EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON M40 GRADE CONCRETE UTILIZING RED MUD

AS A PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF CEMENT

P. HIMAJA*1, B. VEERENDRANATH*2
1*M. Tech Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, CHIRALA Engineering College, Beach Road, Chirala, A.P.,
India
2* Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, CHIRALA Engineering College, Beach Road, Chirala, A.P.,
India

ABSTRACT:
The Bayer Process for the production of alumina from Bauxite ore is characterized by low energy
efficiency and it results in the production of significant amounts of dust-like, high alkalinity bauxite residues
known as red mud. Currently red mud is produced almost at equal mass ratio to metallurgical alumina and is
disposed into sealed or unsealed artificial impoundments (landfills), leading to important environmental issues.
Comprises of oxides of iron, titanium, aluminum and silica along with some other minor constituents. Presence
of Alumina and Iron oxide in red mud compensates the deficiency of the same components in limestone which is
the primary raw material for cement production. Based on economics as well as environmental related issues,
enormous efforts have been directed worldwide towards red mud management issues i.e. of utilization, storage
and disposal. Different avenues of red mud utilization are more or less known but none of them have so far
proved to be economically viable or commercially feasible. Experiments have been conducted under laboratory
condition to assess the strength characteristics of the aluminum red mud. In this case, the study does the
Hyderabad in Karmanghat area on the suitability of red mud obtained for construction. Five test groups were
constituted with their placement percentages 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% of red mud and 5% of hydrated lime with
cement in each series. To achieve Pozzolanic property of red mud, hydrated lime was added.
Key words: concrete mixes, Red mud, Hydrated lime,
1.0 Introduction
One of the real difficulties before the handling and assembling ventures is transfer of the leftover waste items.
Out of aggregate Aluminum creation India contributes just around 3% of world's generation. Red mud is one of
the bi-items gotten amid refining procedure of Bauxite (mineral of Aluminum Al2O3), at present it is evaluated
to be 2.7 billion tons with a yearly development rate of more than 120 million tons. Because of nearness of
scathing pop the Red mud has high pH more prominent than 11. Its transfer is tricky and it is unsafe to condition.
Keeping in mind the end goal to beat this issue it must be reused in different fields like horticultural, gas
medications and structural designing, for example, Bricks planning, Road asphalts, Embankments and for
Landfill liners. utilized the Red mud for blocks planning by balancing out with lime and checked the wet and dry
compressive qualities at 28 days curing period, got most extreme qualities for 5% lime and8% lime separately.
They have done a venture deal with practicality of lime and Red mud settled Red mud blends in street
development arranged bond Red mud solid utilizing Red mud. The compressive and flexural quality of this sort
of cement is near or much higher than that of customary solid, meeting the prerequisite of bond cement utilized
for asphalt materials (the 28-day compressive quality is around 30–40 MPa; the 28-day flexural quality is around
4.5–5.5 MPa).
Red mud:
Red mud is a highly alkaline waste product composed mainly of iron oxide that is generated in the industrial
production of alumina (aluminium oxide, the principal raw material used in the manufacture of aluminium metal
and also widely used in the manufacture of ceramics, abrasives and refractories). Annually, about 77 million tons
of the red waste are produced, causing serious disposal problem in the mining industry. The scale of production
makes the waste product an important one, and issues with its storage are reviewed and every opportunity is
explored to find uses for it.
HYDRATED LIME:
Lime is truly a versatile material in the construction of buildings. It can be used in the construction of masonry
systems as a component of mortar or of the masonry unit. Exterior (stucco) and interior plaster systems can also
contain lime. The plasticity or workability of the mix is better. When hydrated lime is added to the mix, the sand
and the cement do not separate. The final mortar also is more waterproof. Shrinkage cracking often can be
