EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF GRANULATED BLAST FURNACE SLAG

Blast furnace slag is generated as a by-product of the metallurgical industry and can be called “multifunctional waste”. It can be used in the building industry, reused in production or landfilled. Recovery of waste brings both economical and ecological benefits. Granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) has a variable chemical composition and belongs to the group of so-called latent hydraulic materials. Alkaline activation (AA) is followed by the formation of CSH phases, which are an effective product of chemical processes in the mixture. GBFS is commonly activated by a liquid activator. This experiment focused on alkaline activation of GBFS with the use of liquid (water glass) and with a solid alkaline activator (Na 2 SiO 3 ) with treatment silicate modulus Ms = 1. GBFS was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), granulometry (PSD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The samples were evaluated in terms of their compressive strength and bulk density after 2, 7 and 28 days of hydration. Annealing loss and bulk density of original GBFS were determined at ∆100, ∆200 and ∆300°C.