Investigation into the Static Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Steel Slag, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag, and Fly Ash

The utilization of steel slag (SS) in construction materials represents an effective approach to improving its overall recycling efficiency. This study incorporates SS into a conventional ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)–fly ash (FA)-based binder system to develop a ternary system compris...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yan-Hua Cai, Tao Huang, Bo-Yuan Huang, Chuan-Bin Hua, Qiang Huang, Jing-Wen Chen, Heng-Liang Liu, Zi-Jie He, Nai-Bi Rouzi, Zhi-Hong Xie, Gai Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/14/2535
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849732933323063296
author Yan-Hua Cai
Tao Huang
Bo-Yuan Huang
Chuan-Bin Hua
Qiang Huang
Jing-Wen Chen
Heng-Liang Liu
Zi-Jie He
Nai-Bi Rouzi
Zhi-Hong Xie
Gai Chen
author_facet Yan-Hua Cai
Tao Huang
Bo-Yuan Huang
Chuan-Bin Hua
Qiang Huang
Jing-Wen Chen
Heng-Liang Liu
Zi-Jie He
Nai-Bi Rouzi
Zhi-Hong Xie
Gai Chen
author_sort Yan-Hua Cai
collection DOAJ
description The utilization of steel slag (SS) in construction materials represents an effective approach to improving its overall recycling efficiency. This study incorporates SS into a conventional ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)–fly ash (FA)-based binder system to develop a ternary system comprising SS, GGBS, and FA, and investigates how this system influences the static mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance geopolymer concrete (UHPGC). An axial point augmented simplex centroid design method was employed to systematically explore the influence and underlying mechanisms of different binder ratios on the workability, axial compressive strength, and flexural performance of UHPGC, and to determine the optimal compositional range. The results indicate that steel slag has a certain negative effect on the flowability of UHPGC paste; however, with an appropriate proportion of composite binder materials, the mixture can still exhibit satisfactory flowability. The compressive performance of UHPGC is primarily governed by the proportion of GGBS in the ternary binder system; an appropriate GGBS content can provide enhanced compressive strength and elastic modulus. UHPGC exhibits ductile behavior under flexural loading; however, replacing GGBS with SS significantly reduces its flexural strength and energy absorption capacity. The optimal static mechanical performance is achieved when the mass proportions of SS, GGBS, and FA are within the ranges of 9.3–13.8%, 66.2–70.7%, and 20.0–22.9%, respectively. This study provides a scientific approach for the valorization of SS through construction material applications and offers a theoretical and data-driven basis for the mix design of ultra-high-performance building materials derived from industrial solid wastes.
format Article
id doaj-art-6fba68d415cd453ebe2c8255bba5ae55
institution DOAJ
issn 2075-5309
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Buildings
spelling doaj-art-6fba68d415cd453ebe2c8255bba5ae552025-08-20T03:08:10ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-07-011514253510.3390/buildings15142535Investigation into the Static Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Steel Slag, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag, and Fly AshYan-Hua Cai0Tao Huang1Bo-Yuan Huang2Chuan-Bin Hua3Qiang Huang4Jing-Wen Chen5Heng-Liang Liu6Zi-Jie He7Nai-Bi Rouzi8Zhi-Hong Xie9Gai Chen10Zhanjiang Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Co., Ltd., Zhanjiang 524200, ChinaZhanjiang Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Co., Ltd., Zhanjiang 524200, ChinaZhanjiang Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Co., Ltd., Zhanjiang 524200, ChinaZhanjiang Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Co., Ltd., Zhanjiang 524200, ChinaZhanjiang Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Co., Ltd., Zhanjiang 524200, ChinaZhanjiang Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Co., Ltd., Zhanjiang 524200, ChinaSchool of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaNavigational Engineering Department, Guangzhou Maritime University, Guangzhou 510725, ChinaSchool of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaThe utilization of steel slag (SS) in construction materials represents an effective approach to improving its overall recycling efficiency. This study incorporates SS into a conventional ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)–fly ash (FA)-based binder system to develop a ternary system comprising SS, GGBS, and FA, and investigates how this system influences the static mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance geopolymer concrete (UHPGC). An axial point augmented simplex centroid design method was employed to systematically explore the influence and underlying mechanisms of different binder ratios on the workability, axial compressive strength, and flexural performance of UHPGC, and to determine the optimal compositional range. The results indicate that steel slag has a certain negative effect on the flowability of UHPGC paste; however, with an appropriate proportion of composite binder materials, the mixture can still exhibit satisfactory flowability. The compressive performance of UHPGC is primarily governed by the proportion of GGBS in the ternary binder system; an appropriate GGBS content can provide enhanced compressive strength and elastic modulus. UHPGC exhibits ductile behavior under flexural loading; however, replacing GGBS with SS significantly reduces its flexural strength and energy absorption capacity. The optimal static mechanical performance is achieved when the mass proportions of SS, GGBS, and FA are within the ranges of 9.3–13.8%, 66.2–70.7%, and 20.0–22.9%, respectively. This study provides a scientific approach for the valorization of SS through construction material applications and offers a theoretical and data-driven basis for the mix design of ultra-high-performance building materials derived from industrial solid wastes.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/14/2535steel slagultra-high-performance geopolymer concretestatic mechanical propertiessimplex centroid design method
spellingShingle Yan-Hua Cai
Tao Huang
Bo-Yuan Huang
Chuan-Bin Hua
Qiang Huang
Jing-Wen Chen
Heng-Liang Liu
Zi-Jie He
Nai-Bi Rouzi
Zhi-Hong Xie
Gai Chen
Investigation into the Static Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Steel Slag, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag, and Fly Ash
Buildings
steel slag
ultra-high-performance geopolymer concrete
static mechanical properties
simplex centroid design method
title Investigation into the Static Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Steel Slag, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag, and Fly Ash
title_full Investigation into the Static Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Steel Slag, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag, and Fly Ash
title_fullStr Investigation into the Static Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Steel Slag, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag, and Fly Ash
title_full_unstemmed Investigation into the Static Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Steel Slag, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag, and Fly Ash
title_short Investigation into the Static Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Steel Slag, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag, and Fly Ash
title_sort investigation into the static mechanical properties of ultra high performance geopolymer concrete incorporating steel slag ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash
topic steel slag
ultra-high-performance geopolymer concrete
static mechanical properties
simplex centroid design method
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/14/2535
work_keys_str_mv AT yanhuacai investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT taohuang investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT boyuanhuang investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT chuanbinhua investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT qianghuang investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT jingwenchen investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT hengliangliu investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT zijiehe investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT naibirouzi investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT zhihongxie investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash
AT gaichen investigationintothestaticmechanicalpropertiesofultrahighperformancegeopolymerconcreteincorporatingsteelslaggroundgranulatedblastfurnaceslagandflyash