Effects of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) addition on setting and strength evolutions of cement pastes and mortars

The purpose of this work is to study the effects of including high dosage of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) on both setting behaviour of cement pastes, and on strength evolution of eco-friendly mortars. Particularly, in this research, dust was taken in as-received conditions from the collection system of a carbon steelmaking factory. Setting time of blended cement pastes with varying EAFD content and water/binder ratios was monitored through Vicat test. In addition, physical and mechanical properties of fresh and hardened mortars including EAFD up to 20% on cement weight were investigated. Results indicate that the use of low w/b ratio is effective in shortening the setting time of blended cements, also at high EAFD content, limiting the setting time below 24 h in most of the analysed mixtures. Additionally, an improvement of fresh mortar properties is obtained using EAFD, whereas strength evolution is slightly delayed due to EAFD addition.