Avaliação da durabilidade de argamassas e pastas de cimentos do tipo Portland preparados com um clínquer contendo resíduo de bauxita como matéria-prima

Abstract

The structures of Portland cement are frequently exposed to aggressive environments, which can lead to their degradation. Thus, the study of durability is very important to avoid damages caused by early failures as well as spending on repairs. In this work, the durability of mortars and pastes prepared with a Portland cement containing bauxite residue (BR) as raw material was evaluated and Brazilian commercial cements CPV-ARI and CPII-Z 32 were used as references. Tests were also performed with addition of silica fume to the synthesized cement. The strength and the hydration products after 28 days of cure were evaluated, as well as the chemical, strength and microstructural changes of mortars and pastes subjected to Na2SO4 attack. Acidic attacks using HCl and H2SO4 and leaching tests using distillated water were also carried out. The results showed that the synthesized cement presented a NaC3A phase, which was more resistant to Na2SO4 attack. The uniaxial compressive strength of the mortar prepared with the synthesized cement after curing for 28 days was 39 MPa, and increased to 54 MPa with the addition of silica fume. However, there were some weaknesses in the hydrated structure, such as a large amount of portlandite and high porosity of mortars. The addition of silica fume could overcome these problems and also improved the mortars resistance to acidic and sulfate attacks. The leaching tests showed that sodium was the most leached element from the synthesized cement mortars. The addition of silica fume was also positive in this case, since it strongly reduced the sodium reactivity. Among the elements that could be detected, there were no excess of toxic ones leached from the synthesized cement mortars, which suggests that the BR incorporation would not damage the environment or public health safety.