Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Effects of iron ore tailings on the compressive strength and permeability

of ultra-high performance concrete
Weifeng Zhang a, Xiaowei Gu a,⇑, Jingping Qiu a, Jianping Liu b, Yunqi Zhao a, Xiaohui Li a
a
Science and Technology Innovation Center of Smart Water and Resource Environment, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
b
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870, China

h i g h l i g h t s

Iron ore tailings (IOT) were used to replace manufactured sand at different proportions to make UHPC mortars.

The compressive strength and permeability of UHPC mortars were investigated.

40% subsitutiton of IOT exhibited the highest compressive strength.

The compressive strength ws comparable to the control when IOT content was up to 80%.

The addition of IOT enhanced the impermeability of UHPC mortars.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Iron ore tailings (IOT) are discharged as waste after the beneficiation process to concentrate iron ore,
Received 27 November 2019 which has triggered a series of environmental problems. The influence of IOT as a replacement for man-
Received in revised form 1 June 2020 ufactured sand (MS) (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% by weight) on the compressive strength and per-
Accepted 9 June 2020
meability of UHPC mortars was investigated by multiple methods including scanning electron
Available online 22 June 2020
microscopy (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The results showed that 40% IOT replace-
ment yielded the best performance, and 80% substitution of IOT was comparable to the control mix
Keywords:
regarding compressive strength. Additionally, the impermeability improved with increasing IOT content.
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC)
Manufactured sand
To reduce the cost of UHPC production and minimize environmental problems, it is feasible to use IOT as
Iron ore tailings (IOT) a fine aggregate to partly replace manufactured sand.
Compressive strength Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Permeability

1. Introduction Therefore, manufactured sand is considered an alternative material

for river sand in UHPC. However, the manufactured sand supplied
A novel construction material, ultra-high performance concrete in some Chinese regions falls short of the market demand due to
(UHPC), is a highly compact, dense material that exhibits excellent the unparalleled level of the construction industry, and its price
properties. The compressive strength of ultra-high performance has also increased. In light of this, there is an urgent need for
concrete (UHPC) at 28 days can be greater than 150 MPa (greater low-cost materials such as fine aggregate in UHPC production.
than 100 MPa, in China) [1]. The material also has an extremely Iron ore tailings (IOT) are mining waste obtained during the
low porosity, which gives it low permeability and high durability. beneficiation process to concentrate iron ore [9,10]. The discharge
It is usually composed of binders and fine aggregates with some capacity of tailings in China increases every year, accounting for
fibers. The extraordinary properties of UHPC mainly depend on more than 50% of the world’s tailings discharge. The storage of
its low porosity and close packing density, resulting from fine par- IOT accounts for nearly one-third of all kinds of tailings. Presently,
ticles and a low water-binder ratio (w/b) with the addition of a the annual production of IOT is nearly 600 million tons, but the uti-
superplasticizer [2–7]. With the standard of living continually lization rate of IOT in China is very low, only 7% [11]. IOT are often
improving, construction industries consume increasing amounts stored in a tailings dam by natural accumulation, which occupies
of natural aggregate. The extreme use of river sand for construction large areas of land, has high management costs, and often results
projects has caused a series of serious environmental problems [8]. in dust that is easily raised by the wind in the surrounding area
because of the fine particles in the dam. Debris flow disasters are
⇑ Corresponding author. often caused by the breach of the dam during flooding, which
E-mail address: [email protected] (X. Gu). causes economic loss. Therefore, disposing of IOT using proper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119917
0950-0618/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 W. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917

