GBFS in Cement and Condrete

11/6/2017 e.
Proofing | Springer
Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag

Winnie Matthes 1✉
Phone: +41 58 850 5533
Email: winnie.matthes@lafargeholcim.com
Anya Vollpracht 2
Phone +49 241 80 95116
Email vollpracht@ibac.rwth-aachen.de
Yury Villagrán 3,4

Phone +54 221 4831141
Email yuryvillagran@conicet.gov.ar
Siham Kamali-Bernard 5
Phone +33 2 23 23 83 20
Email siham.kamali-bernard@insa-rennes.fr
Doug Hooton 6
Phone (416) 978 5912
Email d.hooton@utoronto.ca
Elke Gruyaert 4
Phone: +32 9 264 55 37
Email: Elke.Gruyaert@kuleuven.be
Marios Soutsos 7
Phone +44 28 9097 4023
Email m.soutsos@qub.ac.uk
Nele De Belie 4
Phone +32 9 264 55 22
Email nele.debelie@ugent.be
1 Holcim Technology Ltd., Schachen, 5113 Holderbank, Switzerland
2 Institute of Building Materials Research, RWTH Aachen University, Schinkelstr.

3, 52062 Aachen, Germany
3 Department of Concrete Technology, LEMIT, 52 entre 121 y 122 s/n, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
4 Magnel Laboratory for Concrete Research,, Ghent University, Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus
A, Technologiepark 904, 9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium
5 Laboratoire de Génie Civil et Génie Mécanique, INSA-Rennes, 20 Avenue des Buttes de Coësmes, CS
70839, 35708 Rennes Cedex 7, France
6 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, St. George Street 35, Toronto, ON, M5S
1A4 Canada
7 School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, Stranmillis Road, Belfast, BT9
5AG UK
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11/6/2017 e.Proofing | Springer
Abstract
Since the discovery of the latent hydraulic reactivity of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (ggbfs) by
Emil Langen at the end of the 19th century, this material has been used successfully as cement and
concrete addition. This chapter includes all relevant information about this valuable material—from
production and processing to the effect, which ggbfs additions have on the concrete performance. In this
context, light is shed on decisive performance parameters of ggbfs. Of special interest nowadays is
certainly also the information given about trace element contents in ggbfs and their leachability. Here and
throughout the entire chapter, the latest insights from research and development work are included. Last
but not least, the chapter contains very practical information when it comes to the use of ggbfs in concrete,
including insights on rheological effects, concrete color and “greening”, and adequate curing. Moreover,
an overview about relevant norms and standards on ggbfs as concrete addition is given.
AQ1
Keywords
∎∎∎
AQ2
1.1. Blast-Furnace Slag—An Overview

1.1.1. History of Blast-Furnace Slag
The latent hydraulic reactivity of granulated blast-furnace slag (gbfs) was discovered in 1862 by Emil
Langen in Germany (Lea 1971; Smolczyk 1978). The first use of slags in cements dates back to 1865, when
in Germany a slag-lime cement was commercially produced. By 1901 the manufacture of
“Eisenportlandzement” containing maximum 30% of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (ggbfs) became
accepted and in 1907, the first “Hochofenzement” with up to 85% ggbfs content was produced (Moranville-
Regourd 1998; Smolczyk 1978). Ever since, ggbfs has been successfully used in cementitious applications.
1.1.2. Production and Use of Blast-Furnace Slag

Blast-furnace slag (bfs) is a by-product in the manufacture of pig iron in the blast furnace. It forms by fusion
of the gangue, i.e. non-ferrous material of the iron ore, mainly silica and alumina compounds, with calcium
and magnesium oxides of the thermally decomposed carbonatic flux and combustion residues of the coke.
These reactions take place at temperatures between 1300 and 1600 ℃. The slag floats on top of the liquid
iron and is tapped at regular intervals. When leaving the blast furnace, the molten bfs has a temperature of
around 1450 ℃ and is cooled down, either slowly in contact with air in open pits or rapidly through
pelletization or granulation. The latter is the state-of-the-art solution. It involves the rapid quenching and
mechanical dissemination of the molten slag with water jets. Also dry slag granulation techniques exist,
which however never succeeded at large scale. In the context of energy recovery from molten slag, main
granulation equipment suppliers have recently revived the development of dry granulation techniques.
Air cooled slag is essentially crystalline and hardly reactive. After crushing and sieving it is typically used as
back-fill material in road construction or as aggregate in concrete manufacture.
Gbfs has a maximum particle size around 5 mm and is predominantly vitreous. This high glass content is the
prerequisite for the latent hydraulic reactivity of gbfs, which makes it an excellent supplementary
cementitious material (SCM) for the production of composite cements as a clinker substitute and for concrete
manufacture as a cement substitute.
In order to produce a suitable SCM the gbfs must be ground to a specific fineness, which influences the
hydraulic reactivity of the ggbfs.
Per ton of iron produced, between 0.2 and 0.5 t of bfs are obtained. The exact amount depends on the
composition of the iron ore and on efficiency and size of the blast furnace. In state-of-the-art blast furnaces,
the amount of bfs/ton of iron does not exceed 0.3 t.
The worldwide production of bfs is estimated at ~360 million t/a (Reynolds 2009). About half of it is being
granulated and used in cementitious applications as SCM, taking advantage of the latent hydraulic reactivity,
which allows for maximum replacement levels of clinker in cement production and of cement in concrete
manufacture.
1.1.3. Composition and Reactivity of Gbfs

