The effect of furnace steel slag powder on the performance of cementitious mortar at ambient temperature and after exposure to elevated temperatures

Induction furnace steel slag is a secondary product obtained when molten steel is separated from the impurities in the steel-producing furnaces. Though numerous studies have been published on the mechanical strength of concrete/mortar made with steel slag as fine aggregate, relatively few studies focus on the shrinkage, durability (i.e.,...

X-Ray Micro Tomography of Water Absorption by Superabsorbent Polymers in Mortar

Superabsorbent Polymers (SAP) have been recently subject of investigation as smart admixtures for cement-based materials. The properties of these polymers enable their use for internal curing, increasing freeze/thaw resistance, boosting autogenous self-healing and providing a crack self-sealing effect in cementitious composites. Except for...

Fundamental investigation on the frost resistance of mortar with microencapsulated phase change materials

Recent studies have shown that concrete containing Phase Change Materials (PCM) with low transition temperatures may reduce the number of freeze/thaw cycles suffered by the cementitious composite in temperate climates. Nevertheless, the positive influence of such admixtures on the frost resistance of cement-based materials has not been...

Experimentally validated meso-scale fracture modelling of mortar using output from micromechanical models

This paper presents a validation process of the developed multi-scale modelling scheme on mortar composites. Special attention was paid to make the material structure of real and virtual mortar specimens comparable at the meso-scale. The input mechanical parameters of cement paste (both bulk cement paste and interfacial transition zone) at the...

Effect of Recycled Iron Powder as Fine Aggregate on the Mechanical, Durability, and High Temperature Behavior of Mortars

This study evaluates the mechanical, durability, and residual compressive strength (after being exposed to 20, 120, 250, 400 and 600 °C) of mortar that uses recycled iron powder (RIP) as a fine aggregate. Within this context, mechanical strength, shrinkage, durability, and residual strength tests were performed on mortar made with seven...

Thermal response of mortar panels with different forms of macro-encapsulated phase change materials: A finite element study

This paper presents a numerical investigation of thermal response of mortar panels, incorporating macro-encapsulated paraffin in different forms. Two types of macro capsules were fabricated and tested in this study using an instrumented hot plate device. The experimental results show that macro encapsulated paraffin reduced the temperature and...