Experimental Study on the Partial Replacement of Nano Zirconia and Rice Husk Ash in Mortar

This paper investigates the effect of using zirconia (ZrO 2 ) powder and rice husk ash (RHA) as a partial replacement for cement and sand, on mechanical properties and water absorption of mortar. The rice manufacturing industry produces a large amount of RHA waste, which is an ecologically beneficial pozzo-lanic substance and low-cost. Cement mortar is mixed with a 1:3 cement/sand ratio, with nano zirconia as a replacement for cement in different content (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% by the weight of cement) and RHA as a replacement for fine aggregate in various amounts (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 70% by the weight of fine aggregate). The mechanical properties and water absorption tests were done after curing for 7, 14, and 28 days. The replacement, of cement with zirconia at 3% has a strength of 9.7 MPa, 11.30 MPa, and 36.27 MPa, and sand with RHA at 50% has a strength of 22.64 MPa, 26.29 MPa, and 30.78 MPa at 7, 14, and 28 days, respectively, showed a better effect on mechanical properties than the other sample. The result revealed replacement of combined zirconia and RHA has shown better properties on the mechanical characteristics of mortar. The highest compressive and tensile strength value in 28 days is 51.16 MPa and 20.93 MPa for replacement mortar.