High Performance Self-Compacting Concrete with Electric Arc Furnace Slag Aggregate and Cupola Slag Powder

Abstract

The development of self-compacting concretes with electric arc furnace slags is a novelty in the field of materials and the production of high-performance concretes with these characteristics is a further achievement. To obtain these high-strength, low-permeability concretes, steel slag aggregates and cupola slag powder are used. To prove the effectiveness of these concretes, they are compared with control concretes that use diabase aggregates, fly ash, and limestone supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs, also called fillers) and intermediate mix proportions. The high density SCMs give the fresh concrete self-compacting thixotropy using high-density aggregates with no segregation. Moreover, the temporal evolution of the mechanical properties of mortars and concretes shows pozzolanic reactions for the cupola slag. The fulfillment of the demands in terms of stability, flowability, and mechanical properties required for this type of concrete, and the savings of natural resources derived from the valorization of waste, make these sustainable concretes a viable option for countless applications in civil engineering.

Experimental Study on the Workability and Stability of Steel Slag Self-Compacting Concrete

“…The segregation resistance is often considered as the index of stability of SCC, which also can be classified as static stability and dynamic stability. At present, the evaluation and test methods of the workability of SCC mainly includes a slump flow (SF) test incorporating slump flow time (T500) measurements [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], a V-funnel test [14,15,17,[19][20][21][22]24,26], a L-box test [13,15,19,21,23,24,26], a U-shape meter test [14,17,22], and a J-ring test [15][16][17][18][19]24,25], etc. Stability tests conducted for SCC mixture involved a sieve analysis test [15,17,20,25], flow table test [27], segregation probe test [20], and static settlement column test…”

“…In recent years, quite a few researchers have begun to explore the application of steel slag in the preparation of SCC [20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Sheen et al [20] developed SCC containing stainless steel oxidizing slag (SSOS, partial substitution of fine and coarse aggregate) and stainless steel reducing slag (SSRS, partial substitution of cement).…”

“…Pan et al [25] investigated the effects of steel slag powder on the properties of SCC with recycled aggregates and found that steel slag powder improved the filling ability and passing ability of SCC, but adversely affected segregation resistance. Sosa et al [26] investigated the feasibility of high-performance SCC prepared with electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) aggregate and cupola slag powder based on the rheological and physical-mechanical experiments of SCC. The experimental results showed that it is possible to obtain a very homogeneous, symmetrical, and stable distributed mixture without segregation or concentration of coarse aggregates.…”

“…Moreover, it is not enough to encourage the use of a steel slag in the construction industry without misgivings or concerns if the technical opinion is not supported by sufficient characterization and performance testing [28]. Analyzing the aforementioned research on the use of steel slag in SCC, it found that the steel slag was mainly used to replaces the coarse aggregate [22,26] or both coarse and fine aggregate [20,21,23]. Meanwhile, the substitution rate is relatively high, for instance, all coarse aggregate was replaced [21][22][23]26], the substitution rate is of 0%, 50%, 100% for both coarse and fine aggregates [20].…”

“…Analyzing the aforementioned research on the use of steel slag in SCC, it found that the steel slag was mainly used to replaces the coarse aggregate [22,26] or both coarse and fine aggregate [20,21,23]. Meanwhile, the substitution rate is relatively high, for instance, all coarse aggregate was replaced [21][22][23]26], the substitution rate is of 0%, 50%, 100% for both coarse and fine aggregates [20]. The steel slag was also used as powder replacing the cement (fixed substitution rate of 30%) [25], as a fine aggregate (substitution rate is 0, 40%, 60%, 80%) together with the glass powder [24].…”