eliminated or minimized when hydrated lime is used.It is a colorless crystal or white powder and is obtained
when calcium oxide (called lime or quicklime) is mixed, or slaked with water. It has many names including
hydrated lime, caustic lime, builders' lime, slack lime, cal, or pickling lime. Calcium hydroxide is used in many
applications, including food preparation.
"Cement" can be followed back to the Roman expression creation cementitious, used to depict brick work taking
after current solid that was produced using smashed shake with consumed lime as folio.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
 The advantage of strength gained by red mud usage along with hydrated lime.
 To identify the various industrial wastes suitable for utilization in cement manufacture
 Physical, chemical and mineralogical characterization of industrial wastes.
 To extend the strength properties of red mud concrete in terms of compression, tensile and flexural
parameters
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW:
1. P. Ashok, M.P. Suresh Kumar [2015]: experimental studies on current utilizing red mud and hydrated lime
as a partial replacement of cement M30 grade. The percentage of red mud partial replacement of cement are, 0%,
5%,10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% and 5% hydrated lime partial replacement of cement. From the experimental
studies 15% partial replacement of cement with red mud and 5% hydrated lime improved cement concrete
properties
2.Sucharitha patal, B.K.pal [2016]: Current status on industrial waste red mud on overview have made
investigated on the amount of the red mud generated per ton of the alumina processed, various greatly with the
type of the bauxite ore used. Due to this hazardous nature, it is a great challange to researcher to develop new
methods for the application of red mud. Various research work going on for storage, disposal and utilization of
the red mud in all over the world.
3 M.P.Suresh Kumar, S.K. Gowtham[2015]: were studied the potential utilization of industrial waste (red
mud) in concrete. Have made investigation on partial replacement of cement with red mud for studying
mechanical properties of concrete. The percentage of red mud partial replacement of concrete are, 0%, 5%, 10%,
15%, and 20% for M20 grade concrete. From the experimental studies 10% partial replacement of cement with
red mud improved hardened concrete properties.
4. Ramarao Chimata, VenkateswaraRao.J [2014]: have made investigated on partial replacement of sand with
quarry dust and glass fibers for studying mechanical properties of rigid pavements. The percentage of quarry
partial replacement of sand in concrete are, 0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 30% and 40% and 0.2% glass fibers for
M40grade concrete. For experimental studies 30% of partial replacement of sand with quarry dust &glass fibers
improved hardened concrete properties.
5.Abdullah Anwar et al. [2013] studied the Compressive Strength of Concrete by Partial Replacement of
Cement with High Volume Fly Ash and presented a brief review with mixtures containing 10%, 20%, 30% and
40% Fly Ash by the bulk of the cementitious material (OPC) for M30 and M40 grade of concrete. The test result
indicates that the compressive strength of mix with 10%, 20% and 30% replaced with fly ash were more as
compared with conventional concrete thus enhancing the durability of structures.
3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Concrete is made up of components sachets, aggregation of stones, which we called as aggregate, embedded in
cement mortar that is cement-sand mortar, in his hardened state concrete is aggregation of stones or similar hard
material embedded in what we call cement- mortar. The aggregates, aggregates in normal concrete form this
skeleton matrix; it is about 60 to 65 percent by volume and rest all is 25 percent is past. Now paste means cement
and water that combines to paste. Concrete’s versatility, durability, sustainability, and economy have made it the
world’s most widely used construction material. About four tons of concrete are produced per person per year
worldwide and about 1.7 tons per person in the United States.
CEMENT:
Cement is a commonly used binding material I the construction. The cement is obtained by burning a mixture of
calcarious (calcium) ad argillaceous (clay) material at a very high temperature and then grinding the clinker so
produced to a fine powder. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is by far the most important type of cement.
Table 3.1: The Physical properties of 53 Grade Cement