methods is crucial. The most common secondary utilization is Therefore, we studied the compressive strength and permeability
recycling metal from IOT [12], but advanced technology and of UHPC after replacing manufactured sand with IOT at different
upscale equipment are needed, and 70% of the iron ore tailings ratios. Additionally, the microstructure of this concrete was stud-
remain after recycling. Using IOT as the filler to backfill mined- ied with field emission scanning electron microscopy, and the pore
out areas is also considered to be a low value-added method [13- structure was observed with mercury intrusion porosimetry.
17]. Consequently, the utilization of IOT as fine aggregate in build-
ing material production is relatively feasible because the composi-
2. Materials
tion of IOT is similar to that of natural aggregate which mainly
contains silica, alumina, iron, magnesium, and calcium. Moreover, 2.1. Binders and aggregates
it can lead to sustainable developments in the mining industry and
greener environmental practices [18,19]. The binders consisted of cement and silica fume. Ordinary Portland cement
(52.5) was used in this study according to Chinese standard GB 175-2007 [36],
Some studies have shown that IOT have the potential to be used which was produced by Dalian Xiaoyetian Cement Co., Ltd. Ordinary Portland
as cementitious material in concrete. Li et al. [20] found that using cement (52.5) is generally selected for UHPC preparation because it has finer parti-
clinker, blast furnace slag, IOT and gypsum as cementitious mate- cle size and higher CaO content, which can promote the hydration reaction better
rials could prepare 42.5 ordinary Portland cement. Uchechukwu and provide the guarantee for strength. Silica fume (SF) was used as an additive.
Table 1 shows the chemical properties of the binders. The fine aggregates used
and Ezekiel et al. [21] indicated that using IOT as a cement replace-
for this study were MS and IOT. Two kinds of manufactured sand were utilized as
ment improved the compressive strength of concrete. Cheng et al. aggregates. Sand 1 has particles with sizes between 0.109 mm and 0.212 mm and
[22] found that the maximum replacement level of mechanochem- sand 2 has particles between 0.212 mm and 0.380 mm. The apparent densities of
ically activated IOT was 30% but could be up to 40% at a low water sand 1 and sand 2 are 3.00 kg/m3 and 2.86 kg/m3, respectively. The mixing water
to binder ratio in ordinary concrete. Xiong et al. [23] found that IOT was tap water. Polycarboxylic superplasticizer (SP) was used to avoid an increase
in the amount of water (water-reducing efficiency: more than 30%).
powder decreased the compressive strength but that the strength
was similar to that of plain cement paste with increasing curing
age. Han et al. [24] revealed that adding the appropriate amount 2.2. Iron ore tailings
of fine IOT powder could improve the properties of concrete.
IOT were obtained from a mining enterprise in Liaoning Province, China. IOT
However, IOT are relatively inert and have a relatively low discharged from concentrator to tailings dam have been treated according to the
activity. IOT need to be activated by grinding or heat treatment. mine staff feedback. The content of each component has little fluctuation and good
These processes consume energy and have high costs. Therefore, uniformity, and it does not contain harmful elements such as Pb, Hg, as, etc. The
some researchers have focused on aggregate replacement with radioactive elements 232Th, 226Ra, 40 k are determined, it meets the requirements
of the limit standard of industrial waste radioactive substances for building mate-
IOT in concrete. Liu et al. [25] obtained sprayed concrete with a rials. Therefore, it will not cause adverse effects on the environment. The particle
28-day compressive strength of 23.4 MPa for a substitution of nat- size is given in Fig. 1, with a median value (d50) of 166.2 lm and a specific surface
ural sand of 100%. Huang et al. [26] found that using IOT as aggre- area of 118.5 m2/kg. The chemical composition of the IOT is given in Table 1, which
gate obtained good tensile and compressive strength in engineered is mostly SiO2 (as high as 72.84%). According to the literature [37], the IOT are clas-
sified as high-silicon IOT. The SO3 content of IOT is about 0.05%. It can be concluded
