Experimental Investigation of Some Mechanical and Physical Properties of SIFCON Concrete Incorporating Bauxite as a Mining-Derived Waste Material

This study performs an assessment of the mechanical and physical 
behavior of slurry-infiltrated fibrous concrete (SIFCON) with a combination of thermally 
activated bauxite waste that can be used as a partial replacement for cement. Bauxite 
substitution of 10, 20, and 30 % was used with steel fiber content of 8, 16, and 24 % 
to come up with twelve mixtures. The findings indicate that the MS2 mixture (20 % 
bauxite, 16 % steel fibers) performed better and showed a compressive, tensile, and 
flexural strength of 98.9 Mpa, 21.1 Mpa, and 30.8 Mpa, which are an increment of 31.3 
%, 51.4 %, and 42.6 %, respectively, over the reference mix. The water absorption 
dropped by 23.5%, and the ultrasonic pulse velocity rose to 4998 m/s, which means it 
has a denser and more homogeneous matrix. Conversely, the 24% fiber mix 
combinations showed a loss of performance due to the clustering effect of the fibers 
as well as low slurry infiltration. The prediction equation for compressive strength 
based on UPV and rebound number had very good statistical accuracy with R2 = 0.93. 
Overall, based on these findings, it appears that the thermally activated bauxite waste 
can be an excellent source for supplementary cementitious materials for SIFCON with added advantages based on performance as 
well as sustainability.