The main constituents of bfs are lime-silica-alumina and magnesia compounds. Figure 1.1 shows the position
of bfs in the ternary diagram CaO-SiO2-Al2O3 including the stability fields of the respective minerals. Gbfs
typically contains minor amounts of crystals, normally melilite [solid solutions from Gehlenite
Ca2Al(AlSi)O7 to Akermanite Ca2MgSi2O7]. In basic slags with a CaO/SiO2 ratio >1, also merwinite
Ca3Mg(SiO4)2 occurs.
Fig. 1.1
Composition of bfs in the ternary diagram CaO-SiO2-Al2O3 with 10% MgO, redrafted after Satarin (1974)
The chemical composition of bfs depends on quality, type and proportioning of the burden, i.e. iron ore, coke
and flux, and the fuels used in the blast furnace. Thus, the composition of slags from different regions varies
within certain limits (Table 1.1, Matthes 2012). This is especially important to consider when importing gbfs
or ggbfs from other parts of the world. However, bfs originating from the same blast furnace exhibits a rather
constant composition, because priority for blast furnace operation is a constant quality of the pig iron.
Table 1.1
Typical ranges of selected properties of granulated blast-furnace slags produced worldwide and in specific regions,
including chemical composition, glass content, and bulk density (Matthes 2012)
Central and
North Western Eastern India, Japan,
Parameter Unit Min Max LatinSouth
America Europe Europe Australia, RSA
America
Central and
North Western Eastern India, Japan,
Parameter Unit Min Max LatinSouth
America Europe Europe Australia, RSA
America
SiO2 % 32 42 34.6– 33.5–34.8 32.0– 33.5– 32.6–36.9

39.9 39.4 41.5
CaO % 35 48 35.3– 39.1–43.8 34.9– 36.9– 33.0–43.0

42.8 44.3 47.5
Al2O3 % 6 >19 6.6–11.5 10.0–13.0 9.5–12.5 5.5–12.4 10.2–19.3
MgO % 3 14 7.0–13.1 5.9–9.9 5.0–13.4 2.5–11.2 4.9–13.8
TiO2 % 0.2 >2 0.3–0.8 0.5–0.6 0.4–1.3 0.2–1.3 0.6–2.1
Na2Oeq % 0.3 1.2 0.3–0.8 0.4–0.8 0.3–1.2 0.6–1.1 0.4–0.8
SO3a % 1 4 2.0–3.0 1.1–3.7 2.0–4.5 1.6–3.8 1.7–4.0
CaO/SiO2 – 0.9 1.3 0.9–1.2 1.1–1.3 1.0–1.3 0.9–1.3 0.9–1.3
Glass % 66 100 Not analysed

content
Bulk kg/l 0.6 1.3 Not analysed

density
aAlthough expressed as SO3 in the chemical analysis, essentially all sulfur in gbfs is present in sulfide form due to
the reducing conditions in the blast furnace (% SO3 = 2.5 x% S2−)
The hydration of ggbfs in Portland-composite cements was extensively discussed by Taylor (1997). In
presence of water ggbfs hydrates to a limited degree. A protecting film deficient in calcium is quickly
formed, which slows down further reaction. If the pH is kept sufficiently high in presence of activators, the
ggbfs hydration is accelerated and intensified. The most common activator of ggbfs is Portland cement
clinker, but also other alkaline materials, for example water glass, alkali carbonates, alkali hydroxides, etc.
can be used. Calcium sulfates accelerate the hydration of medium to high-alumina gbfs glass (Al2O3 > 11%)
due to the formation of ettringite, which consumes calcium and alumina released from the ggbfs. Calcium
sulfates, combined with alkali compounds are effective activators of ggbfs applied in composite cements and
also supersulfated cements. In all cases, calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) phases form as hydration products,
which are responsible for strength development. Depending on the activator, also other phases form which
influence hydration progress and strength development (Matthes et al. 2011; Taylor 1997).
In general, the reactivity of a ggbfs increases with increasing contents of CaO, (MgO), Na2O, and Al2O3 and
with decreasing contents of SiO2, FeO, TiO2, MnO, and MnS (Dron and Brivot 1980; Kollo 1991; Kollo and
Geiseler 1987; Schröder 1969; Smolczyk 1978; Sopora 1959; Yang 1969). A high CaO/SiO2 ratio generally
indicates a good reactivity. Elevated alumina contents in ggbfs are favorable for strength development of slag
cements in presence of sulfate, especially at early ages due to enhanced ettringite formation (Matthes 2012;
Olbrich 1999; Smolczyk 1978).
Numerous indices have been developed to predict and specify the reactivity of ggbfs. Some of them are
given in Table 1.2. While such indices may be convenient for quality control of ggbfs from one source, they
are not satisfactory for a general prediction of strength of various ggbfs in cement, because there is no linear
relationship between strength and oxide contents in ggbfs over a large composition range (Hooton and
Emery 1983; Schröder 1961; Smolczyk 1978).
Table 1.2
Summary of the reactivity indices for ggbfs (De Langavant 1949; Ehrenberg et al. 2008a, b; Tetmajer 1886; Tigges
2010; Wang et al. 1994)
Reactivity index Year Definition Criteria
Basicity according to Tetmajer 1886 CaO/ SiO2 –
German Standard for "Eisenportlandzement” CaO+MgO