cementitious composites. Zhao et al. [27] reported that ultra-high
that IOT is relatively inert. The fineness modulus is 0.07, the density is 2.7 g/cm3,
performance concrete was comparable to the control concrete in and the Mohs hardness is 6–7. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the
compressive strength when the IOT substitution of the fine aggre- two kinds of aggregates are shown in Fig. 2. They have similar angular shapes,
gate was no more than 40%. Ma et al. [28] reported that replace- and their surfaces are highly rough and irregular. The crystalline phase in IOT
ment of 40%–60% of silica sand with IOT in autoclaved aerated was tested with 2h ranging from 5° to 70°. Fig. 3 shows that the main mineral com-
position of the IOT is quartz, followed by tirodite and ferrotschermakite. The LOI
concrete could enhance the compressive strength contributed by (loss on ignition) means the percentage of the lost mass in the original sample after
the C-S-H gel and tobermorite. Shettima et al. [29] found that the drying the raw materials which lose external moisture in the temperature range of
strength and elasticity modulus increased with increasing IOT 105–110 ℃ and burning for a long time under certain high temperature. Through
replacement compared to those of conventional concrete. In addi- the measurement of LOI, we can judge whether the raw material needs to be cal-
cined in advance when it is used, so as to make the composition of raw material
tion, IOT have been used for the production of ceramic tiles, con-
more stable.
crete paving blocks [30], fired bricks [31], geopolymer bricks [32]
and developed geopolymers with fly ash [33].
The raw materials for manufactured sand are quite abundant, so 3. Mixture proportions
there is no need to worry about a shortage of raw materials for
preparing manufactured sand. However, the formation cycle of UHPC mortars (the matrixes of UHPC) were prepared and tested
natural sand is very long. The increase in the consumption of nat- to investigate the effect of the IOT content on the compressive
ural sand for construction activities means that the riverbeds are strength and permeability of the UHPC mortars.
being overexploited. This leads to a range of problems, including The content of SF in UHPC is usually between 20% and 35% of
increased riverbed depth, water table lowering, the intrusion of the cement, which is decided by w/b [38]. Therefore, for all the
salinity and destruction of river embankments. Hence, there is an mixtures in this study, the weight of the binders and cement
urgent need to use manufactured sand to replace natural sand as remained the same, 1000 kg/m3 and 800 kg/m3, respectively. The
fine aggregate in UHPC. According to the current literature, IOT size of the manufactured sand was selected according to reference
usually replace natural sand as fine aggregate in different types [39]. Two kinds of quartz sands were used. (Sand 1: 0.109 mm–0.
of concrete. There is little information about using IOT as a substi- 212 mm; Sand 2: 0.212 mm–0.380 mm). These sizes of quartz
tute for manufactured sand in UHPC. Zhang et al. [34] studied the sands could form a good gradation with IOT according to
effects of iron ore tailings content on UHPC with manufactured experiments.
sand. Shen et al. [35] studied the mixing design and microstructure The details of the six mixture proportions are shown in Table 2.
of ultra-high strength concrete with manufactured sand. The All the samples were named by both letters and numbers. The first
results indicated that ultra-high strength concrete prepared with letter refers to the IOT, and the number indicates the replacement
manufactured sand can have higher strength than concrete made percentage of MS on a weight basis. The first was the control mix
with river sand. The permeability (e.g. water absorption and chlo- without IOT, which was recorded as T0. In the other five mixes,
ride penetration) of UHPC is also quite significant to the compres- MS was replaced by IOT with substitutions of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%,
sive strength, but there is little in-depth research on the and 100%. They were likewise designated T20, T40, T60, T80 and
relationship between the compressive strength and permeability. T100.
 W. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917 3

