In this research, the properties and cementitious performance of thermally activated cement pastes (referred to as DCPs) are investigated. Hydrated pastes prepared from Portland cement and slag blended cement were subjected to different thermal treatments: 350 °C for 2 h, 550 °C for 2 h, 550 °C for 24 h and 750 °C for 2 h. The properties and the reactivity as SCM of the DCPs were characterised as well as their effect on the mechanical performance and hydration of new blended cements incorporating the DCPs as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). It was observed that the temperature and duration of the thermal treatment increased the grindability and BET specific surface area of the DCP, as well as the formation of C₂S phases and the reactivity as SCM. In contrast, the mechanical strength results for the blended cements indicated that thermal treatment at 350 °C for 2 h provided better performance. The hydration study results showed that highly reactive DCP interfered with the early hydration of the main clinker phases in Portland cement, leading to early setting and slow strength gain. The effect on blended cement hydration was most marked for binary Portland cement–DCP blends. In contrast, in the case of ternary slag cement–DCP blends the use of reactive DCP as SCM enabled to significantly increase early age strength.

Copper slag (CS) remains a challenging industrial by-product with a relatively small utilization fraction. The present study investigated the development of one-part alkali-activated cements based on CS, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and a mixture of the two as a precursor. We investigated 5 to 15 wt% solid sodium metasilicate (Na₂SiO₃) and disilicate (Na₂Si₂O₅) as alkaline reagents. Isothermal calorimetry showed that the reactivity of the system was higher for the metasilicate based samples, with early reaction and higher cumulative heat released. Metasilicate based samples also presented a more densified microstructure, lower porosity and higher strength. Better performances were observed with 10 wt% metasilicate/disilicate with respect to the 5 and 15 wt%. The 28-day compressive strength and elastic modulus of 10 wt% metasilicate samples reached 75 MPa and 25 GPa, respectively, and, for paste samples, ranged from 100 wt% GGBS to 50/50 wt% CS/GGBS. The microstructure and calorimetry of the pastes showed that GGBS actively participated in the binding process, whereas CS played a smaller role and acted as a filler and catalyst. The substitution of commercial GGBS by CS up to 50 wt% did not affect the overall performance, thus, bringing CS forward as an economically interesting precursor.

In general, phosphate cements have a very rapid setting reaction at room temperature. The same holds for copper slag-based phosphate cements. This means that using them as a binder, for instance as mortar, is always possible on a small scale, but very difficult on a large scale. In this paper, the heat treatment of the copper slag was shown to be an effective way to increase the setting time and keep the mix workable for an adequate period. The main objective of this research was to examine the changes in the phase composition of quenched copper slag after exposure to 500 °C and to evaluate the impact of these changes on the reactivity of the material in an acidic environment, as well as on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and structure of the produced phosphate cement materials. Various experimental methods were utilized to characterize the raw materials and the obtained phosphate cementitious materials, including isothermal microcalorimetry (TAM Air), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as the determination of the chemical composition using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and the particle size distribution. Furthermore, compressive strength tests were conducted to gauge the mechanical resistance of the materials. The main findings of this work revealed that subjecting the copper slag to a thermal treatment of 500 °C induced a partial transformation in its structure. The high temperature caused the oxidation of some of the divalent iron oxide in the slag, leading to the formation of hematite. This treatment increased the setting time and reduced the reactivity of the copper slag with phosphoric acid, ultimately enabling the production of a dense phosphate-based cementitious material with outstanding mechanical properties. The compressive strength of the newly developed cement was recorded to be greater than 78.9 MPa after 7 days, and this strength continued to increase, reaching 82.5 MPa after 28 days.

Composite materials are increasingly used in various vehicles and construction parts, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of their behavior under varying thermal conditions. Measuring the thermo-mechanical properties with traditional methods such as tensile testing or dynamical mechanical analysis is often time-consuming and requires costly apparatus. This paper introduces an innovative non-destructive method for identifying the orthotropic engineering constants of composite test sheets as a function of temperature. The proposed technique represents an advancement of the conventional impulse excitation technique, incorporating an automated pendulum exciting mechanism and creating digital twins of the test sheets. The automated measurement of the impulse response function yields resonance frequencies and damping ratios at specified temperatures. These values are subsequently utilized in digital twins for identification of the engineering constants. The method is fully automated across predefined temperature intervals and can be seamlessly integrated into existing climate chambers equipped with remote control facilities. The results obtained from the described measurement technique were applied to a bi-directionally glass-reinforced thermoplastic PA6 matrix in a tested temperature range of −20 °C to 60 °C, revealing that the complex engineering constants are significantly affected by temperature.

Fiber-reinforced composite materials exhibit orthotropic behavior, characterized by complex orthotropic engineering constants such as Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and shear modulus. It is widely recognized that basalt fibers possess superior resistance to elevated temperatures compared to glass fibers. However, the behavior of these fibers within composites at typical operational temperatures for automotive and consumer goods applications has not been thoroughly investigated. A novel measurement setup based on the non-destructive impulse excitation method has been developed for the automated identification of complex orthotropic engineering constants as a function of temperature. This study provides a comparative analysis of the identified engineering constants of bidirectionally fabric-reinforced glass and basalt composites with an epoxy matrix, across a temperature range from −20 °C to 60 °C. The results reveal only minimal differences in stiffness and damping behavior between the examined glass and basalt samples.

Copper slag is an industrial residue with a large unutilized fraction. This study presents the development of alkali-activated composites from a copper slag named Koranel^®. The effects of metakaolinite, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and surfactants were investigated. The reactivity of Koranel with potassium silicate solutions with molar ratio R = SiO₂/K₂O varying from 1 to 2.75, with 0.25 intervals, was investigated using isothermal calorimetry. The reactivity was relatively low at 20 °C; the reaction started after a few hours with a low silica modulus, to several weeks with the highest silica modulus. The substitution of Koranel by OPC (5 wt.%) or by metakaolinite (10–20 wt.%), both led to higher reaction heat and rate; meanwhile, the addition of 2 wt.% polyethylene glycol/2-methyl 2,4 pentanediol delayed the reaction time in the system containing metakaolinite. Raising the curing temperature from 20 °C to 80 °C shortened the setting time of the low reactive systems, from several days to almost instantaneous, opening perspectives for their application in the production of prepreg composite materials. The use of carbon fabric as reinforcement in the alkali-activated matrix led to composite materials with flexural strength reaching 88 MPa and elastic modulus of about 19 GPa—interesting for engineering applications such as high-strength lightweight panels.