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Volume 15
Issue 22
10.3390/buildings15224085
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Electromechanical and Rheological Properties of Self-Sensing Mortars Containing Red Mud for Concrete Beam Monitoring †

by
Henrique Ribeiro Oliveira
1,
Gustavo Henrique Nalon
2,*,
Gustavo Emilio Soares de Lima
1,
Leonardo Gonçalves Pedroti
1,
José Carlos Lopes Ribeiro
1,
José Maria Franco de Carvalho
1,
Flávio Antônio Ferreira
1,
Ariel Miranda de Souza
1,
Ricardo André Fiorotti Peixoto
3 and
Diôgo Silva de Oliveira
1
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-900, Brazil
2
Department of Applied and Computational Mechanics, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36036-900, Brazil
3
Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto 35400-000, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
This paper is an extended version of the paper Oliveira, H.R.; Nalon, G.H.; de Lima, G.E.S.; Pedroti, L.G.; Ribeiro, J.C.L.; de Carvalho, J.M.F.; Ferreira, F.A. Effects of Red Mud on the Mechanical and Piezoresistive Properties of Mortars. In Proceedings of the Characterization of Minerals, Metals, and Materials (TMS 2025), Las Vegas, NV, USA, 23–27 March, 2025; pp. 345–356.
Buildings 2025, 15(22), 4085; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15224085 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 30 August 2025 / Revised: 21 October 2025 / Accepted: 10 November 2025 / Published: 13 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Structural Health Monitoring)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The growing demand for sustainable construction practices has driven research into self-sensing materials incorporating recycled waste for smart SHM (Structural Health Monitoring) systems. However, previous works did not investigate the influence of rheological behavior and piezoresistive properties of sustainable cementitious sensors containing red mud (RM) on the strain monitoring of concrete beams. To address this gap, this study presents an experimental analysis of the rheological, mechanical, and self-sensing performance of mortars incorporating carbon black nanoparticles (CBN) and varying levels of RM (25–100% sand replacement by volume), followed by their application in monitoring strain in a reinforced concrete beam under dynamic loading. The results showed that increasing RM content led to higher viscosity and yield stress, with a 60% reduction in consistency index. Compressive strength increased by up to 80%, while mortars with RM content higher than 50% showed high electrical conductivity and reversible resistivity changes under load cycles. Mortars containing 50–100% RM demonstrated improved piezoresistive response, with a 23% increase in gauge factor, and the best-performing sensor embedded in a concrete beam exhibited stable and reversible fractional changes in resistivity, closely matching strain gauge data during dynamic loading conditions. These findings highlight the potential of RM-based smart mortars to enhance sustainability and performance in SHM applications.
Keywords: recycled waste; red mud; sensors cementitious; rheological behavior; self-sensing performance; dynamic loading recycled waste; red mud; sensors cementitious; rheological behavior; self-sensing performance; dynamic loading

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MDPI and ACS Style

Oliveira, H.R.; Nalon, G.H.; Lima, G.E.S.d.; Pedroti, L.G.; Ribeiro, J.C.L.; Franco de Carvalho, J.M.; Ferreira, F.A.; Miranda de Souza, A.; Peixoto, R.A.F.; Oliveira, D.S.d. Electromechanical and Rheological Properties of Self-Sensing Mortars Containing Red Mud for Concrete Beam Monitoring. Buildings 2025, 15, 4085. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15224085

AMA Style

Oliveira HR, Nalon GH, Lima GESd, Pedroti LG, Ribeiro JCL, Franco de Carvalho JM, Ferreira FA, Miranda de Souza A, Peixoto RAF, Oliveira DSd. Electromechanical and Rheological Properties of Self-Sensing Mortars Containing Red Mud for Concrete Beam Monitoring. Buildings. 2025; 15(22):4085. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15224085

Chicago/Turabian Style

Oliveira, Henrique Ribeiro, Gustavo Henrique Nalon, Gustavo Emilio Soares de Lima, Leonardo Gonçalves Pedroti, José Carlos Lopes Ribeiro, José Maria Franco de Carvalho, Flávio Antônio Ferreira, Ariel Miranda de Souza, Ricardo André Fiorotti Peixoto, and Diôgo Silva de Oliveira. 2025. "Electromechanical and Rheological Properties of Self-Sensing Mortars Containing Red Mud for Concrete Beam Monitoring" Buildings 15, no. 22: 4085. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15224085

APA Style

Oliveira, H. R., Nalon, G. H., Lima, G. E. S. d., Pedroti, L. G., Ribeiro, J. C. L., Franco de Carvalho, J. M., Ferreira, F. A., Miranda de Souza, A., Peixoto, R. A. F., & Oliveira, D. S. d. (2025). Electromechanical and Rheological Properties of Self-Sensing Mortars Containing Red Mud for Concrete Beam Monitoring. Buildings, 15(22), 4085. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15224085

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