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Calcium sulfoaluminate cement concrete (CSAC) reinforced by fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars, termed bars for brevity, is a good alternative to steel-reinforced concrete in marine environments due to the corrosion resistance of FRP and the lower pH of CSAC. For the first time, multi-mechanical tests are conducted to compare the durability of glass FRP (GFRP) to that of carbon FRP (CFRP) after exposure to CSAC pore solution. The bars were immersed in a simulated pore solution of CSAC made with either fresh water and river sand or with seawater and sea sand. Solution temperature was held constant at 30 °C, 45 °C or 60 °C for 30, 60, 90 and 180 days of immersion. Tensile, horizontal and transverse shear tests, as well as detailed microstructural analyses, were conducted to determine the level and mechanisms of degradation for each type of bar. Sea salt increases the degradation of both bars, but it degrades GFRP more than CFRP. The bars’ retained tensile strength is a reliable indicator of their durability, while their post-exposure horizontal and transverse shear strengths are found inconsistent and counter intuitive. In the GFRP, the fiber, the epoxy matrix and their interface suffered damage, but in the CFRP, the carbon fiber was not damaged. Under the test conditions in this study, the maximum reduction in the tensile strength of the GFRP was 56.9% while that of CFRP was 15.1%. Based on the relevant ASTM standard, the CFRP bar satisfies the alkaline resistance requirement of the standard in the CSAC pore solution with and without salt, whereas the GFRP bar does not meet the same requirement in the above pore solution with salt.

Past research indicates that red mud (RM) has negligible pozzolanicity unless calcined. An iron-rich and silicate-poor RM was calcinated at 600, 800 and 1000 °C to investigate this issue. Tests were performed on mortars made with Portland cement (control) and with 85 wt% cement and 15 wt% RM. At 91 days, the mortar containing non-calcined RM reached 94% of the compressive strength of the control mortar, but the ones containing calcined RM attained much lower strength. Mineralogical, microstructural, and thermodynamic analyses are performed to find the mechanisms undergirding this behavior. The crucial influences of Al/Si ratio and crystalline transformations are highlighted.

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Red mud (RM) is a hazardous waste generated by aluminum production. It is difficult to utilize due to its high aluminum and iron oxide contents, high alkalinity, and large specific surface. Still, extensive research is underway to explore its potential as partial replacement for cement in concrete. Due to the differences in the physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics of bauxites from different sources, the associated RMs are also different. Some studies have reported that unless calcined, RM produced by the Bayer process has negligible pozzolanicity. However, the appropriate calcination temperature is not unique as it will depend on the RM mineralogical composition. Here, the calcination mineralogical composition nexus and its effect on RM pozzolanicity are investigated in three types of RM produced by Bayer’s process. The RMs were calcined at 600, 800, and 1000°C for 2 hours, and were used as 15 wt.% replacement for Portland cement in mortar mixes. One of the RMs exhibited pozzolanicity without calcination while another showed increased reactivity after calcination at 800°C. The underlying mechanisms are discussed, and it is concluded that no specific calcination temperature(s) can be recommended to activate every RM. Contrary to the findings of previous studies, one of the investigated RMs, used in its virgin form at 15 wt.% replacement for cement, exhibited noticeable pozzolanic activity and achieved over 94% of the compressive strength of the control specimen at 91 days. The calcination of the same RM, irrespective of the calcination temperature, reduced its pozzolanicity.

The fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) bar is a promising solution to problems caused by steel rebar corrosion in concrete. To assess the service life of the FRP bar based on accelerated test results, it is crucial to have a reliable model. Here, a modified exponential (MEP) model is proposed based on the Avrami equation. The Avrami equation provides a theoretical foundation for the empirical exponential (EP) model and does not a priori fix the power of the exposure time to one. A database containing 903 data points from 74 groups of test specimens is assembled to compare the reliability of the MEP model vis-a-vis the EP, single logarithmic, double logarithmic, and power function models. The combination of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), the Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and the coefficient of determination (R2) criteria is proposed for assessing model reliability. It is shown that in certain cases the combined criteria, versus R2 alone, significantly increase the number of test groups meeting the acceptable performance limit. Observed test data aberrations are found to have minor influence on the results of the EP model, but they significantly influence the results of the other four models. The EP model generally predicts the lowest activation energy and the smallest strength retention for similar groups of bars, while the predicted values of the other four models exhibit a relatively small difference. The difference between the predicted strength retention values of the EP and MEP models shows an increasing trend with the increase of the absolute value of (1 − n), where n is the power of the exposure time in the MEP model.