Granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) and coal fly ash (CFA) are two well-known constituents in Portland cements. Ternary Portland cements (GBFS-CFA-K) provide environmental advantages by reducing Portland cement clinker (K) production and, therefore, promote lower CO₂ emissions. Nevertheless, both of them cause a delay in the compressive strength gain. Given that, the early compressive strength for both constituents is low, but they improve the compressive strength at medium and later ages as consequence of the pozzolanic reaction. In this paper, a full factorial design with two levels was developed for the mortar compressive strength estimation at 2, 7 and 28 days. Mortar prisms made with 25% and 40% of granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) and/or coal fly ash (CFA) were tested. The effects of the interaction between GBFS and CFA on the compressive strength development of ternary Portland cement mortars were reported. Results show that the contribution of both cement constituents to the ternary mortar mix reduces the compressive strength for all the tested ages. Nevertheless, the finer the GBFS, the better ternary cement performance was achieved, showing that the synergistic effect is more effective when the finer GBFS is used, probably due to a more adequate particle size distribution. Finally, a relationship between compressive strength, fineness, GBFS content and CFA content was found for each age.

Ternary Portland cement usage with a high amount of cement constituents different from clinker can afford great climate change advantages by lowering the Portland cement clinker content in the final product. This will contribute to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to close to zero by 2050. Such ternary Portland cements can be composed of different amounts of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS), coal fly ash (CFA), and clinker (K). Cements made with GGBFS, or CFA boast pozzolanic characteristics. Therefore, they would improve both the concrete compressive strength at later ages and durability. The 28- and 90-days mechanical strength test, non-steady state chloride migration test, described in NT BUILD 492, and natural chloride diffusion test (NT BUILD 443) were performed in concrete. Ternary cements made with GBFS and/or CFA presented better chloride diffusion resistance than concrete made with plain Portland cements. Furthermore, the development of compressive strength was delayed. The service life study was developed for concretes made with ternary cements with regard to the chloride penetration case.

Ternary Portland cements are new cementitious materials that contain different amounts of cement replacements. Ternary Portland cements composed of granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS), coal fly ash (CFA), and clinker (K) can afford some environmental advantages by lowering the Portland cement clinker use. Accordingly, this is an opportunity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Furthermore, GBFS and CFA possess pozzolanic properties and enhance the mechanical strength and durability at later ages. Compressive strength and natural carbonation tests were performed in mortar and concrete. Cement-based materials made with GBFS and/or CFA presented a delay in the compressive strength development. In addition, they exhibited lower carbonation resistance than that of mortar and concrete made with plain Portland cements. Concrete reinforcement remains passive in common conditions; however, it could be corroded if the concrete pore solution pH drops due to the carbonation process. Service life estimation was performed for the ternary cements regarding the carbonation process. This information can be useful to material and civil engineers in designing concretes made with these ternary cements.

Se informó que la producción mundial de cemento Portland fue de 4650 millones de toneladas en 2016. Dicha producción de cemento exige una cantidad significativa de recursos naturales y energía. Además, la producción de una tonelada de cemento Portland emite alrededor de 0,87 toneladas de dióxido de carbono. Este valor se reduciría significativamente al utilizar cementos ternarios elaborados con residuos industriales como escoria granulada de alto horno molida (GGBFS) y cenizas volantes de carbón (CFA). Además, se promueve la economía circular mediante el uso de residuos industriales (GGBFS y CFA) y se aumenta la durabilidad del hormigón en ambientes agresivos. Por el contrario, inducen un retraso en la ganancia de resistencia a la compresión como resultado de la reacción puzolánica. En este trabajo se ensayaron mezclas ternarias de cemento con proporciones GGBFS y CFA (25% y 40%) sobre morteros estándar. En consecuencia, se realizaron medidas de resistencia a la compresión a los 2, 7 y 28 días. Se discutieron las interacciones estadísticas entre GGBFS y CFA en los resultados de resistencia a la compresión de los morteros de cemento Portland ternarios.AbstractGlobal production of Portland cement was reported to be 4.65 billion tons in 2016. Such cement production demands a significant amount of natural resources and energy. Furthermore, the production of one tonne of Portland cement emits about 0.87 tons of carbon dioxide. This value would be reduced significantly by using ternary cements made with industrial wastes such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) and coal fly ash (CFA). In addition, circular economy is promoted by using industrial wastes (GGBFS and CFA) and the concrete durability in aggressive environments is increased. By contrast, they induce a delay in the compressive strength gain as result of the pozzolanic reaction. In this paper, ternary cement mixes with GGBFS and CFA proportions (25% and 40%) were tested on standard mortars. Accordingly, compressive strength measures at 2, 7 and 28 days was performed. Statistical interactions between GGBFS and CFA on the compressive strength results of ternary Portland cement mortars were discussed.