Strengthening mechanism of granulated blast-furnace slag on the uniaxial compressive strength of modified magnesium slag-based cemented backfilling material

The hydrating active mineral in the modified magnesium slag-based (MMS-based) backfilling material is mainly beta-phase dicalcium silicate characterized with slow speed of hydration and low early strength. This disadvantage restricts the application of modified magnesium slag (MMS) as cementitious material in backfilling mining to some extent. In this work, the strengthening mechanism of granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) on the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of MMS-based cemented backfilling material has been investigated systematically. The hydration heat tests reveal that the duration of induction and acceleration periods are gradually shortened and the appearance time of the second exothermic peaks are obviously advanced as the proportion of GBFS increases. The total normalized hydration heat releases of MMS-based pastes containing 0, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% (solid-mass proportion) GBFS at 120 h are 15.76, 16.02, 18.40, 22.31, and 25.54 J/g, respectively. Compared with the blank control group, the hydration heat release of MMS-based paste at 120 h increased by 62% with addition of 4% (solid-mass proportion) GBFS. In addition, the TG-DTG tests shown that the final mass-losses of MMS-based cemented backfilling materials tend to increase with the increase of the amount of GBFS. The 3- and 7-days UCSs of MMS-based backfilling mortars tend to increase dramatically with the increase of proportion of GBFS. A small amount of GBFS (1 wt%) can significantly improve the 28- and 56-days UCSs of the MMS-based mortars. Compared with the blank control group, the UCSs of MMS-based mortars cured 3, 7, 28, and 56 days increased by 74.2%, 94.6%, 38.0%, and 24.1% respectively with addition of 5% (solid-mass proportion) GBFS. The SEM, XRD, FTIR, and TG-DTG tests show that the MMS-based mortars containing GBFS generated more hydration products, yielded more compact microstructures, and consumed CH more quickly compared with that of blank control group. Compared with fly ash (FA), GBFS dissolves faster in alkaline media (leaching reactive Al and Si early), and releases much more hydration heat and Ca2+ ions during the process of pozzolanic reaction. The above three factors strengthen the UCS of MMS-based mortar. The results of this study can provide theoretical guidance for the raw material ratio design and field application of MMS-based cemented backfilling paste.

Automated summary

Through tests on hydration heat and strength, it is found that adding an appropriate amount of granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) can significantly improve the strength of modified magnesium slag-based (MMS-based) cemented backfilling material. Compared with the control group, the strength of MMS-based mortar with 5% GBFS added increased by 74.2%, 94.6%, 38.0%, and 24.1% respectively. SEM, XRD, FTIR, and TG-DTG tests showed that adding GBFS can generate more hydration products, form more compact microstructures, and consume Ca(OH)2 more quickly. These results provide important theoretical guidance for the raw material ratio design and field application of MMS-based cemented backfilling paste.