Investigation on effect of colloidal nano-silica on the strength and durability characteristics of red mud blended Portland cement paste through tortuosity

Abstract

A novel binder system for cement-based composites depending upon the strength and durability characteristics is introduced in this study. The possibility of calcined red mud cement pastes with and without colloidal nano-silica (CNS) over Ordinary Portland Cement paste (OPC) at three W/B ratios (0.3, 0.4, 0.5) is evaluated. The optimum percentage of cement replacement by red mud (15%) was selected from compressive strength values of different cement replacements (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). Colloidal nano-silica (CNS) was added at 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2 % to the selected red mud cement paste. Water absorption, sorptivity, resistance to sulfate attack, and resistance to acid attack tests were conducted for optimum red mud cement paste with and without CNS. The experimental results are explained based on tortuosity with empirical formulas and mathematical models of pore network distribution. The tortuosity is directly proportional to the inter-connectivity of the pores. The mixes with 15% calcined red mud and 1.5% CNS replacement performed better strength and durability at all W/B ratios. The mix (R15NS1.5) with minimum tortuosity value results in the higher overall performance of the paste. The mixes with a 0.3 W/B ratio give high-performance cement paste compared to higher W/B ratios.

A Review of the Effect of Nano-Silica on the Mechanical and Durability Properties of Cementitious Composites

“…Athira and Shanmugapriya (2022) [91] investigated the potential of using calcined red mud cement pastes with and without colloidal nano-silica (CNS) at different (W/B ratios). They found that the incorporation of 1.5% CNS into red mud cement paste led to decreased water absorption at all W/B ratios, indicating that adding nano-silica can enhance the durability of cement-based materials.…”