavy metals such as lead, nickel, iron, chromium, and manganese are present

in fly ash and form leachates that can contaminate groundwater. With this, other materials are used

as substitutes to further modify the characteristics of CLSM.

Different industrial by-products are being used in the production of CLSM.

Conventionally, CLSM is composed of water, cement, ash, and aggregates. Engineers and

researchers developed the use of coal-combustion products, namely fly ash and bottom ash, and
has been effective as substitutes to cement and fine aggregates in appropriate proportions. Spent

foundry sand has also been studied in producing CLSM since it is composed of high-quality silica,

which is a byproduct from the production of ferrous and non-ferrous metal castings. Cement kiln

dust and wood ash are successfully used as partial replacement for cement in making CLSM due

to similar compounds found such as silica, aluminum oxide, ferric oxide, and lime (Siddique,

2009). Rice husk ash (RHA) with lime binder has been studied as a substitute to cement in CLSM.

Rice husk is a byproduct from milling rice that constitutes about 20% of paddy. Two million metric

tons of rice husk are made available in the Philippines per year and is used as biofuel to produce

cheaper source of heat and power (Belonio, 2014). RHA is the residue from burning rice husk that

contains 80.8% silica classifying it under class F pozzolan (Rimando, 2017). With this, RHA is

widely used in concrete technology since it improves workability, reduces bleeding and

segregation, has low heat of hydration, produces lower creep, and is inexpensive (Kartini, 2011).

RHA is not cementitious itself (Flores, 2008) since it only contains 1.05% of calcium oxide

(CaO) (Rimando, 2017). Lime-based binder is used to cover the amount of CaO in RHA letting

the mixture with water act as cement.

This study investigates the strength development of CLSM utilizing RHA with lime-binder

under normal curing conditions since other curing methods specified for concrete are not

considered essential for CLSM (ACI 229R-99). Compressive strength, density, shrinkage, and

corrosivity will be identified under various RHA-to-lime binder ratios. Results will be analyzed

against standard CLSM used in construction and will suggest an appropriate design of an

excavatable CLSM. CLSM in the Philippines is not widely used since compacted soil is still the

standard material for excavations and landfills pursuant to DPWH Standard Specification for Item
807 – Site Development (2017). With CLSM, tedious procedures in compacting backfills may be

neglected cutting costs since CLSM has properties across soil and concrete.

CLSM gains strength over time due to the cement and pozzolans, in this case bottom ash,

which makes it as a disadvantage against compacted soil. There lists a wide range application of

excavatable CLSM making unified code of CLSM design for this category difficult (Candelaria,

Maurillo, & Diola, 2017).

This study aims to determine the general mix design of Controlled Low-Strength Material

(CLSM) utilizing Rice Husk Ash with Lime-Binder. Specifically, this study aims to:

1. Determine the compressive strength of CLSM and compare the results against

standards;

2. Analyze the development of compressive strength of CLSM during its curing

period;

3. Classify the mix design of CLSM as excavatable or inexcavatable;

4. Determine the desired flowability of the mix design; and

5. Identify the environmental effects of CLSM.

The design of CLSM in this study is limited to the utilization of RHA and hydraulic lime

as alternative to Portland Cement. The study investigates the optimum design of CLSM for the

flowability, bleeding, density, and compressive strength without addition of other admixtures that

may retard the strength development of CLSM. The study is limited to test bleed water and

leachates to identify the material’s corrosivity. The strength development of the CLSM is observed

within its curing period.

 In designing CLSM, trial batches of different mix proportions will be prepared which will

be composed of ordinary Portland cement, fine aggregates, and water that conforms to standards

as stated in ACI 229R-99. The mix shall utilize Rice Husk Ash. The sample specimens are in

ASTM C109 50 mm cubes and then tested to determine its properties.

The following tests will be done to determine physical and mechanical properties of CLSM

produced. Flowability test, conforming to ASTM D 6103, determines the relationship between

water and RHA volume in CLSM. Good flowability is achieved when there is no segregation

between particles and the flow diameter spreads for 8 inches and above. Test for bleeding of CLSM

will be done by filling about 800mL of fresh CLSM in 1000mL measuring jar. The jar is closed

and kept at room temperature. After the CLSM was stabilized, the volume of CLSM, and the bleed

that will be accumulated above the CLSM will then be recorded. The bleed is then expressed as a

percentage of the initial volume of CLSM. Density of each fresh sample is identified by placing

them in a container of known volume with its weight measured. Average density for fresh state is

then computed. The hardened density of CLSM is measured before subjecting them to compressive

strength tests. The average density for hardened state is then computed. The corrosivity of CLSM

is determined by measuring the pH of the bleed and leachate. The leachate is collected by placing

the CLSM cubes in a container with deionized water. The cubes are removed on the 28th day and

the remaining water are used as leachates. The CLSM is said to be corrosive if the pH values of

the bleed and leachate is not within 2 and 12.5.

Compressive tests are carried-out on hardened CLSM samples at the 7th, 14th, and 28th

day. Universal Testing Machine of 100 kN capacity is used. Slow loading rates of 0.6 mm/min are

applied on each specimen to acquire accurate results.

 Among the trial batches, the optimal mix producing an excavatable CLSM with a good

flow consistency and volume change will be considered as the best design for CLSM utilizing

RHA with lime binder.