ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Construction Materials
Structural, Durability and Thermal Behaviour Investigation of Paddy Stubble Ash Cementitious Replacement for Sustainable Concrete
1. Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, India
2. Research Scholar, School of Civil Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India
3. Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India
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Abstract
In lieu of the increasing population, demand for smart and intelligent infrastructure leading to climatic changes across the globe, it has become imperative to dispose of waste materials, both organic and inorganic, bionic and non-bionic, to mitigate the environmental pollution in all respects, i.e., land, water, and air. One of the ways to mitigate this challenge is to reuse such waste in the construction industry, which is also a major contributor to environmental pollution, in different forms, viz., admixture, additive, reinforcement, etc. In the present investigation, Paddy Stubble Ash (PSA) was prepared by burning the stubble within an enclosure subjected to isothermal heating, and observed to have combinedly more than 60% of Silicon, Aluminum, Magnesium, and Oxygen confirming it as a pozzolanic material, followed by replacement with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) at 5%, 7.5% and 10%. The structural properties, such as compressive strength and durability of the lightweight concrete blocks, were investigated following the IS 516:1959 (Reaffirmed 2018) and IS 456:2000 (Reaffirmed 2021) standard respectively. At 7.5% replacement, the compressive strength was observed to have the highest value of 25.27 MPa, 30.61 MPa, and 34.28 MPa for 7, 28, and 56 days of curing, respectively, and that of 10% replacement was the lowest. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs revealed uniformity in Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) gel formation in the course of the hydration process for respective concrete mix compositions. The Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) elemental analysis showed dominance of Calcium (Ca) and its compounds in PSA incorporated concrete, as well as control concrete after 28 and 56 days of curing. The Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) reveals significant mass loss for control concrete and 5% PSA replaced concrete, whereas with 7.5% and 10% PSA incorporated concrete, the mass loss was found to be reduced because of better moisture absorption.
Summary
Keywords
climate action, Compressive Strength, elemental characterisation, lightweight concrete, Paddy Stubble Ash, Sustainable structure, TGA
Received
24 November 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Sarangi and OM. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: SUGANYA OM
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