Effect Of Silica Fume On Steel Slag Concrete

Abstract

Concrete is the most versatile construction material because it can be designed to withstand the harshest environments while taking on the most inspirational forms. Engineers are continually pushing the limits to improve its performance with the help of innovative chemical admixtures and supplementary cementitious materials. Nowadays, most concrete mixture contains supplementary cementitious material which forms part of the cementitious component. These materials are majority byproducts from other processes. The main benefits of SCMs are their ability to replace certain amount of cement and still able to display cementitious property, thus reducing the cost of using Portland cement. The fast growth in instralisation has resulted in tons and tons of byproduct or waste materials, which can be used as SCMs such as fly ash, silica fume, ground granulated blast furnace slag, steel slag etc. The use of these byproducts not only helps to utilize these waste materials but also enhances the properties of concrete in fresh and hydrated states. Slag cement and fly ash are the two most common SCMs used in concrete.