Workability, mechanical properties and durability of self-compacting concrete containing red mud and granite and marble waste

The need for high viscosity in self-compacting concrete (SCC) in order to maintain uniformity and to avoid segregation of particles, has paved the way for the use of waste powder substances in the mix of SCC. The production of nearly 50% of powder waste from marble and granite stones in different stages of quarrying and the need to bury these wastes also raises environmental concerns. On the other hand, today, researchers with environmental as well as economic concerns are pursuing the method for using as little cement as possible in the concrete mix and thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Burial of red mud waste (containing oxides of silica, alumina and iron), known as aluminum plant wastes, is associated with the detrimental environmental impacts on the soil, the climate around the landfills. In this research, the effect of using red mud as cement replacement in SCC mix is questioned. Also, the wastes of stone-cutting factories (marble and granite powders) have been used as a filler in these mixes. The workability, mechanical properties and durability of self-compacting concrete are measured using appropriate tests. Although dry red mud has a slight pozzolanic activity, the fineness of its particles has caused the concrete matrix to condense at low replacement percentages (up to 5%). On the other hand, it is shown that the use of granite powders instead of limestone powders in SCC will not be a problem in terms of workability, strength and durability.