International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)
Volume 8, Issue 2, February 2017, pp. 328–337 Article ID: IJCIET_08_02_035
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=8&IType=2
ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316
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AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON THE
PERFORMANCE OF HIGH VOLUME GROUND
GRANULATED BLAST FURNACE SLAG CONCRETE
Anand V R
Research Scholar & Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
Shree Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Technology and Management, Udupi Karnataka, India
Prof. Dr. A. V. Pradeep Kumar
Professor and Head, Department of Civil Engineering,
Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India
Aneesh V Bhat
Assistant Professor, Canara Engineering College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
ABSTRACT
This paper reports the effect of high volume of GGBS on the properties of structural
concrete. In this study, GGBS is physically and chemically characterized and partially
replaced in the ratio of 10% to 90% by weight of cement. The fresh properties of GGBS
concrete like slump test and hardened properties like compressive strength, Split tensile
strength, Modulus of Elasticity are carried out. In addition to this the carbon foot prints are
also calculated and the savings per capita per year is determined for reduction of usage of
cement. The test results indicated that fresh and hardened properties of the GGBS concrete
increases as the percentage of replacement of GGBS increases up to certain extent.
Key words: Compressive strength, GGBS, Modulus of Elasticity, Split tensile strength.
Cite this Article: Anand V R, Dr. A. V. Pradeep Kumar and Aneesh V Bhat, An Experimental
Investigation on the Performance of High Volume Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
Concrete. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(2), 2017, pp. 328–337.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=8&IType=2
1. INTRODUCTION
In the present scenario the development of the country is mainly related to the infrastructural
development and industrialisation. This leads to the heavy investment by the authorities in all
developmental activities. During this journey many resources are exposed and are overused. One of
such material is concrete. Survey indicates that, concrete is the second most highly consumed material
next to water. The preparation of concrete requires huge quantities of ingredients like Cement, Fine
aggregates and Coarse aggregates. The second most dangerous issue is the environmental pollution
caused due to the emission of CO2 during the manufacturing process of the cement and the pollution
caused due to the mining of the ingredients of cement. According to the literatures during the
production of one tonne of cement one tonne of CO2 is emitted to the environment, which leads to the
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V. R. Anand, Dr. A. V. Pradeep Kumar and Aneesh V Bhat
global warming and its side effects. On the other hand, to balance the needs of the society and
development, industrialisation is inevitable. Due to this process the society will get the employment
and corresponding indirect benefits. But the other side of this will lead to the overuse or depletion of
the natural resources. Due to industrialisation the industrial wastes are also generated which may
create problems if they are not properly handled. These wastes may directly affect the health and will
create environmental pollution. This is also a serious issue which has to be solved within no time to
sustain in the globe.
In this regard the many researchers all over the globe are focusing on ways of utilizing the
industrial waste, as a source of raw material for another industry. One such attempt is also being in
process in the construction industry. The effect of this in the construction industry is by trying to
utilise the waste products as an ingredient of the cement or concrete, which will also reduce the
consumption of cement in construction, hence leading to less production of cement, reduction in
emission of CO2 to the environment there by reduction of ill effect on environment. In this paper one
of such waste product from steel industry i.e., Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) is
considered as a replacement material for the cement. During this tenure a detailed study has been
conducted about the properties of fresh and hardened concrete, prepared with GGBS as a replacement
to the cement.
2. AIM &OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION
2.1. Aim of the Present Investigation
To determine the beneficial effect on fresh and hardened state properties for concrete made up of high
volume of ground granulated blast furnace slag as a replacement to the cement.
2.2. Objective of Present Investigation
In this work following objectives are considered

To develop structural concrete of M40 grade with low cement content

To use of ground granulated blast furnace slag as a cement replacement with various percentages.

To investigate the effect of GGBS on the workability of concrete.

