High-performance concrete with cement containing slag and silica fume

For each tonne of cement used, the cement industry emits an average of 0.9 t of CO2, which contributes to the greenhouse effect. To satisfy the demands of the concrete industry for cementing materials, new environmental requirements, and the implementation of a sustainable development policy, the use of supplementary cementitious material as a replacement of part of the Portland cement has proven to be an interesting avenue that has not yet been fully explored. Granulated blast-furnace slag has been and is being used as a supplementary cementitious material in replacement of cement in many countries. In Canada, its proportion is usually limited to 20-25% of cement replacement owing to a significant decrease in early age compressive strength as well as a lower scaling resistance. In this study, we have tried to show that by reducing the water:cement ratio we can increase cement replacement by slag up to 50% without harming its short-term compressive strength and scaling resistance. The concretes that were prepared had a workability comparable to that of the reference concrete without slag, sufficient compressive strength to allow demoulding after 24 h, very low chloride ion permeability even at 28 d, as well as very good freeze-thaw and scaling resistance, as long as it is water-cured for a slightly longer period.