Table 1
Chemical compositions of the cementitious materials and IOT (wt%).

Materials SiO2 Fe2O3 Al2O3 CaO MgO SO3 LOI

Cement 22.62 0.18 2.85 67.08 1.78 2.16 1.34
SF 95.90 0.16 0.32 0.05 0.23 0.52 2.14
IOT 72.84 8.88 4.74 5.05 6.06 0.05 0.89

(C: cement, SF: silica fume, MS: manufactured sand, IOT: iron
ore tailings, SP: superplasticizer, FW: flow diameter).

4. Experimental program

4.1. Specimen preparation

The UHPC mortars were produced in a JJ-5 mortar mixer and

met Chinese Standard GB/T17671-1999 [40]. Fig. 4 shows the pro-
cess of producing UHPC mortars with and without IOT.
The fresh mortars were put into plastic molds
(40  40  160 mm) and vibrated for 90 s. They were demolded
after curing in molds for one day at approximately 20℃and then
cured in a standard curing box with a temperature of (20 ± 2℃)
and relative humidity of more than 95% to the prescribed ages (7
and 28 days).

4.2. Compressive strength

Fig. 1. Particle size distribution of iron ore tailings. The compressive strength was determined using the HUA LONG
compression machine (300 KN). The test process was conducted

Fig. 2. SEM images of iron ore tailings (a and b) and manufactured sand (c and d).
4 W. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917

Fig. 3. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of iron ore tailings.

Fig. 5. 7- and 28-day compressive strengths of UHPC mortars with different IOT
contents.
according to Chinese Standard GB/T17671-1999 [40]. The average
value of six broken pieces from the flexural test was taken as the
test result. Three prisms for each mix were tested under three- group. The water absorption was calculated according to the fol-
point bending to determine the flexural strength at a loading rate lowing formula:
of 0.05 kN/s. The compressive strength was then determined from
the six broken pieces left from the flexural test. The loaded area Ww  Wd
W ¼  100% ð1Þ
was 40  40 mm and the loading rate was 2.4 kN/s. Fig. 5 shows Wd
the compressive strength results of two curing ages.
where:
4.3. Permeability tests
W = Percentage of water absorption.
4.3.1. Water absorption Ww = Weight of the wet specimen.
The test was conducted according to the Britain Standard [41]. Wd = Weight of specimen dry
The cylinder specimen (U75 mm  75 mm) was cored from the
cube sample (100  100  100) until curing (7 and 28 days). The 4.3.2. Rapid chloride penetration test
samples were dried in the oven for three days and cooled for one The test was investigated to determine the chloride ion charge
day. The specimens were weighed and immersed in water for according to ASTM C1202 [42]. The disc was 100 mm in diameter
30 min. After 30 min, the specimens were weighed again. The aver- and 50 mm length and was cured for 7 and 28 days, and the sides
age value of each of the three samples was the final result in every were coated with epoxy. The specimens were fixed between two

Table 2
Mixture proportions and flowability of the designed UHPC mortars.

Sample Mix proportions (kg/m3) FW(mm)

C SF MS IOT Water SP Mortars
T0 800 200 1000 0 180 22 220
T20 800 200 800 200 180 22 210
T40 800 200 600 400 180 22 190
T60 800 200 400 600 180 22 185
T80 800 200 200 800 180 22 170
T100 800 200 0 1000 180 22 160

Fig. 4. Mixing procedure for producing UHPC mortars with and without IOT. (Low speed: 140 r/min; high speed: 285 r/min).
 W. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917 5

Table 3 finally, the samples were coated with a gold film to improve con-
Chloride permeability rating [43]. duction and hence image quality. Regarding the image acquisition
Chloride Charge Typical concrete parameters, the working distance for the SEM test was set in the
permeability (coulombs) range of 11.1 mm to 17 mm, while the acceleration voltage was
High >4000 High w/c ratio (>0.6) 5 kV.
Moderate 2000–4000 Moderate w/c ratio (0.4–0.5)
Low 1000–2000 Low w/c ratio (<0.4)
Very low 100–1000 Latex-modified concrete, internally 5. Results and discussion
sealed concrete
Negligible <100 Polymer impregnated concrete, polymer 5.1. Compressive strength
concrete