To determine the effect of GGBS on Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and Modulus of
elasticity
3. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
3.1. Materials
3.1.1. Cement
Ordinary Portland cement of 43 Grade conforming to IS: 8112-1989 is used in the study. The
properties are determined as per the specifications laid by relevant Bureau of Indian standards and the
test results are shown in Table 1
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An Experimental Investigation on the Performance of High Volume Ground Granulated
Blast Furnace Slag Concrete
Table 1 Physical properties of Cement
Sl.
Properties
No.
1 Specific Gravity
2 Normal Consistency
3 Initial Setting Time
4
Final Setting Time
5
Specific Surface area
Values
3.12
31%
75 min
270 min
324.3m2/kg
Requirements as per IS
8112(1989)
About 3.10 to 3.15
About 28% to 35%
Shall not be less than 30 minutes
Shall not be greater than 600
minutes
Minimum 225 m2/kg
3.1.2. Ground Granulate Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS)
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) is a by-product of Iron industry and a waste material
created when the molten slag melted from iron ore is quenched rapidly and then ground into a powder.
The material is tested for chemical and physical properties and the results are presented in Table 2 and
Table 3 respectively.
Table 2 Chemical Properties of GGBS
Properties
Result
Magnesia Content (%)
Sulphide Sulphar (%)
Sulphite content (%)
Manganese content (%)
Chloride content (%)
Glass content (%)
Loss on Ignition (%)
Chemical Modulus
CaO + MgO +SiO2
(CaO + MgO)/SiO2
CaO / SiO2
7.64
0.45
0.4
0.11
0.008
90
0.35
Requirement as per
BS:6699
14.0 (Max)
2.00 (Max)
2.50 (Max)
2.00 (Max)
0.10 (Max)
67 (Min)
3.00 (Max)
76.16
1.34
1.10
66.66 (Min)
>1.0
<1.40
Sl. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Table 3 Physical Properties of GGBS
Sl. No.
1
2
3
4
Properties
Values
2.90
1245
Whitish
383
Specific Gravity
Bulk Density, kg/m3
Colour
Fineness (m2/kg)
3.1.3. Fine Aggregates
Natural river sand is taken as fine aggregates which confirms to Zone II of IS 383:1970 (Reaffirmed
2002). The properties of the fine aggregates are checked before the mix proportioning and the same is
listed in Table 4.
Table 4 Properties of Fine Aggregates
Sl. No.
1
2
Properties
Values
Specific Gravity
Fineness Modulus
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2.53
2.4
Standard value
Ranges from 2.5 to 3.0
Ranges from 2.2 to 3.2
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V. R. Anand, Dr. A. V. Pradeep Kumar and Aneesh V Bhat
3.1.4. Coarse Aggregates
Crushed angular granite coarse aggregates of 20mm and 12.5mm down size confirming to IS
383:1970 (Reaffirmed 2002) are used for the preparation of concrete. A combined gradation is
prepared by mixing the 20mm down size aggregates with 12.5mm down size aggregates with a
proportion of 60:40. The properties of the coarse aggregates are also studied and the results are
tabulated in table 5.
Table 4 Properties of Coarse Aggregates
Sl. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Properties
Result
Specific Gravity
Fineness Modulus
Flakiness Index
Elongation Index
Impact Value
Crushing Strength
2.72
6.2
15.5%
12.65%
16.85%
14.38%
3.1.5. Water
Potable water is used for the preparation of concrete and curing of cube and cylindrical specimens
3.1.6. Hyper Plasticizer
High range water reducing and retarding plasticizer called hyper plasticizers are used for the
preparation of concrete. This type chemical admixture is used to produce flow able or pump able
concrete. The optimum dosage of hyper plasticizer is determined through Marsh Cone Test and is
0.8% to 1.2% by weight of the mass of cementations material that has been used in the present study.
The properties of the hyper plasticizers are tabulated in Table 5
Table 5 Properties of Hyper-Plasticizer
Parameters
Appearance
Base Material
Specific Gravity
pH
Solid Content (%)
Chloride Content (%)
* Furnished by the supplier
Results*
Dark Brown Liquid
Sulphonated Naphthalene Formaldehyde
