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The use of electric arc furnace oxidizing slag (EAFS) is discussed in matrixes, such as road bases, soil slag, and embankments,
this paper as a high-quality coarse aggregate for the manufacture among others. The work presented in this paper is an
of concrete. Ladle furnace reducing slag (LFS) is also discussed, innovation in this field and centers on the application of slag
both as a fine aggregate and a potentially hydraulic material. A types in hydraulic concrete matrixes made with portland
single system is used for proportioning this type of concrete, in
which the presence of very fine inert materials is a determinant.
cement. It proposes the use of crushed and weathered EAFS
The properties of this type of fresh concrete are evaluated, which in as a coarse aggregate for concretes, in which the fine aggregate
some cases exhibit rapid setting. In a hardened state, their physico- is also partially composed of EAFS (thereby avoiding its use
mechanical properties are those of high-quality concretes, showing as landfill material), limestone sand, and LFS. This innovative
outstanding compressive strength. It is concluded that high propor- use of LFS requires a detailed analysis of its behavior as filler
tions of EAFS and moderate proportions of LFS may be used in the in concrete mixtures, its hydraulic properties, and its inter-
manufacture of precast concretes, and that, in this case, the latter action with portland cement. It is also necessary to evaluate
demonstrates considerable hydraulic activity. the properties of concretes obtained in fresh and hardened
Keywords: electric arc furnace slag; ladle furnace slag; rapid setting;
states, as the results will demonstrate their effectiveness.
recycling; strength; workability. The practical aspects of mixture proportioning are considered
essential to this work to make innovative use of these by-products
INTRODUCTION in civil construction and building, and employing approaches that
The cement, mortar, and concrete industry is a sector are technically and economically feasible.
of activity that currently contributes notably to the global
emission of greenhouse gases, mainly in the form of RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
carbon dioxide (CO2).1 In the case of portland cement, Certain steelmaking by-products, such as EAFS and LFS,
this gas is emitted due to the decomposition of its raw can both be used as components of normal concrete. The
materials, calcination processes, and the combustion of proportioning and manufacture of this concrete calls for
fuel in its manufacture, being the most critical from this special considerations because of its low workability and
point of view.2 The use of industrial by-products to replace rapid setting times. However, the general quality of well-
natural aggregates can induce important benefits in direct manufactured slag concretes in terms of their mechanical
sustainability, reducing landfill deposits and the exploitation properties is rather good.
of natural resources.3-6
Two kinds of electric steelmaking by-products may Experimental Investigation
constitute sources for recycling: electric arc furnace Several research projects, as reported in the scientific and
oxidizing slag (EAFS) and ladle furnace reducing slags technical literature on the subject are at present and have in
(LFS). Production per tonnes (2207 lb) of steel manufactured the recent past been undergoing developments in this field,
amounts to approximately 0.16 tonnes (353 lb) of EAFS and and are summarized in the following paragraphs.
0.04 tonnes (88 lb) of LFS.7 Both contain the normal oxides: Since the early 1990s, various authors11-19 have proposed
silica, alumina, lime, and magnesia. The basicity of LFS systematic characterizations with a view to the possible
(generated in the basic refining process) is higher than that reuse of EAFS. In relation to this study, in the 1990s,
of EAFS (generated in the acid-refining process); and the some authors20,21 have analyzed the use of EAFS as aggre-
latter has a considerable amount of iron oxide, comprising gates in concrete mixtures. Later on, the results obtained
nearly half its total mass. by numerous authors22-28 all reported satisfactory results.
The recycling of these types of slags in the field of Chang et al.29 performed a carbonation curing to use EAFS
construction and civil engineering is an important line of in concrete mixtures. Qasrawi et al.30 proposed the use of
research. Prominent studies over the last decade suggest iron oxide scale and Etxeberria et al. 31 proposed the use of
that they may be considered high-quality materials,8,9 hence foundry sand in the preparation of concrete. Faraone et al.32
the need to investigate appropriate applications. Potential and Rodríguez et al.33 characterized high-quality mortars
volumetric expansion is a notorious feature in the use of using EAFS.
both types of slag; however, their weak hydraulicity after air
cooling leaves these products outside the field of ecological
and sustainable “slag cements.” ACI Materials Journal, V. 108, No. 6, November-December 2011.
Accordingly, one may distinguish between two categories MS No. M-2011-032.R2 received February 13, 2011, and reviewed under Institute
publication policies. Copyright © 2011, American Concrete Institute. All rights
regarding their application: first, their use in rigid mixtures, reserved, including the making of copies unless permission is obtained from the
among which are masonry mortar, hydraulic concrete, or copyright proprietors. Pertinent discussion including author’s closure, if any, will be
published in the September-October 2012 ACI Materials Journal if the discussion is
bituminous mixtures10; and secondly, flexible or nonrigid received by June 1, 2012.
