Effect of ferronickel slag as fine aggregate on properties of concrete

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of ferronickel slag replacing sand as fine aggregate on the properties of concrete under the same superplasticizer content. The results indicate that the addition of two types of ferronickel slag decrease the workability of fresh concrete. The addition of blast furnace slag (BS) obviously decreases the apparent density of concrete while the addition of electric furnace slag (ES) slightly increases the apparent density. Mechanical strengths increase with BS content increasing, but decrease with ES content increasing. High BS content can improve the resistance of concrete to chloride ion penetration while using ES as fine aggregate has little effect on the resistance to chloride ion penetration. Water absorption of concrete decreases with BS content increasing but increases with ES content increasing. BS has a positive impact on sulfate attack resistance and fire resistance. Using 25% ES also has an active effect on resisting sulfate attack. However, the addition of ES has little effect on improving the fire resistance of concrete. As a result, using 75% BS or 25% ES is the best choices in engineering application.