Evaluation of Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Concrete With Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag and Calcium Aluminate Cement for High-Temperature Thermal Energy Storage Applications

Abstract

Calcium aluminate cement (CAC) is widely used for high-temperature thermal energy storage applications. However, there is a lack of detailed experimental investigations on the performance of blended CAC mix with supplementary cementitious materials toward formulating sustainable concrete material. While previous studies have primarily focused on CAC-slag systems in pastes and mortars, this study investigates their application in concrete mixes. This study also provides critical insight into the influence of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) on compressive strength, split-tensile strength, and thermal conductivity properties of CAC blended concrete. The results showed that the 10% GGBS substituted mix achieved superior properties. Additionally, residual properties under high-temperature cyclic load (290°C–550°C) are analyzed. Results indicated that the 10% GGBS mix exhibited the highest residual properties. The performance of blended mixes further degraded significantly with higher GGBS replacement up to 50%.