The effects of steel fiber content and thermal curing on the mechanical and durability properties of ultra-high performance concrete with iron tailings
摘要
In this study, iron tailings sand was used as fine aggregate to prepare UHPC (IOT-UHPC). The steel fiber content was 0%, 1%, and 2% of the IOT-UHPC volume fraction and were compared using hot water curing (HWC), steam curing (SC), and standard curing (STC) to study the workability (slump flow), mechanical properties (compressive strength and bending strength), and durability (impermeability and frost resistance) of IOT-UHPC. The results show that HWC and SC can accelerate the hydration of Ca(OH)2 to produce more hydration products such as C–S–H and AFt, fill the interfacial transition zone between the iron tailing sand aggregate and the cement paste, transform the more harmful pores and harmful pores into the less harmful pores and harmless pores, and reduce the total porosity of IOT-UHPC. The steel fiber content of 1 and 2% can significantly increase the compressive strength and bending strength of IOT-UHPC with the increased range of 10–18% and 50–85% respectively, mainly due to the reinforcing and toughening effect through the mechanical occlusion. The optimum experimental conditions for the preparation of IOT-UHPC are steel fiber content of 1% and HWC.