Ground granulated blast-furnace slag as a means of increasing the efficiency and durability of concrete

Ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) is used as a component of cement, active mineral additive or filler in the production of concrete, mortar, dry building mixtures and other materials. This article provides information about the production of GGBS at OOO Mechel-Materials. According to numerous studies, GGBS can provide concrete with a significantly greater durability than Portland cement-based concretes that do not contain GGBS. In many countries, blast-furnace slag is almost completely utilized in the production of cements and concretes, but in Russia such material is often perceived as waste. This is largely due to the lack of a national standard for GGBS in this country, unlike many other countries. The article provides information on an in-house standard for GGBS, developed and approved by OOO Mechel-Materials, which harmonizes the requirements of all European and Russian standards that apply to GGBS. The main results of studies of how the ratio of Portland cement and GGBS affect the basic construction and technical properties of the resulting cement are presented. The data of a number of published works show the high efficiency of using GGBS not only in ordinary, but also in highly functional concretes: fast-hardening, high-strength, waterproof, frost-resistant, sulfate-resistant ones.

Author: I.M. Ivanov, L.Ya. Kramar, M.V. Mordovtseva

Section: Waste utilization

Keywords: ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), cement, activity, heat of hydration, sulphate resistance, concrete, efficiency, durability