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and Operations in Challenging Environments © 2010 ASCE 485

Environment-friendly Concrete and Cement Mortar Mixed with Steel Slag

Yunfeng Li1, Lingling Wang1 and Huaxun Guo1

1
College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and
Technology, Qingdao, 266510, China; email: hhliyunfeng@126.com
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ABSTRACT
Green high performance concrete can be obtained with the mineral admixture
produced by industry waste residue for saving resource and energy sources.
Workability, mechanical properties and durability of concrete can be greatly
improved with the advanced mineral admixtures such as steel slag powder.
Mechanical properties of steel slag concrete and cement mortar with different steel
slag kinds and different dosage of admixtures are studied. Experiments results show
the effect of steel slag powder on performance of cement mortar and concrete. When
compound mineral admixtures with steel slag powder and blast-furnace slag powder
are mixed into, the performance of cement mortar and concrete can be improved
further due to the synergistic effect and activation each other. The mineral admixture
will be a perfect component of green concrete and its utilization will be a valuable
resource for recycling.

INTRODUCTION
Steel slag is a solid waste discharged in large quantities by the iron and steel
industry in China. The recycling of steel slag will inevitably become an important
measure for the environment protection and therefore can lead to great social
significance (Sun et al. 2007). The manufacturing of Portland cement is a highly
energy-intensive process. One of the most significant activities stressed by the
engineers and scientists related to concrete industry aims at a high percentage of
replacement of clinker in cement with secondary raw materials, with the possibility
of improvement of cement characteristics and durability of concrete. Via these
approached, the consumption of natural raw materials, thermal and electric energy,
together with the reduction of CO2 emissions can be decreased. One less energy
intensive materials being sought are industrial by-products that are easily available,
require little or no pyro-processing and have inherent or latent cementitious
properties. Such industrial by-products are commonly called as supplementary
cementitious materials or mineral additives. Mineral additives are usually available
in large quantities that can be used to replace Portland cement in concrete
(Muhammad and Emmanuel 2007). These include fly ash, steel slag, blast-furnace
slag, silica fume, natural pozzolans, rice-husk ash, and metakaolin.

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Steel slag includes a certain scale mineral such as C2S and C3S, and can be
applied in cement and concrete as mineral admixtures (Zhu et al. 2005). When super
fine steel slag powder is mixed into concrete as an active admixture, concrete
properties will be improved greatly so as to produce high performance concrete. The
hydration heat can be effectively decreased; resistance to abrasion and durability and
the workability and mechanical properties of the concrete can all be enhanced. When
compound mineral admixtures with steel slag powder and blast-furnace slag powder
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are mixed into concrete, the performance of concrete can be improved further due to
the synergistic effect and activation of each other (Liu and Yang 2006, Sun and
Huang 2006). Therefore, the mineral admixture will be a perfect component of green
concrete and its utilization will be a valuable resource for recycling.

MATERIALS
Mineral Admixtures. Chemical composition and properties of steel slag powder
and blast furnace slag are listed in Table 1. The 42.5R Portland cement was used in
concrete, and the blast furnace slag (S95) was also used as a partial replaced
material in the cement and concrete.
Table 1. Chemical composition and properties of materials.

Constituent (wt %) Property

Admixture Specific surface Density Fluidity
SO3 SiO2 CaO MgO P2O5 fCaO
2 3
area (m /kg) (g/cm ) ratio (%)

Steel slag 0.47 18.28 39.69 9.37 1.26 1.98 387 3.46 103

Blast furnace
2.78 32.10 39.26 9.27 0.023 0.12 382 2.94 102
slag

Mix Proportions. The concrete and cement mortar specimens were prepared with
two types of mineral admixtures, steel slag powder and blast furnace slag powder.
Cement mortar specimens were setting into similar fluidity in all kinds of mix
proportions. The specimens prepared with mineral admixture are summarized in
Table 2.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT MORTAR WITH STEEL SLAG

POWDER
Compressive strength of steel slag cement mortar. The compressive strength of
cement mortar specimens were determined after the 1, 2, 3, 7, 28 days of curing,
respectively. The variation of compressive strength of steel slag cement mortar was
shown in Figure.1.
Flexural strength of steel slag cement mortar. The flexural strength of cement

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mortar specimens were determined after the 1, 2, 3, 7, 28 days of curing,

respectively. The variation of flexural strength of steel slag cement mortar was
shown in Figure.2.