Fig. 5 shows the compressive strengths of the UHPC mortars

containing different IOT contents at both curing ages and the fail-
specific grooves. One side of the groove was connected with the ure profiles of the specimens with different IOT contents are pre-
specimens; the other side was connected with the solution. The sented in Fig. 6. The compressive strengths of the UHPC mortars
groove containing NaCl (3.0%) was connected to a negative pole, are higher than that of the control (T0) when the IOT substitution
and the groove containing NaOH (0.3 M) was connected to a posi- is<60%. The compressive strengths of T20, T40, and T60 with
tive pole. Once started, the total electrical current passing through replacement ratios of 20, 40 and 60 at 28 days are 110 MPa,
specimens was measured for six hours with DC 60 V and automat- 120 MPa, and 111 MPa, surpassing that of the control group by
ically recorded every five minutes. The chloride permeability rating 4.76%, 14.3%, and 5.7% respectively and T40 has the most growth.
is shown in Table 3. Regarding the compressive strength, these specimens meet the
Chinese standard requirements of UHPC according to reference
4.4. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests [1]. The particle size of the IOT is larger than that of cement but
smaller than that of MS, so the fine IOT particles can fill the pores
The porosity and pore size distribution were tested by MIP and optimize the pore structure. Additionally, the pozzolanic reac-
(AutoPore IV9500, pore size range: 3 nm–1000 lm, pressure: 0– tivity of the some of the finer IOT particles contributes to the com-
414 MPa). The specimens were selected after strength measure- pressive strength development at the age of 28 days [21]. Precisely,
ment. The samples were dried in the oven for seven days at 60℃. some IOT particles consume the superfluous Ca(OH)2 and produce
MIP is based on the principle that a nonwetting liquid only more C-S-H (calcium silicate hydrate gel). The compressive
intrudes into a porous medium under pressure. The relationship strength of UHPC mainly depends on the close packing density
between the applied pressure and the cylindrical pore diameter and hydration of cement as well as the pozzolanic reactions of
is described by the Washburn equation [44]. mineral admixtures according to the literature [45,46]. The maxi-
mum close packing density can be obtained when the manufac-
4.5. SEM tests tured sand mixes with the appropriate IOT proportions compared
to the control specimens with manufactured sand only as fine
To observe the microstructure of the hydration products and aggregate. Zhang et al. [34] also found that when the iron ore tail-
the interfacial transition zone (ITZ), typical specimens cured for 7 ings content ranged from 20% to 40%, the compressive strength
and 28 days were selected for SEM (Ultra Plus, Germany) testing was higher than that containing only manufactured sand. More-
after strength measurement. Before the test, the hydration of the over, the compressive strength is influenced by the aggregate sur-
selected samples was prevented by immersion in ethanol, then face morphology [47]. A rough surface on the materials can
the samples were dried in the oven to eliminate the ethanol, and improve the grip between them and reduce the strength loss to

Fig. 6. The failure profiles of the specimens with different IOT contents.
6 W. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917

