Study of durability and mechanical properties for utilization of cupola slag as a coarse aggregate in M20 grade green concrete

Abstract

Cupola slag is an industrial waste generated from cupola furnaces during cast iron production. The disposal of cupola slag is a matter of burden for the manufacturers of casting industry. This experimental study aims to reuse cupola furnace slag (CFS) in the construction industry, developing a novel way of solid waste management. In the M20 grade concrete, CFS is used as coarse aggregate (CA), partially replaced by 0–50 wt % in the step of 10 wt %. The mechanical and durability properties of the CFS-based concrete were examined after the required days of curing. The experimental result exposed that the dry density decreases with the increased weight percent of CFS in concrete. The cast samples with up to 40 wt% partial replacement of CFS effectively meet the requirements for the M20 grade of concrete in terms of compressive strength. A similar trend for the split tensile strength was observed, like the compressive strength. Durability test results reveal that water penetration depth increases with increased CFS weight percent in concrete. Moreover, in the case of rapid chloride penetration test, chloride ions penetration is decreased with the increase of CFS weight percent in concrete. FESEM, EDS and XRD were used to examine the microstructure, elemental mapping and phase analysis of the CFS-based concrete. According to the investigation, CFS is a sustainable material that works well as a partial replacement for natural CA in concrete.