Mechanical and workability performance of high-strength mortar with ferronickel waste slag 4 as fine aggregate replacement

Concrete and mortar are more straightforward in their production than steel. Besides, the low costs in their production can be obtained by utilizing waste materials as one of the concrete and mortar constituents. In fact, high-strength essentials also are achieved and defended in concrete and mortar by using these waste materials. Hence, this research examines the influence of ferronickel waste slag 4 (FNWS 4) as an aggregate replacement on the mechanical strength and workability of high-strength mortar (HSM). The HSM was produced with a water-cement ratio of 0.3. The proportions of ferronickel slag as an aggregate replacement were 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, and 100%. The specimens were tested for their compressive and flexural strength at 7 and 28 days and revealed that the highest mechanical strength (compressive and flexural) were attained by 40% FNWS (74,494 MPa) and 10% FNWS (14,521 MPa), respectively, at 28 days while other aggregate replacement levels were somewhat higher or lower than reference mixture. The workability of fresh HSM mixtures showed that the increase of FNWS also increased the slump flow.