Durability of concrete incorporated with siliceous iron tailings

Abstract This paper discusses the durability of concrete incorporated with a mineral admixture of siliceous iron tailings that were activated mechanochemically. The mechanochemically activated siliceous iron tailings replaced 10–40% of the cement in the concrete, and tests of the concrete’s resistance to permeability, frost, and carbonation were conducted. The test results showed that as 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of the cement is replaced, the impermeability of the concrete is superior to that of the control group, and at the cement replacement amounts of 10%, 20%, and 30%, the concrete’s impermeability tends to increase with the replacement amount. Furthermore, at the cement replacement amount of 40%, the concrete’s impermeability is on a slight decline. As 30% of the cement is replaced, the frost resistance of concrete is better than that of the control concrete, and at the cement replacement amounts of 10%, 20%, and 40%, the frost resistance of the concrete is similar to that of the control group. As 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of the cement is replaced, the carbonation resistance of the concrete is inferior to that of the control group, and the carbonation resistance presents a downward trend with the increase in replacement percentage; however, the concrete can still meet the requirements of practical construction works. It follows that when cement is replaced by mechanochemically activated siliceous iron tailings in part, concrete still possesses good durability.