SIGNIFICANCE OF BLAST FURNACE SLAG AS COARSE AGGREGATE IN SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE

Self compacting concrete (SCC) is a flowing concrete mixture that is able to consolidate under its own weight. The highly workable nature of SCC makes it suitable for placing in complex structural elements and in sections with congested reinforcement. Utilization of industrial waste products in the construction industry draws serious attention of many researchers and investigators. In this study an experimental investigation has been carried out to study the significance of blast furnace slag as partial replacement for coarse aggregate in fly ash blended self compacting concrete. The coarse aggregate was replaced by blast furnace slag at 10% to 100% and various tests were conducted to determine the optimum level of replacement of blast furnace slag in self compacting concrete. The specimens were subjected to compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength tests in addition to fresh concrete properties. Slump flow, J-ring test, L-box, U-box and V-funnel tests were carried out for evaluating fluidity, filling ability and segregation properties of the fresh concrete. Based on the overall observations it could be concluded that an increase in slag proportion increases the strength properties and among the various percentages of replacement 30% is found to be optimum for maximum strength properties.