S.No Characteristics Values

1 Standard consistency 53
2 Fineness of cement as Retained on 90 micron sieve 3%
3 Initial setting time 30 minutes
4 Specific gravity 3.15
5 7days compressive Strength 7MPA
AGGREGATES:
 Aggregates are the most important constituents of the concrete which give body to the concrete and also
reduce shrinkage. Aggregates occupy 70 to 80% of total volume of concrete. aggregates are classified based on
shape and size of the considerations. Aggregates is derived from naturally occurring rocks by blasting and
cursing of rocks etc., so it is difficult to attain required shape of arro gate.
HYDRATED LIME:
Hydrated lime is a type of dry powder made from limestone. Hydrated lime is also known as calcium
hydroxide. calcium hydroxide is also known as slaked lime. The controlled slacking of quick lime with water
gives us white dry powder then the released heat of reaction is captured and the extra slaking water is evaporated.
The chemical formula of pure line is Ca(OH)2.

Fig 3.1. The Diagram Represents the Sample of Hydrated lime

Table 3.1: The Specifications of hydrated lime
Compounds Formula % Dry
Calcium hydroxide Ca[OH]2 >88%
Magnesium Oxidem Mgo <0.8%
Iron oxide Fe2O <0.3%
Aluminium Oxide Al2O3 0.4-0.8%
RED MUD:
Red mud is composed of a mixture of solid and metallic oxide-bearing impurities, and presents one of the
aluminium industry's most important disposal problems. The red colour is caused by the oxidized iron present,
which can make up to 60% of the mass of the red mud. In addition to iron, the other dominant particles include
silica, unbleached residual aluminium, and titanium oxide.Red mud cannot be disposed of easily. As a waste
product of the Bayer process the mud is highly basic with a pH ranging from 10 to13

Fig 3.2. The Diagram Represents the Sample of Red mud

Ratio:
Cement Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Water Red mud Hydrated lime
369.695 733.82 1033.80 197.16 98.58 24.625
1 1.985 2.796 0.533 0.266 0.06
50 99.25 139.8 26.65 13.3 3
Mix proportion = 1: 1.985: 2.796
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
In this case, the study does the Hyderabad in Karmanghat area on the suitability of red mud obtained for
construction. Five test groups were constituted with their placement percentages 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% of red
mud and 5% of hydrated lime with cement in each series.
 Figure: 4.1 Case study Area
SLUMP CONE TEST:
A slump test is a method used to determine the consistency of concrete. The consistency, or stiffness,
indicates how much water has been used in the mix. The test measures consistency of concrete in that specific
batch it is performed to check the consistency of freshly made concrete It is used to indicate the degree of
wetness
COMPACTION FACTOR TEST:
The compaction factor is defined as the ratio of the mass of the concrete compacted in the compaction
factor apparatus to the mass of the fully compacted concrete. It involves dropping a volume of concrete from one
hopper to another and measuring the volume of concrete in the final hopper to that of a fully compacted volume.
The results of the compaction factor test can be correlated to slump, although the relationship is not linear. This
test is difficult to run in the field and is not practical for large aggregates (over 1 inch) Compared to the slump
test. Copaction test is more sensitive and accurate. This test is suitable for concrete mixes of low workability
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST:
Mechanical test measuring the maximum amount of compressive load a material can bear before fracturing. The
test piece, usually in the form of a cube, prism, or cylinder, is compressed between the platens of a compression-
testing machine by a gradually applied load. Brittle materials such as rock, brick, cast iron, and concrete may
exhibit great compressive strengths; but ultimately, they fracture. The crushing strength of concrete, determined
by breaking a cube, and often called the cube strength. The size of the concrete cubes is 150mm x 150mm x
150mm.
60 52 54 55
Compressive Strength

50 45
38
40
(N/mm2)

30
20
10
0
0 % RM 5% RM 10% RM 15% RM 20% RM
% of Red Mud

Graph 4.1: Relation between % of red mud sludge and compressive strength Without hydrated lime
Table and graph show the 28 days compressive strength of red mud concrete cubes with hydrated lime
 60 52 54 57
48

strength(N/mm2)
50 43

Compressive
40
30
20 hydrated lime
10 5 5 5 5 5
compressive strength
0
0 % RM 5% RM 10% RM 15% RM 20% RM

