Shrinkage and porosity in concretes produced with recycled concrete aggregate and rice husk ash

Abstract The admixture of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) in new concretes is an interesting alternative in the efforts to mitigate environmental impacts. RCA may increase porosity and change properties of concretes. Rice husk ash (RHA) is employed as supplementary cementitious material may improve concrete properties. The present study investigated the shrinkage of concrete prepared with RCA and RHA, proposing a mathematical model to explain the phenomenon. Concretes were produced with 25% and 50% of coarse recycled aggregate as replacement of natural aggregate, 0%, 10%, and 20% of RHA as replacement of cement, and a water-to-binder ratio of 0.64. Water absorption and capillary and total porosities were analyzed on day 28. Shrinkage tests were conducted on days 1, 4, 7, 14, 28, 63, 91, and 112. The results point to a significant interaction between RHA and RCA.