Using rice husk ash as an economical and eco-friendly technology, a couple of GITAM University's civil engineering students have developed a new concrete mixture which is less expensive, reduces emission of green house gases and gives more carbon credits.
Final year students Manideep Tummalapudi and Surya Veera Vasudeva Rao Relangi, working on the theme ‘use of rice husk ash (RHA) in concrete' found that cement could be partially replaced by the rice husk ash to achieve eco-friendly results. It has been found that RHA added to the concrete in a certain ratio would give compressive strength similar to that of normal concrete.
They have won prizes in the national-level students' technical symposium held at IIT Bhubaneswar and won a prize and cash award.
Their finding was appreciated at various all-India students' seminars and was accepted for publication in the International Journal for Earth Sciences and Engineering (IJEE).
India produces 110 million tons of rice every year, most of it in Andhra Pradesh and generates 22 million tons of rice husk, the disposal of which is a problem. Using its ash in concrete could be one of the solutions, they said. The work was carried out in the Civil Engineering Laboratories of GITAM University. The students thanked the university faculty for their guidance and cooperation.
