Laboratory Studies on Cement Stabilized Weathered Steel Slag for Use in Pavement Base Course

Use of steel slag has seen rapid growth for past few years in various construction works but its use in pavement base course has been very limited. The present study focuses on design of cement stabilized weathered steel slag (WSS) for its potential use as cement treated base (CTB) layer in road pavements. A series of tests were performed on the WSS such as unconfined compressive strength (UCS), flexural strength (FS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) at varying dosages of Portland pozzolana cement (PPC). Initial results indicate that cement stabilization of this slag fulfills the requirements of the CTB layer with moderate dosage of 4%. With lower dosage of PPC (i.e. 2%), cracks were observed in the specimens, however with higher dosages, the specimens were found to be stable. More tests on the WSS to assess its durability will ensure its potential as CTB layer in pavements.