Table 2. Mix proportion of steel slag concrete and cement mortar

Cement Mortar Concrete
Blast Blast
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Mix
Cement Steel furnace Standard Cement Steel furnace Water Sand Stone
Code
Slag slag sand slag slag
(g) (g) (g) (g) (kg) (kg) (kg) (kg) (kg) (kg)
0 450 0 0 1350 476.0 0 0 212.5 551 1228
1 405 45 0 1350 428.4 47.6 0 212.5 551 1228
2 360 90 0 1350 380.8 95.2 0 212.5 551 1228
3 315 135 0 1350 333.2 142.8 0 212.5 551 1228
4 270 180 0 1350 285.6 190.4 0 212.5 551 1228
5 315 0 135 1350 333.2 0 142.8 212.5 551 1228
6 315 45 90 1350 333.2 47.6 95.2 212.5 551 1228
7 315 67.5 67.5 1350 333.2 71.4 71.4 212.5 551 1228
8 315 90 45 1350 333.2 95.2 47.6 212.5 551 1228

70

60

50
抗压强度 /MPa

40
A-0
30 A-1
A-2
20
A-3
A-4
A-5
10
A-6
A-7
0 A-8

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

龄期 /d
Age /d

Figure 1. Compressive strength of cement mortar with mineral admixture

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12

10

抗折强度 /MPa
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6 A-0
A-1
4
A-2
A-3
A-4
2 A-5
A-6
A-7
0
A-8
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

龄期 /d
Age /d

Figure 2. Flexural strength of cement mortar with mineral admixture

According to the test results, compressive strength and flexural strength of
cement mortar increased with age in all specimens. The results showed compressive
strength and flexural strength of cement mortar with only steel slag decreased with
the mixed content; the compressive strength and flexural strength were lower than
that of blast furnace slag cement mortar. The strength of cement mortar with
compound mineral admixture had higher value.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF STEEL SLAG CONCRETE

Compressive strength of steel slag concrete. The compressive strength of concrete
specimens were determined after the 3, 7, 28 days of curing, respectively. The
variation of compressive strength of steel slag concrete was shown in Figure.3. As
expected, the compressive strength increased with age in all the concrete specimens.
The results showed compressive strength of concrete with only steel slag decreased
with the mixed content; the compressive strength was lower than that of blast
furnace slag concrete. However, increase in compressive strength of concrete with
steel slag was higher than that with blast furnace slag between 7 days age and 28
days age. The compressive strength of concrete with compound mineral admixture
(mix code 6) had the highest value.

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60
60

Compressive Strength /MPa

Compressive Strength /MPa 50
50

40 40

30 D-0
D-0 30 D-3
D-2 D-5
D-3 D-6
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20 D-4 D-7
D-5 20
D-8

10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Age /d Age /d

Figure 3. Compressive strength of concrete with mineral admixture

Flexural strength. The flexural strength of concrete with steel slag and blast
furnace slag were also determined after the 3, 7, 28 days of curing. The variation of
flexural strength of steel slag concrete was shown in Figure 4. Test results showed
that flexural strength of steel slag concrete tended to increase fast compare to
compressive strength at later age. When steel slag content was 10 percent of the total
cement, the flexural strength was higher than that of the plain concrete at 28 days
age. The flexural strength of concrete with compound mineral admixture showed the
improvement due to the synergistic effect. The highest value was measured in
concrete with steel slag powder to blast furnace slag ratio of 2.0.
5.0 5.0

4.5 4.5
Flexural Strength /MPa
Flexural Strength /MPa

4.0
4.0

3.5
3.5

D-0 D-0
3.0
D-2 D-3
D-3 3.0 D-5
2.5 D-4 D-6
D-5 D-7
2.5 D-8
2.0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Age /d Age /d

Figure 4. Flexural strength of concrete with mineral admixture

According to the test results, compressive and flexural strength of concrete
with steel slag powder tend to decrease while the content of steel slag increases.
Properties of concrete will be greatly enhanced when compound mineral admixture
with steel slag powder and blast furnace slag is mixed into concrete. Steel slag and
blast furnace slag show the synergistic effect and mutual activation in concrete. On
the other hand, steel slag concrete has lower strength at early age; therefore, steel
slag should be used to control hydration process so that high strength and high

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performance concrete can be obtained.

