Study of the expansion of cement mortars manufactured with Ladle Furnace Slag LFS

Industrial by-products generated in the steel manufacturing are successfully used as raw materials in the production of construction materials. However, steel slags, due to their nature and composition, can cause undesirable side-effects in mortars and concretes. The reactive components of LFS and EAFS can affect the stability of the cement matrix. This situation may be prevented by an adequate pre-treatment of slag stabilization and a study of the possible reactions within its mineralogical components, to ensure the stability of the slag over time. In this work, an experimental process is shown to evaluate the behaviour of LFS under adverse environmental conditions when used as aggregates in the manufacture of cement mortars for masonry, such as the presence of humidity, high temperatures (80°C) and possible alkali-silica and alkali-silicate reactions. The results show an acceptable behaviour under normal environmental conditions (20°C). However, the formation crystalline acicular structures were observed under high temperatures (80°C) and in the presence of humidity, which degraded the internal structure of the mortars manufactured with LFS.