Abstract
The use of ground iron blast furnace slag (BFS) as a low-cost alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) binders in fibre-cement products was examined. Both high quality softwood fibres and residual sisal from agricultural waste were chemically pulped and used as reinforcement. Composites based on several different binder formulations consisting of slag chemically activated by mixtures of gypsum and hydrated lime displayed their optimum strength and fracture toughness properties at fibre contents between 8% and 12%, with values in the ranges of 14.7–24.5 MPa and 1.13–2.36 kJ/m2, respectively. Corresponding flexural moduli lay in the range 4.3–7.8 GPa and, at 12% fibre content, the composites possessed water absorption values up to 34% by mass and densities in the region of 1.3 g/cm3. A formulation of BFS activated by 10% gypsum and 2% lime presented a good compromise between strength and energy absorption combined with a reasonable price.
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