Durability of high-performance self-compacted concrete using electric arc furnace slag aggregate and cupola slag powder

Abstract

The current trend in the development of self-compacting concrete with sustainable construction materials has served as a guide to design a novel self-compacting concrete, with siderurgical by-products (steel slag aggregates and cupola slag powder as supplementary cementing material) that also meets the demands of high-performance concrete. This research sets out to clarify the unknown behavior of slag concrete, its durability, which is the ability to withstand any process that tends to deteriorate it. In order to assess the durability of this eco-friendly concrete, three control mixes were manufactured with the same high-quality coarse aggregate (diabase) and three different fines, limestone filler, fly ash and cupola slag powder. All the mixtures were subjected to the same tests, the results demonstrate that steel slag concrete shows an excellent response against carbonation, a slightly lower response against thermal shock cycles, similar drying shrinkage and a superior response against the action of freezing-thawing cycles and abrasion wear in comparison to the control mixes.