Effect of Ground-Granulated Blast Furnace Slag and Copper Slag on the Fresh and Hardened Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete

The purpose of the current investigation is to study the effect of copper slag on the fresh and hardened properties of the self-compacting concrete (SCC). The cementitious content consists of ordinary Portland cement and ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GG) in the proportion of 60% and 40%, respectively, which was constant for all mixes. A total of six mixes were prepared with constant water/binder (w/b) ratio and varied content of superplasticizer. The copper slag was used as replacement to the fine aggregates from 0 to 100% with concentration level of 20%. The test conducted on the SCC mixes include fresh properties such as L-box test, T50 time, slump flow test, and V-funnel test. Fresh properties were conducted in Aligarh Muslim University and hardened properties were tested in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, India. The hardened properties conducted on the SCC mixes were ultrasonic pulse velocity test, splitting tensile strength and compressive strength. Results revealed that fresh properties enhanced with increment in the content of copper slag. The slump flow values increased with rise in the concentration of copper slag. The T50 time decreased for SCC mixes containing copper slag. The values of L-box test increased with increment in the proportion of copper slag and time to empty the V-funnel decreased. The compressive strength enhanced up to 40% copper slag substitution, whereas strength decreased on full replacement of fine aggregates. The trend for splitting tensile strength was observed to be similar as compressive strength. The ultrasonic pulse velocity for the different SCC mixes was found to be in the range of good and excellent quality of concrete. The study illustrates that copper slag can be used as replacement to the fine aggregates in SCC.