Influence of incorporation of granulated blast furnace slag as replacement of fine aggregate on properties of concrete

Conservation of natural resources, efficient utilization of industrial waste and reduction of environmental pollution are major driving forces behind the use of waste products generated from different industries in making various cementitious products. Moreover, alternate sources of fine aggregates are to be explored to fulfill the acute shortage of natural aggregates in various parts of the world. Therefore, the present study tries to explore alternative sources of fine aggregate by investigating the effect of incorporation of granulated blast furnace slag (GBS) as replacement of natural fine aggregate on the properties of concrete mixes. For this, concrete mixes are prepared with two water/cement ratios (0.45 and 0.5) and three different percentages of GBS (20%, 40%, and 60%). Various properties of concrete mixes such as workability, compressive strength after 7, 28 and 90 days, splitting tensile and flexural strength, and rebound number have been studied to ascertain the influence of incorporation of GBS in concrete. The test results show an improvement in compressive and tensile strength of concrete with the incorporation of GBS in concrete mixes. The development in compressive strength at different curing time is similar to that of normal concrete. Furthermore, the study depicts that rebound number of concrete increases with increasing percentages of GBS, which indicates the improvement in the quality of concrete with the incorporation of GBS in concrete. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.