Effects of the Chemical Composition of Synthetic Slags Compared to an Average Blast Furnace Slag

To study the effect of the main oxides and the minor components in slags on their reactivity as SCM, various glasses were synthesized to stepwise imitate a commercial slag of average chemical composition. First, a glass was produced from the main oxides CaO, Al2O3 and SiO2. In a second step, the minor components MgO, Fe2O3, Na2O and K2O were added separately to the main oxide mix. A selection of two synthetic glasses was tested for their compressive strength contribution (up to 90 days) by substituting 20 wt.% of cement. After all testing times, the synthetic slags achieved a strength similar to that of the commercial product. The reactivities determined by heat flow calorimetry (R3 test) correlate with the calculation of NBO/T and the results of 29Si MAS NMR showing that a decreased degree of polymerization enhances the reactivity. Apart from that, FTIR spectroscopy and 27Al MAS NMR indicate a similar structure of the original and the synthetic slags. © 2023 The Authors. Published by Ernst & Sohn GmbH.