RESISTANCE TO ABRASION OF CEMENT MORTAR

Mix Proportions. The cement mortar specimens were prepared with two types of
mineral admixture, only steel slag powder and the compound mineral admixture
with steel slag powder and blast furnace slag powder. The specimens prepared with
mineral admixture are summarized in Table 3.
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Table 3. Mix proportion of cement mortar

Mix code Cement Steel slag Blast furnace Water Standard sand
content content slag content content content
(g) (g) (g) (g) (g)

0 400.0 176.0 1000.0

1 280.0 40.0 80.0 176.0 1000.0
2 360.0 40.0 176.0 1000.0
3 280.0 120.0 176.0 1000.0

Experimental results. The contents of abrasion were measured using the standard
test method for abrasion resistance of mortar surfaces by rotating-cutter method
(JTG E30-2005). The contents of abrasion were shown in Figure.5.

3.5
Abrasion Content (kg/m2)

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 1 2 3
Cement Mortar

Figure 5. Abrasion resistance of cement mortar with mineral admixture

Results show that mineral admixtures with steel slag powder as partial
replacement for Portland cement in mortar is an effective means for enhancing
abrasion resistance. The resistance to abrasion of cement mortar with compound
mineral admixture (mix code 1) had the best result. At most a 20% decrease in
abrasion content can be found compared with the standard specimen.

CONCLUSIONS
The high performance concrete can be produced using mineral admixtures - steel
slag powder and blast furnace slag. The recycling of steel slag can bring enormous

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economic benefit and environmental benefit.

Compressive strength and flexural strength of cement mortar increase with
curing age. Compressive strength and flexural strength of cement mortar with only
steel slag decrease with the mixed content; the strengths are lower than that of blast
furnace slag cement mortar. The strength of cement mortar with compound mineral
admixture has higher value.
Compressive and flexural strength of concrete with steel slag powder tend to
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decrease as the content of steel slag increases. Properties of concrete will be greatly
enhanced when compound mineral admixture of steel slag powder and blast furnace
slag is mixed into concrete. Steel slag and blast furnace slag show synergistic effect
and mutual activation in concrete. On the other hand, steel slag concrete has lower
strength at early ages; therefore, steel slag can be used to control the hydration
process so that high strength and high performance concrete can be obtained.
Mineral admixtures with steel slag powder as partial replacement for Portland
cement in mortar is an effective means for enhancing abrasion resistance. The
resistance to abrasion of cement mortar with compound mineral admixture has the
best result.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the Science and Technology Program of
Qingdao City (08-2-1-18-nsh) and the Special Program for "Tai Shan Xue Zhe" of
Shandong Province for financial support of the project.

REFERENCES
Liu, T. C. and Yang, H. M. (2006). “Ultrafine steel slag and latest advance in
blending materials of high performance concrete.” Metal Mine, 41(9), 8-13
Muhammad, I. A. K. and Emmanuel, R. (2007). “Effect of mineral additives on
some of durability parameters of concrete.” Proceeding of International
Conference on Advances in Cement Based Materials and Applications in
Civil Infrastructure, Lahore-Pakistan, 289-299.
Sun, J. Y. and Huang, C. H. (2004). “Influence of slag and steel slag composite on
properties of high content slag concrete.” New Building Materials, 20(7),
13-15.
Sun, S. S., Zhu, G. L., Zhang, Y. (2007). “Application Technology of Iron and Steel
Slag in China.” China Waste Steel.
Zhu, H., Ding, Q. J. and Peng, Y. Z. (2005). “Effect of Super-fine Steel Slag Powder
on Mechanical Properties of Concrete.” Journal of Wuhan University of
Technology, 27(1), 40-43.

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