% of Red Mud

Graph 4.2 : Relation between % of red mud sludge and compressive strength With hydrated lime
The compressive strength results showed that the up to 15% of red mud replacement with cement gives ultimate
strength.
SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH TEST:
The tensile strength is one of the basic and important properties of the concrete. The concrete is not
usually expected to resist the direct tension because of its low tensile strength and brittle nature. The
determination of tensile strength of red mud and hydrated lime concrete is necessary to determine the load at
which the concrete members may crack. The cracking is a form of tension failure. This test method covers the
determination of the splitting tensile strength of cylindrical concrete specimens, such as molded cylinders and
drilled cores.
6 5.1 5.3 5.5
4.2
Strength (N/mm2)

3.9
4
Split Tensile

2
0
0 % RM 5% RM 10% RM 15% RM 20% RM
% of Red Mud

Graph 4.3: Relation between % of red mud sludge and split tensile strength
With out hydrated lime
6 5 5.1 5 5.5 5 5.6 5 4.6 5
Strength (N/mm2)

4
4
Split Tensile

2 hydrated lime
0 split
0 % RM 5% RM 10% RM 15% RM 20% RM

% of Red Mud
Graph 4.4: Relation between % of red mud sludge and split tensile strength
With hydrated lime
FLEXURE STRENGTH TEST:
This test method determines the strength of cylindrical concrete specimens. This method consists of applying
a diametral compressive force along the length of a cylindrical specimen. This loading induces tensile stresses on
the plane containing the applied load. Tensile failure occurs rather than compressive failure. Plywood strips are
used so that the load is applied uniformly along the length of the cylinder. The maximum load is divided by
appropriate geometrical factors to obtain the splitting tensile strength.
 100 92
81 83
76 76
80

load (KN)
60
40 flexural
20 7.1 5.25 4.61 3.89 3.35 deflection
0
0 % RM 5% RM 10% RM 15% RM 20% RM
% of Red Mud

Graph 4.5: Relation between % of red mud sludge and Flexural strength,
deflection Without hydrated lime
100 84 87 78
76
load (KN)

50 39 hydrated lime
5 8.21 5 6.3 5 5.64 5 5.2 5 5 flexural
0
0 % RM 5% RM 10% RM 15% RM 20% RM deflection

% of Red Mud

Graph 4.6: Relation between % of red mud sludge and Flexural strength, deflection with hydrated lime
CONCLUSION
After testing of 5 blended cement samples (0% to 20 % replacement of Cement by NRM) with an increment of 5
%, it can be said that the optimum use of NRM is 10% as a partial replacement of cement by NRM. The cost of
M 40 grade NRM Concrete (i.e. 10 % Replacement) is around 7.48 % less than the Conventional Concrete, with
an increase upto 21.712 % in the 28 days Compressive strength. Considering all the above point it is interesting
to say that the optimum utilization of Neutralized Red Mud in concrete is 10 % as a partial replacement of
cement by NRM. Red mud can be effectively used as replacement material for cement and replacement enables
the large utilization of waste product. Red mud did not effect of the cement properties, rather improved the
cement quality by way reducing the setting time & improved compressive strength. Replacement of 10%OPC by
calcined red mud is thus possible. Calcinations of redmud at 700˚C leads to a pozzolanic material essentially
reactive at early ages. The compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength of mix when we have
added 5% of Hydrated lime it gives the high strength to the concrete mix.
REFEERENCES
1. M.P.Suresh Kumar, S.K. Gowtham,‘ Potential utilization of industrial waste red mud in concrete’
published in 2015.
2. Sucharithapatal, B.K.pal, ‘Experimental study on the effect of cement and sand replacement with red
mud and quarry dust in cement concrete pavements’ published in 2016
3. M.P.Suresh Kumar, S.K. Gowtham,‘ Potential utilization of industrial waste red mud in concrete’
published in 2015.
4. Ramarao Chimata, VenkateswaraRao.J,‘use of quartzite rock dust and effect of glass fiber’ published in
2014.
5. Abdullah Anwar,‘ Compressive strength of concrete by partial replacement of cement with high volume
fly ash’ published in 2013.
6. Rama Raju, ‘Use of quarry dust and fly ash as partial replacement for sand’ published in 2010.
7. Jayeshkumar Pitroda,‘ Experimental Investigations on partial replacement of cement with fly ash in
design mix concrete’ published in 2011.