The Volume Stability of Alkali-Activated Electric Arc Furnace Ladle Slag Mortar and Its Performance at High Temperatures

In this study, the engineering properties of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and alkali-activated slag (AAS) mortar with electric arc furnace ladle slag (EAFLS) were investigated to reveal the effects of EAFLS on the expansion of cementitious mortars. Additionally, the effects of these two types of mortar were explored based on their compressive strength, especially at high temperatures. EAFLS in OPC mortars significantly reduced the compressive strength and caused serious soundness problems in the mortars after autoclaving due to the presence of free-CaO and free-MgO in the EAFLS slag. On the other hand, the AAS mortars produced with EAFLS had compressive strength comparable to ordinary OPC mortars and maintained soundness after autoclaving. During a 550 °C heat treatment, the OPC mortar cracked and lost residual strength, but the AAS mortar retained more than 90% of its residual strength. Even after an 800 °C heat treatment, the AAS mortar maintained 14% of its residual strength (about 4 MPa), sufficient to prevent the collapse of the specimen structure. The main reason is that alkali-activated technology can accelerate the hydration process and solve the delayed hydration problem. The results of this study indicated that EAFLS is suitable to partially replace the binder used in the production of AAS mortars, and the resulting AAS mortars have high volume stability, high compression strength, and good high temperature resistance.