Table 1—Physical properties and chemical composition of portland cement and ladle furnace slag
Specific gravity, Blaine, m2/kg
Composition percent and properties CaO SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO Others SO3 Free MgO Free CaO Mg/m3 (lb/ft3) (ft2/lb)
Portland cement 62 21 5 3.5 1.5 1 2.7 — 3.3 3.13 (193) 410 (2002)
LFS 58 17 12 — 10 1.5 1 3 to 4 10 to 20 2.65 (164) 206 (1006)
Chemical composition, %
Sum of iron oxides SiO2 CaO Al2O3 MgO MnO Others
42.5 15.5 24 7.5 5 4.5 1
high fineness of the LFS, which in this case gave a result in Table 6—Mixture setting time measured in
the interval of 30 to 60 mm (1.2 to 2.4 in.). The presence of Vicat apparatus
fine LFS particles improved its workability. Mixture D-1 D-2 and D-3 D-4 D-5
In a second step, Mixtures D-3 and D-4 were prepared. In
Weight ratio LFS/PC 0/10 7.5/10 15/10 7.5/8
Mixture D-3, the limestone sand in Mixture D-2 was replaced
by EAFS sand and, in hindsight, the planned decrease in the Weight ratio LFS/PC, % 0/100 43/57 60/40 49/51
w/c to maintain workability (less fineness, w/c = 0.65) was Water, % weight 24 27 29.5 28
deemed an error: the slump decreased to 5 mm (0.2 in.) due
Initial setting, minutes 114 42 18 16
to the particular geometry of fine EAFS. In Mixture D-4, the
limestone sand in Mixture D-2 was replaced by LFS (finer Final setting, minutes 190 70 41 39
and blunt), and the w/c was increased to a high value (0.8),
which gave an acceptable slump of 45 mm (1.8 in.). to the clinker. The proportions between PC and LFS used in
In a third step, in Mixture D-5, which has Mixture D-3 these normal-consistency pastes were the same proportions
as its reference, the cement content was decreased to of both materials contained in Mixtures D-1 to D-5. The
300 kg/m3 (18.5 lb/ft3) (–15%) with a slow increase in the results of the setting times recorded in these tests are shown
w/c up to 0.7 to maintain a suitable amount of water. The in Table 6.
results for workability in this case were, as expected, very The results on the normal-consistency paste corresponding
similar to the original D-3 mixture (5 mm [0.2 in.]). to Mixture D-1 reflects the initial and final setting of the
Considering the values of the w/c and the obtained slumps, portland cement used in this work (refer to Tables 1 and 6).
this paper presents a first characteristic in the behavior of Pastes reflecting the proportions of LFS to PC in the other
slags in concrete mixtures. The role of LFS is next to that mixtures show shorter initial and final setting times. This
of the lime in hydraulic mixtures, increasing the plasticity corresponded with Mixtures D-4 and D-5, which were the
and the demand of water due to its fine, blunt, and smooth most likely to undergo this problem due to their higher LFS/
particles. However, in contrast to this, the crushed EAFS PC ratios. Setting times were longer in Mixtures D-2 and
is porous and its particles are angular with sharp edges; D-3 than in Mixtures D-4 and D-5, but also clearly below the
both of these factors lead to a decrease in workability, suitable values demonstrated by Mixture D-1. Hence, it is
especially when the fine aggregate has this morphology. important to consider the risk of overly rapid setting, which
Mixtures D-3 and D-5 with higher EAFS fine aggregate can make laying of these concrete Mixtures D-2 to D-5 in
contents have the lowest slump (5 mm [0.2 in.]), whereas practical construction difficult or even impossible. It can
Mixture D-4 with the high LFS content presents the higher be confidently stated from an analysis of the data presented
slump (45 mm [1.8 in.]). in Table 6, that it is inadvisable to exceed the proportion
40/60 in the LFS/PC ratio.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A recent paper by the authors57 has shown the results of
Setting properties severe weathering and hydration on several types of LFS.
Rapid setting was observed during the mechanical mixing The calcium silicates of LFS (in their allotropic forms)
of the components in some cases; the concrete mixer present low to zero hydraulicity (without the use of chemical
became blocked after a few minutes, making a satisfactory activators), but the calcium aluminates (monocalcium
mixture impossible. Initially, this situation was observed in aluminate, tricalcium aluminate, and mayenite) can present
Mixture D-4—which has the highest content of LFS—but a considerable degree of hydraulicity. Therefore, the
also in Mixture D-3 and then in Mixture D-5. proportion of reactive calcium aluminates contained in the
It was decided that a similar test to that prescribed in original portland cement (tricalcium aluminate proposed in
the ASTM C191-0859 (setting times in portland cement) the Bogue formulation) is increased by its mixture with LFS,
should be applied to different proportional mixtures of and this, it may be hypothesized, could be the possible cause
portland cement and LFS. A paste of normal consistency of the observed rapid setting. The addition of supplementary
was prepared, taking the PC-LFS mixtures as a compound calcium sulfate provides a viable solution to the questions
cement in which the LFS could be considered an addition raised and confirms the diagnosis.
