Title:
Low-Portland Cement Concrete Mixtures Made with Ultrafine Granulated Blast Furnace Slag and Medium-Grade Metakaolin
Author(s):
Saeid Ghasemalizadeh
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
ws_S25_SaeidGhasemalizadeh.pdf
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
3/30/2025
Abstract:
This study investigated enhancing effects of ultrafine slag (UFS) and its combination with a locally-available medium-grade metakaolin (MK) in developing low-Portland cement (PC) mixtures. UFS was obtained by ultrafine grinding of slag and then blended with MK in different ratios to replace 50 wt% of PC in mortar and concrete samples. Based on the results, small amounts of UFS combined with MK could replace 50 wt% of PC and obtain a similar 3-d compressive strength and higher 28-d strength compared to that achieved with 100 wt% PC. According to the microstructural analyses, the strength enhancement was mainly attributed to the increased reactivity of UFS compared to slag, which promoted the formation of calcium-aluminium-silicate-hydrate and hemi- and monocarboaluminates. The preliminary environmental impact analysis showed that the concrete with the UFS-MK blend could have a lower greenhouse gas emissions per unit strength compared to that made with the slag-MK blend.