Influence of Steel Slag on the Mechanical Properties of Concrete Mix: An Experimental Investigation

Cement plays an important role in the development of infrastructures such as bridges, buildings, highways, etc. However, the adverse effects of greenhouse effect (due to emission of CO2) and health issues (people residing or working near to the cement plants) by the consumption of cement also have been reported by several studies across the world. Therefore, the present study is focusing on the utilization of electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) (i.e., a waste produced during the manufacturing of steel) as the partial substitute of cement in the concrete applications. Consequently, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) of grade 43 was partially replaced with the EAFS in varying proportions, i.e., 0–30%. The physical and mechanical properties of EAFS blended mix were examined to verify the influence of EAFS dosage on concrete mix properties. It was observed that the increase of EAFS results in the decrease in the compressive strength up to 27% in comparison with the normal concrete mix (i.e., 41.03 MPa). Therefore, it is suggested and concluded to utilize the EAFS as a substitute of cement up to 30% for rural roads construction only as the EAFS blended mix exhibits 30.23 MPa strength.