Red mud as an additive in concrete: comprehensive characterization

Abstract

The current work investigates the sustainable use of red mud (RM) as a supplementary cementitious material in concrete. The large amount of RM produced by the alumina industry creates disposal problems, as RM pollutes the surrounding environment and leads to ecological imbalance. To develop suitable uses for RM, concrete in which some of the cement was replaced with RM was experimentally investigated. The RM content, strength, and curing age of the concrete were considered as the parameters in this work, and the mechanical properties and durability of the RM-based concrete were tested to investigate its performance. The results indicated that the RM-based concrete had superior properties. Concrete in which 10% of the cement was replaced with RM exhibited high strength and durability compared to a 100% cement-based concrete control. To examine the micro-level behavior of the RM concrete, the microstructure was studied using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.