The Mechanical Properties of Foamed Concrete containing Un-processed Blast Furnace Slag

School of Housing, Building & Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, P. Pinang 1800, Malaysia

Abstract

For many years, supplementary cementation materials have been utilized as cement or filler replacements to heighten the properties of concrete. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the effects of un-processed blast furnace slag (RS) on the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths of foam concrete over periods of 7, 14 and 28 days. The introduction of slag to the cement begins at 30% and rises to 70% of the total content. Six mixes, which include the control mix with a similar mix ratio (1:2:0.45) and a dry density of 1300 kg/m³ is generated. Taking into consideration, from the total weight of the cementation material, 1% of super- plasticizer (PS-1) is added to the mixes with slag content. Test results revealed that the most favourable (optimum) replacement level of un-processed slag in foam concrete is 30%. This represents a commercial advantage as the cement requirement is reduced from 414 Kg/m³ to 290 Kg/m³. On the 28^th day, the optimum mix showed higher values than the control mix by 32% for compressive strength, 46.5% for splitting tensile strength and 61% for flexural strength.