1.24±0.02@30ºC
Min. 6
44±5
Max. 0.2
3.2. Mix Proportion
A designed control mix of M40 grade is prepared as per the recommendations of IS 10262:2009 by
considering workability of 75 mm of slump and severe exposure conditions after number of trial mixes
by varying cement content. Sufficient care has been taken to minimise the cement content by adhering
to the provisions given in Table 5 of IS 456 -2000. The cement is replaced by GGBS with varying
percentages after reference mix is achieved. The reference mix details and the various percentages of
GGBS in concrete mix which is designated as BFS is tabulated in Table 6.
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An Experimental Investigation on the Performance of High Volume Ground Granulated
Blast Furnace Slag Concrete
Table 6 Mix proportion details for Control mix and GGBS concrete
Materials
Cement
(kg/m3)
GGBS (kg/m3)
Fine Aggregate
(kg/m3)
Coarse Aggregate
[20mm]
(kg/m3)
Coarse Aggregate
[12.5mm]
(kg/m3)
Water
(kg/m3)
Water-Binder Ratio
Optimum dosage of
Hyper-plasticizer, by
weight
BFS1
BFS2
BFS3
BFS4
BFS5
BFS6
BFS7
BFS8
BFS9
330
297
264
231
198
165
132
99
66
33
729
.41
33
66
99
132
165
198
231
264
297
CM
729.41 729.41 729.41 729.41 729.41 729.41 729.41 729.41 729.41
795
.61
795.61 795.61 795.61 795.61 795.61 795.61 795.61 795.61 795.61
428
.41
428.41 428.41 428.41 428.41 428.41 428.41 428.41 428.41 428.41
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
132
0.95%
0.9%
0.85%
0.8%
0.40
1.2 %
1.1%
1.0%
Note:
CM – Controlled Mix
BFS1 – 10% GGBS replaced concrete
BFS2 – 20% GGBS replaced concrete
BFS3 – 30% GGBS replaced concrete
BFS4 – 40% GGBS replaced concrete
BFS5 – 50% GGBS replaced concrete
BFS6 – 60% GGBS replaced concrete
BFS7 – 70% GGBS replaced concrete
BFS8 – 80% GGBS replaced concrete
BFS9 – 90% GGBS replaced concrete
3.3. Specimen Preparation
The cube specimens of 150mm X 150mm X 150mm of 120 numbers are casted to determine concrete
compressive strength at 7, 14, 28 and 56 days curing period. Total 60 cylindrical specimens of 150mm
diameter and 300mm height are cast to determine split tensile strength and 30 number of specimens to
determine modulus of elasticity at 28 days curing period. All the specimens are water cured.
3.4. Testing of Concrete Specimens
3.4.1. Compressive Strength Test
The compressive strength test is conducted by using Compression Testing Machine as per IS 516:
1959 (Reaffirmed 2004).This test is carried out for both controlled concrete and the GGBS concretes
with different replacement levels for 7, 14, 28 and 56 days curing period. The test results are tabulated
in Table 7.
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V. R. Anand, Dr. A. V. Pradeep Kumar and Aneesh V Bhat
Figure 1 Compression Testing of cube specimens
3.4.2. Split Tensile Strength test
Split tensile strength test for the concrete specimen are conducted as per IS 5816:1999 (Reaffirmed
2004). The test is carried for both controlled concrete specimens and GGBS replaced concrete
specimens. The test results are tabulated in Table 8.
Figure 2 Split tensile Strength testing of cylindrical specimens
3.4.3. Test to determine Modulus of Elasticity
The modulus of elasticity (E), is determined on cylinder specimens in accordance with the guidelines
of IS 516:1959 (Reaffirmed 2004). In the present study, the secant modulus is calculated by taking the
slope of the chord from the origin to some arbitrary point on the stress–strain curve. The secant
modulus (Ec) calculated for 40% of the maximum stress. The secant modulus of controlled concrete
and containing GGBS with different replacement levels at 28 days is given in Fig. 7.
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An Experimental Investigation on the Performance of High Volume Ground Granulated
Blast Furnace Slag Concrete
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1. Tests on Fresh Concrete – Workability (Slump cone Test)
90
80
Slump, mm
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
CM
BFS1 BFS2 BFS3 BFS4 BFS5 BFS6 BFS7 BFS8 BFS9