some extent. Some researchers found that the optimum IOT con- hydrated cement particles and the hydration products, which is
tent primarily ranged from 20% to 40% because of the distinctive detrimental to the development of strength. However, for the
mineral composition of the tailings [34]. T40 shows the highest water absorption test, the decrease in water absorption is mainly
strength for two curing ages and can be considered the optimum due to the gradual densification of internal structure. On the one
mixture. hand, the hydration products increase with the increase of curing
Conversely, when the content of IOT increases from 60% to age. Besides, the increasing amount of iron ore tailings replace-
100%, the compressive strengths decline. The compressive strength ment fills the internal pores in UHPC.
of T100 is approximately 5.7% and 8.6% lower than those of T0 at 7
and 28 days, respectively. The negative effect of strength develop-
5.2.2. Rapid chloride penetration test (RCPT)
ment is mainly attributed to the formation of hydration products
The total charges passed through the UHPC mortar specimens
around unhydrated cement, hindering further hydration and caus-
containing different IOT proportions are presented in Fig. 8. The
ing an increase in porosity [48].
results show that the total charge passed decreases slightly as
more IOT are added. This indicates a reduction in chloride ion pen-
5.2. Permeability analysis etration when MS is replaced by IOT. It is observed that all speci-
mens containing IOT have lower charges passed than T0, all <100
For the durability tests of concrete, it generally includes drying Coulomb. This indicates that the UHPC mortar specimens have a
shrinkage, permeability, carbonation depth, acid resistance test high packing density and have negligible penetration according
and so on. Permeability is an important performance to evaluate to the ASTM C 1202 standard. This can be attributed to the unre-
the durability of concrete. Based on the previous references, it is acted fine IOT particles, filling the pores, optimizing the pore struc-
found that water absorption and chloride ion permeability experi- ture and reducing the porosity [28]. Simultaneously, as the curing
ments mainly reflect the permeability of concrete. Therefore, the age increases, some IOT particles consume excess Ca(OH)2 and pro-
performance of UHPC mortars with IOT was further evaluated by duce more C-S-H [29]. The above factors make the structure of the
exploring the relationship between permeability and compressive UHPC mortars more uniform and compact.
strength in this study. Moreover, the total charge passed in all specimens decreases as
the curing age increases. MS with 100% substitution of IOT in UHPC
mortars has the most powerful ability to resist chloride ion pene-
5.2.1. Water absorption
tration. Therefore, replacing MS with IOT as a fine aggregate can
The effect of IOT content on the water absorption of UHPC spec-
improve the durability of UHPC mortars. For permeability tests,
imens at 7 and 28 days is presented in Fig. 7. Obviously, all of the
the rapid chloride penetration and water absorption results show
IOT specimens absorb less water than T0. A decrease in water
the same pattern. With increasing IOT replacement rate, the imper-
absorption is observed with increasing the IOT substitution for
meability of the UHPC mortars improves.
both curing ages. The values for 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%
The comparison of the compressive strength and permeability
replacement are 9.7%, 24.2%, 33.1%, 38.7% and 43.5% at 7 days,
tests shows that when the replacement rate of IOT is no more than
respectively. A similar decreasing trend in water absorption is
40%, the compressive strength and impermeability of the UHPC
exhibited at 28 days.
mortars improve. This result indicates that the internal pore struc-
The above results show that water absorption decreases with
ture in the UHPC mortars was gradually filled with IOT addition.
increasing IOT content, thus making the UHPC mortars highly
The compressive strength and impermeability show the opposite
impermeable. The hydration products increase, and some fine
trend when the IOT replacement rate is more than 40%. The com-
IOT particles fill the macropores and micropores in the mortars
pressive strength decreases, and the impermeability increases. This
[49]. Therefore, IOT have a positive effect on impermeability. Chan
result indicates that although the internal pore structure is still
et al. [50] also found that low water adsorption had a positive
optimized, the large amount of IOT in the UHPC mortars cannot
impact on concrete durability.
compensate for the strength lost because of the use of manufac-
Due to the large amount of cement used in the preparation of
tured sand as aggregate, so the compressive strength is reduced.
UHPC, a large number of cement particles will not participate in
the hydration, and there will be a gap between these non-

Fig. 7. Water absorption in UHPC mortars with and without IOT. Fig. 8. RCPT test results for various UHPC mortars.
 W. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917 7

