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Modern hydraulic binder Portland cement (PC) was before, and it remains today one of the most
popular and widely applicable building materials, that is, considering the amount of production, the
first in the world among industrial products. Conserving natural resources and environmental
protection have led the cement industry to become one of the biggest beneficiaries of secondary raw
materials. At first, natural latent and active hydraulic cement additives, so-called "pozzolana" (which
in hydration with cement form hardened products similar to those forming the cement itself) has been
introduced as a substitute for the part of the expensive Portland cement clinker. With the same
objective industrial waste materials or by-products, such as filter dust from production of ferrosilicon
(Silica Fume), slag from the production of pig iron (Blast furnace Granulated Slag) and fly ashes
from coal fired power plants (Fly Ashes) that are activated during the hydration of cement as well as
some other, such as finely ground limestone (Fine Ground Limestone) have also been used.
Replacing a part of the cement with additives solves the problem of industrial waste, and at same
time reduces the required amount of cement, which significantly lowers the cost of production of
cement binders. On the other hand, these supplementary cementing materials positively affect the
resistance and stability of cement composites due to chemical aggression during its exploitation in the
natural environment. Resistance and stability of cement composites are improved with respect to
both aggression, i.e., due to leaching (for example, aggression of dilute and weak acids and soft
water), as well as due to expansion, such as sulphate aggression.
The effect of silica fume and fine ground limestone as supplementary cementing materials as well as
the effect of metallurgical slag from the production of the high-carbon ferrochromium metal as
aggregate in concrete on the mechanical strength and durability of the cement composites are present
in this work.
silica fume, fine ground limestone, ferrochromium slag, cement composites, mechanical strength, durability
Autorica zahvaljuje Ministarstvu znanosti, obrazovanja i športa Republike Hrvatske na financijskoj potpori kroz projekte 0011012 (Zbrinjavanje industrijskog otpada: Novi konstrukcijski materijali) I 011-1252970-2252 (Primjena letećeg pepela u novim anorganskim vezivnim materijalima).
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