Performing self-compacting concrete with electric arc-furnace slag as aggregates

The electric steelmaking industry is of great importance to the economy of the Basque Country (Spain). In all, 600,000 tons of electric arc-furnace (EAF) slag are produced every year; a by-product that this research group believes can be transformed into a useful resource. One of the uses of this material is as an aggregate in hydraulic mixes. Many studies have demonstrated that hydraulic mixes manufactured with EAF slag have at least the same mechanical behaviour and durability as ordinary concrete. However, their weaknesses are their higher density and poorer workability. In this paper, the aim is to demonstrate that manufacturing slag concrete to an acknowledged standard of workability is possible; so the objective is to manufacture self-compacting concrete using EAF slag in partial substitution of aggregates. Our analysis of the successful manufacture of three different self-compacting mixes, their properties in the fresh state and their mechanical behaviour yielded very encouraging results.