Electric arc furnace granulated slag as a partial replacement of natural aggregates for concrete production

The present paper deals with the use of industrial by-products from Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) for the partial replacement of natural aggregates commonly used to manufacture concrete. Three different grading of EAF granulated slag were considered. The rheological and mechanical properties of concrete manufactured with a partial replacement of natural aggregates with slag were determined. Dry shrinkage of hardened concrete was also evaluated. Results indicated that the maximum percentage of natural aggregate replaced with EAF granulated slag is about 15% in order to limit the superplasticizer dosage to attain the same workability class (S4) of the reference mixture at the end of the mixing procedure. The higher the percentage of granulated slag, the higher the specific mass, the elastic modulus in compression and the compressive strength of the concrete. On the other hand, dry shrinkage of the concrete increases by adding a greater amount of EAF granulated slag. As a consequence of the experimental results use of EAF granulated slag in concrete production is limited for the higher specific mass (higher dead loads and seismic vulnerability of the structures) and the higher sensitivity to crack (higher elastic modulus and dry shrinkage) with respect concrete manufactured with natural aggregates only.