A microstructure exploration and compressive strength determination of red mud bricks prepared using industrial wastes

Abstract

The consensual view among researchers concerning building with industrial by-products is that the utilization of by-products represents green technology and sustainable development. The current investigation focuses on the utilization of an assortment of by-products for the production of bricks. The by-products include Red Mud (RM), Fly ash (FA), and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) combined in different proportions with lime. The Red Mud employed ranged from 100% to 60% with a decrement of 10%, whereas Fly ash and GGBS varied between10% and 40% with an increment of 10%. Bricks produced from two methods namely, ambient curing and firing methods, were tested as per IS standards/ASTM norms, on both the materials and the composites of bricks. XRD, XRF, and SEM focused on both the raw materials and the composites. Because geopolymer materials are partially amorphous materials with complex composition, understanding the structural characteristics of geopolymers is opined as intricate. The results of the investigation show that the compressive strength of the bricks increased with the increment in the percentage of Fly ash and GGBS. The compressive strength of Red Mud-GGBS fired bricks attained maximum strength of 7.56 MPa.