Study on properties of concrete containing granulated blast furnace slag

Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GBFS) is obtained by quenching molten iron blast furnace slag (a by-product of iron and steel making) in water or stream, to produce a glassy granular product that is then dried and ground into a fine powder. Blended cement concrete is known to have lower pore connection and smaller pore size which it means to have lower risk of chloride penetration. GBFS is a green construction material used to make durable concrete structures in combination with Portland cement (PC). Manufacturing of Portland cement is a major contributor of greenhouse gases, responsible for about 5% of all global carbon dioxide emissions. By comparison, production of GBFS requires less than a fifth the energy and produces less than a tenth of the carbon dioxide emissions. Replacing PC with GBFS can significantly decrease the risk of sulfate attack, alkali silica reaction and chloride penetration. In this work, over 200 samples with various w/c ratios and various percentage of GBFS has been cast. Various tests to measure the pore structure of concrete have been studied. Replacing PC partially with GBFS shows very good results on various aspects of concrete characteristics.