BASIC OXYGEN STEEL SLAG AS SURFACE COURSE AGGREGATE: AN INVESTIGATION OF SKID RESISTANCE

Around 1M tonnes of Basic Oxygen Steel (BOS) slag are produced as a by-product of steel making in the UK each year. Increasing its use as an aggregate in road surfacings has potential environmental benefits of reducing demand for both tipping space and quarried premium aggregate. TRL has carried out a three-year research project for Viridis (an ENTRUST Approved Environmental Body), directed at providing a research base that would encourage the future use of BOS slag in road surface courses. The work combined studies to assess the performance of the material in laboratory polishing tests with an assessment of its skidding resistance on the road. Skid resistance monitoring with SCRIM covered a number of sites where BOS had been used, including a purpose-laid trial. (A)