A brief review on workability characteristics of iron slag concrete

Abstract

The population growth, industrial development, housing demand & infrastructure upgradation are increasing the need for concrete day by day, consequently exerting an enormous burden on natural resources. Sustainability in the construction industry is of great importance these days as the rate of exploiting natural resources for extracting aggregates and cement is greater than the rate of self-renewal of these natural resources. The practice of recycling the industrial waste in concrete as an approach to preserving finite natural resources is common these days. Also, the use of waste materials decreases the carbon footprints & shows sustainability in the construction industry as an alternative to conventional materials. Iron slag (IS) is one such industrial by-product derived from the iron and steel industries. IS can be processed to resemble the size of natural fine aggregate (NFA) in concrete. The physical characteristics of IS alter the fresh as well as hardened properties of concrete. The workability of concrete is an important aspect while designing any type of blended concrete. This paper briefly reviews some of the workability properties indicating the fresh-state performance of iron/steel slag concrete. The effects of different tests due to slag content are also examined. The present paper encompasses the existing literature on the workability characteristics of concrete made with IS as an NFA supplant. The literature reveals the enhancement in the workability in the concrete when the incorporation of IS with NFA supersede. The contradictory results along with the research gaps and future scopes have also been presented in the present study to provide an in-depth analysis of the effect of IS as an NFA substitution on the fresh-state properties of concrete.