Red mud based composite material for underground coal mines roof support

Abstract

In this thesis, several aspects of production and characterization of red mud in World and Indian context are discussed with the characterization and properties were measured through XRD, SEM analysis and pH determination.Red mud has rich in iron content especially Damanjodi, NALCO plant, Odisha as compare to the other aluminium plant in India and found that it can be used as a composite material because of its higher strength as a roof support. For further enhancement of the strength of red mud, lime is used as a binding agent in proportion with red mud. Unconfined compressive strength and Brazilian tensile strength is carried out for different composition of red mud and lime for different curing period. The red mud based composite support should take a load nearly the load taken by wooden prop in mines as a roof support. It is also economical and easier to handle.