5.3. Microscopic analysis the total porosities of T40 is 3.00% and 2.21%, reduced by 4.15%
and 7.92% compared to those of T0, whose total porosities are
5.3.1. Pore structure 3.13% and 2.40% at 7 and 28 days, respectively. The changes in
The properties of concrete mainly depend on the pore structure the >100 nm pore proportions show the same pattern as the total
[51]. MIP can be considered to be good for measuring the pore porosity with increasing IOT content. Compared with the control,
structure of materials [52]. The total porosities are presented in IOT optimize the pore structures when the IOT content is no more
Table 4. The pore size distributions are presented in Fig. 9 and than 60% but degrade the pore structures from 80% to 100%. This is
Fig. 10. The pore diameters can be classified into three levels consistent with the change in compressive strength at different
according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chem- curing ages.
istry (IUPAC): <2 nm, 2–50 nm, and >50 nm. It is generally agreed Therefore, the physical filling effect of the appropriate IOT sub-
that pores >100 nm are harmful. stitution can refine the pore structure, and the part of the finer IOT
Table 4 shows that the total porosity for all samples at 28 days particles can consume CH crystals to produce C-S-H to fill large
is much lower than that at 7 days. Specimens containing IOT show pores. The appropriate content of IOT can improve the close pack-
a lower total porosity than the control when the replacement is no ing density of UHPC mortars by accelerating the hydration process.
more than 60% at all curing ages. T40 presents the lowest total Additionally, too low or too high IOT content can be disadvanta-
porosity and the best pore structure at 28 days. More precisely, geous to the close packing density.

Table 4
5.3.2. Microstructure
Total porosities in UHPC mortar samples at 7 days and 28 days (mL/g).
The microstructure of UHPC can be evaluated by SEM [53–55].
Number Total porosity (%) (7 d) Total porosity (%) (28 d) Fig. 11 shows SEM images of some types of samples. The high
T0 3.13 2.40 porosity makes the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) the weakest
T20 2.59 1.84 part of the concrete [56]. Fig. 11(a) and (b) show that the morphol-
T40 2.04 1.75 ogy of the ITZ between the paste and MS appears very dense as the
T60 3.00 2.21
T80 3.29 2.54
curing age increases, there are almost no obvious defects, and
T100 4.10 3.55 the bond between them seems to be very strong at 28 days. The
packing in the ITZ is densified by using silica fume [57]. The

Fig. 9. Pore size distributions in UHPC mortar samples at 7 days (mL/g).

Fig. 10. Pore size distributions in UHPC mortar samples at 28 days (mL/g).
8 W. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917

Fig. 11. SEM images of T0, T40, and T100 at 7 and 28 days.

compressive strength of T40 is the highest at 28 ages. The ITZ of the in the ITZ between the IOT and paste. AFt very easily fractures and
manufactured sand, paste and IOT is quite dense, and the C-S-H produces cracks under load. The entrapped air voids and AFt jointly
gels are fairly homogeneous, as shown in Fig. 11(c) and (d), respec- contribute to an inhomogeneous and nonuniform microstructure.
tively. The filling effect of IOT and the pozzolanic reaction of part of Therefore, T100 has the lowest compressive strength of all speci-
the finer IOT make the microstructure more homogenous. The mens at all curing ages. The microstructure formation is directly
structure of the UHPC mortars becomes denser and more uniform influenced by the close packing density, especially at low w/b
due to the small-sized particles that have higher surface energy [59,60]. When supplying IOT at an appropriate content, these
[58]. Therefore, T40 shows excellent compressive strength. materials may reach a good close packing density because the
Fig. 11(e) shows the morphology of T100 under low magnification. IOT size is between those of cementitious materials and MS, which
It can be observed that there are many entrapped air voids in this can also explain why the substitution of 40% IOT shows the best
photo. Additionally, in Fig. 11(f), a large amount of AFt is observed macroscopic performance.
 W. Zhang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 260 (2020) 119917 9

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Declaration of Competing Interest cementitious composites using iron ore tailings as aggregates, Constr. Build.
Mater. 44 (2013) 757–764.
[27] S.J. Zhao, J. Fan, W. Sun, Utilization of iron ore tailings as fine aggregate in
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
ultra-high performance concrete, Constr. Build. Mater. 50 (2014) 540–548.
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared [28] B. Ma, L. Cai, X. Li, et al., Utilization of iron tailings as substitute in autoclaved
to influence the work reported in this paper. aerated concrete: physico-mechanical and microstructure of hydration
products, J. Clean. Prod. 127 (2016) 162–171.
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Acknowledgements replacement for fine aggregate in concrete, Constr. Build. Mater. 120 (2016)
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