Figure 3 Slump Test results
It is observed that as the GGBS percentage increases the workability also increases up to 50
percent replacement of cement and further it decreases as per the figure 3.The optimum dosage of the
hyper plasticizers is reduced as the percentage of the GGBS content increases. The reduction in the
workability may be due to the more fineness of GGBS and the surface area available for the fluidity is
more. There is no chance of absorption because of the very less value of Loss on Ignition of the GGBS
which is attributing the reduction of workability.
4.2. Compressive Strength Test
Table 7 Compressive Strength for different curing periods
Curing Period, Days
07
Type of concrete
14
28
56
Compressive Stress, N/mm2
CM
47.20
54.30
57.40
58.20
BFS1
57.63
55.56
59.85
56.89
BFS2
60.00
57.78
60.74
65.48
BFS3
61.33
62.52
62.37
68.00
BFS4
64.15
65.78
73.48
76.15
BFS5
60.15
66.67
73.93
75.70
BFS6
52.00
60.15
70.37
72.74
BFS7
48.00
52.74
60.59
67.70
BFS8
33.04
45.36
49.19
55.25
BFS9
26.37
32.23
35.11
38.12
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V. R. Anand, Dr. A. V. Pradeep Kumar and Aneesh V Bhat
Compressive Stress, N/mm2
80
70
60
50
7 Days
40
14 Days
30
28 Days
20
56 Days
10
0
CM BFS1 BFS2 BFS3 BFS4 BFS5 BFS6 BFS7 BFS8 BFS9
Figure 4 Compressive Strength for different curing periods
As per the Table 7 and Figure 4, it is observed that 40 and 50% replacement of cement by GGBS
is the optimum content which can be adopted for the concrete constructions. The strength at 28 days
for the GGBS concrete is very much higher than the required strength. Hence it proves that at higher
replacement percentage of GGBS, concrete gains the required strength at 28 days of curing. This is
mainly because of the void filling theory and the pozzolanic reactions at the early stages of curing.
4.3. Split Tensile Strength Test
5
Split Tensile Stress, N/mm2
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
CM
BFS1 BFS2 BFS3 BFS4 BFS5 BFS6 BFS7 BFS8 BFS9
Figure 5 Split Tensile Strength at 28 days of curing
From Figure 5 it is observed that the split tensile strength of the 40% GGBS concrete is 19.57%
higher than the tensile strength of the controlled reference concrete. This may be due to proper
packing and void filling theory of the GGBS.
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An Experimental Investigation on the Performance of High Volume Ground Granulated
Blast Furnace Slag Concrete
CM
BFS1 BFS2 BFS3
BFS4 BFS5 BFS6
50.26
49.86
49.56
47.1
46.08
45.33
44.48
42.64
40.54
39.98
Modulus of Elasticity, GPa
4.4. Modulus of Elasticity Test
BFS7 BFS8 BFS9
Type of concrete
Figure 6 Modulus of Elasticity of concrete at 28 days of curing
From the table 10 and figure 6 it is observed that the replacement level of cement by GGBS
increases the modulus of elasticity increases.
5. CONCLUSION
Based on the present investigation, the following conclusion are drawn

The compressive strength test results indicate that, the GGBS can be used as a pozzolanic material and
can be beneficially used in high volumes for the structural concrete elements.

It is found that 40 and 50% of GGBS replacement of cement will yield better strength as compared to
controlled concrete.

The replacement of cement by GGBS for 80 to 90% shows the strength of 10 to 20% of cement content
in concrete of M30 to M40 grade.

From the split tensile strength results, it is found that 40% of GGBS replacement with cement will yield
better tensile strength as compared to controlled concrete.

As the percentage of GGBS increases in the concrete the modulus of elasticity of concrete also
increases.

Use of GGBS in concrete at higher volumes will be beneficial for the structural concrete and reduces
CO2 emission which in-turn reduces the environmental pollution &solves the problem of disposal of
hazardous industrial waste. This industrial waste becomes the resource material in construction
industry, as a result there is saving in energy and money which makes the construction green.
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