Certainly, the addition of a small quantity (2% on weight important consideration related to their ultimate design,
of cement) of calcium sulfate (gypsum) to Mixtures D-4 and manufacture, and efficiency of the modes of use in which
D-5, and 1% to Mixtures D-2 and D-3 slowed lead time they are employed. This question, which is discussed in
setting to usual values of over 3 hours. This procedure this section, is not accurately addressed in the scientific
slowed an overly rapid hydration of aluminates from PC and technical literature on the subject. To obtain useful
and LFS leading to the formation of primary ettringite (refer results, it is necessary to design these mixtures on the basis
to Hewlett60).These observations raise pertinent questions of two conditions: the matrix porosity, and the suitable and
relating to the future use of LFS in hydraulic mixtures. equilibrate content between the very fine fraction of inert
aggregates (with a size under 0.063 mm [0.025 in.] passing
Physico-mechanical properties of hardened concrete the No. 200 sieve) and the hydraulic reactive fine fraction,
Table 7 presents the physical data regarding densities, provided by the portland cement and the remainder of
water absorption, and porosity of the different mixtures reactive materials as LFS.
employed in the tests. EAFS is a heavy and porous material, In this paper, the authors propose to evaluate the hydraulic
and when it is used as aggregate it will produce higher density activity of LFS, stating that a fraction of the total LFS mass
and higher porosity values than those commonly found in in mixtures is active and the remainder of the LFS will
commercial hardened concrete. The fifth row of Table 7 cites be considered inert. To quantify the question, the initial
matrix porosity as the difference between the total porosity hypothesis cites that the hydraulically active fraction is
of mixtures measured by the classical immersion procedure a part of the finer fraction (passing the No. 200 sieve) for
and detailed in the previous row and the porosity of its EAFS LFS, and the thick particles retained by the No. 200 sieve are
coarse and fine aggregate specified in Table 3. inert. Thus, this LFS may be characterized by the following
Mixtures D-3 and D-5 are the densest of the series, which proportions and properties:
is understandable, as both Mixtures D-3 and D-5 contain
• A less fine inert fraction (30% of total weight retained
larger amounts of heavy EAFS. Moreover, Mixture D-4 is
by a No. 200 sieve);
the most porous; it has the highest ratio (w/c = 0.8)—a value
• A fine fraction that is hydraulically active (approximately
that is clearly excessive.
40% of the total weight); and
Compressive mechanical tests were performed on
the 100 x 100 x 100 mm (4 x 4 x 4 in.) cube specimens at 7, • A fine inert fraction (approximately 30% of the total weight).
28, 90, 180, and 360 days after pouring the fresh concrete. These numerical values are proposed on the basis of this
A factor of approximately 0.8 is used to estimate coarse research team’s experience with LFS and on the composi-
corresponding values of compressive strength in equivalent tions and proportions presented in Table 4. They will be
cylindrical specimens of 150 x 300 mm (6.7 x 11.8 in.). confirmed or otherwise by the results of the calculations
Table 7 lists the results of the mechanical compression test. performed on the concrete mixtures in this paper.
The portland cement contained reactive calcium silicates Mixture D-1—Reference Mixture D-1 may be considered
and aluminates, and the LFS contained, at the outset of the a “conventional” concrete mixture suitable for use in the
test, inert calcium silicates, reactive calcium aluminates manufacture of precast elements if a low slump is required.
(AC3, Mayenite), and portlandite. The Blaine fineness of Its density is higher than commercial concrete due to the
PC is 400 m2/kg (1953 ft2/lb) and the fineness in the LFS is use of EAFS aggregate. The evolution of its strength over
lower at 200 m2/kg (977 ft2/lb). The strength results obtained time (refer to Fig. 2) is understandable when observing that
in Mixtures D-1, D-2, and D-3 demonstrate hydraulic capillary water retained in EAFS results in a delayed curing
reactivity of LFS in these types of concretes, probably and, therefore, the mixture may be considered well-graded
interacting and catalyzed by the components and hydraulic and well-proportioned in relation to its water and inert
reactions of PC. The presence of reactive aluminates in LFS fines content. This mixture demonstrates a good strength
largely contributes to the short-term compressive strength of evolution in compression (refer to Table 7) of 46.6 MPa
the mixtures. (6.8 ksi) at 28 days and 58.9 MPa (8.5 ksi) at 1 year.
The correct proportioning of these types of concrete The matrix porosity in Mixture D-1 has been calculated
mixtures, containing very porous EAFS aggregate and at 9% (refer to Table 7); values below 10% are considered
relevant proportions of LFS as fine aggregate, is a very excellent, and tolerable at below 12%. If the porosity