Abstract

The pursuit of environmentally friendly building materials has encouraged novel studies into improving the properties of cement mortar. This study investigates eco-friendly cement mortar upgrades via nanotechnology and waste utilization, specifically studying the effect of Nano-Silica and rice husk ash (RHA) on compressive strength using the Response Surface Method (RSM). The experimental study included two components, Nano silica, and RHA, with concentrations ranging from 0-3 wt% and 0-30 wt%, respectively. A total of 13 mixes were evaluated with five duplicates at the ages of 7 and 28 days. The RSM central composite design was used to develop a mathematical model to improve the compressive strength of cement mortar. The findings confirm that Nano silica and RHA had a substantial influence on compressive strength. Also, it was observed that mortars with high RHA content had an effective loss in compressive strength, whereas the synergetic interaction between Nano Silica and RHA-incorporated mortars with optimized contents of both Nano Silica and RHA had an increase in compressive strength. According to the RSM, the maximum compressive strength of 8.29 and 12.57 MPa at 7 and 28 days respectively was achieved with 1.04% Nano Silica and 16.33% RHA content. The test results verified the optimized model, proving its accuracy. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of employing Nano Silica and RHA additives to increase cement mortar production for eco-friendly construction.

Key words: Keywords: Nano-Silica; Rice Husk Ash, Compressive strength, Response surface method, Cement mortar.