Experimental and numerical analyses on the flexural tensile strength of ultra-high-performance concrete prisms with and without rice husk ash

Abstract

Ultra-high-performance concrete with steel fibers (UHPC) stands out for its exceptional mechanical properties and high ductility. The addition of steel fibers improves the tensile strength, allowing for its use in the design of structural elements subject to bending. The use of rice husk ash (RHA) as a natural mineral addition in the UHPC mixture offers significant advantages in terms of environmental impact and mechanical properties. Therefore, this work experimentally investigates the effect of RHA as a partial replacement for active silica fume on the flexural tensile strength and compressive behavior of UHPC. Additionally, a parametric study was conducted to examine the impact of varying prism geometries on the flexural tensile strength of UHPC with and without CCR in ABAQUS version 6.14. The experimental results made it possible to calibrate the UHPC parameters using RHA for numerical simulations of UHPC behavior based on the concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) model. The results indicated an increase of 4% in the compressive strength and 20% in the flexural tensile strength of UHPC with the addition of RHA. Furthermore, the numerical extrapolations of the flexural tensile strength test show that increasing the dimensions of the prisms reduces the strength by up to 30% of UHPC with RHA, evidencing the influence of geometry on the results.