(CEM II-S) 1909 SiO2 +Al2 O3
≥1
AQ3
CaO+MgO+0.33⋅Al2 O3
German Standard for "Hochofenzement” 1932 ≥1

MnO
SiO2 +0.67⋅Al2 O3
≤5 wt%
CaO+MgO+Al2 O3
German Standard for special cements 1942 SiO2
≥1
CaO+CaS+0.5⋅MgO+Al2 O3
F-value according to Keil 1942 SiO2 +MnO
>1.5
Reactivity according to 1949 20 + CaO + Al2 O 3 + 0.5 ⋅ MgO − SiO2 –

De Langavant
CaO+CaS+0.5⋅MgO+Al2 O3
F-value according to Sopora 1959 SiO2 +MnO 2
>1.5
CaO+Al2 O3 −10
Basicity according to Schwiete 1963 SiO2 +10
–
CaO+MgO+Al2 O3
Reactivitiy according to Wang 1994 SiO2 +TiO 2
–
European Standards for cement and Bblast-furnace 1994 CaO+MgO

>1
slag 2001 SiO2
>67
2006 CaO + MgO + SiO2 wt%
Apart from the chemical and mineralogical composition, the degree of pre-hydration of gbfs affects its
hydraulic reactivity. Due to its latent hydraulic properties, gbfs starts to hydrate as soon as it gets in contact
with water. After granulation the gbfs typically has a moisture content between 8 and 12%, sometimes up to
20%, depending on its pore volume. When gbfs is stockpiled outside, a hard crust of prehydrated gbfs can
form on the stockpile over time. When recovering the gbfs, the lumps may require extensive disaggregation
before any further pro-cessing can be done. The intensity of the prehydration depends on the reactivity of the
gbfs, climatic conditions, particle shape, compaction, and storage time. It can be measured via loss on
ignition (LOI), which accounts for chemically bound water, or bound CO2. While fresh gbfs has an LOI of
0.2–0.5%, stockpiled gbfs can reach an LOI of 2% and beyond (Matthes 2012).
The prehydration of gbfs is relevant for gbfs processing. As the soft hydration products are very easy to
grind, a given target fineness is obtained with a lower grinding energy compared to fresh gbfs. Due to the
contribution of the soft hydration products to target fineness, the reactive fresh ggbfs grains will be coarser
and thus, the compressive strength obtained from prehydrated gbfs will be lower compared to fresh gbfs of
same fineness and composition (Ehrenberg 2012; Matthes 2012). When applying the same grinding energy
as to fresh gbfs, the prehydrated gbfs will show a higher overall fineness due to the contribution of the soft
hydration products, but the reactivity and strength development will be comparable to fresh ggbfs.
Concerning the assessment of gbfs reactivity, strength testing combined with chemical and mineralogical
characterization remains a very reliable and simple method. For non-routine analyses, numerous laboratory
methods allow assessment of the hydration degree of gbfs. Promising among those are electron microscopy
and image analysis (SEM-BSE-IA), isothermal calorimetry and chemical shrinkage (Kocaba et al. 2012).
Apart from the intrinsic reactivity, fineness and particle size distribution of the ground gbfs, in Portland
composite systems, the properties of the Portland cement clinker, type and dosage of the calcium sulfate set
modifier, the particle size distribution of the cement constituents and the actual concrete mix design
determine the ultimate concrete performance (Fig. 1.2, Wolter et al. 2003). In production, the reactivity of
ggbfs is mainly controlled by varying fineness and particle size distribution. In the ASTM C 989 there are
three strength grades of ggbfs specified, which are largely influenced by gbfs quality, fineness, and also by
possible calcium sulfate additions.
Fig. 1.2
Factors affecting the reactivity of ggbfs, redrafted after Wolter et al. (2003)
1.1.4. Ggbfs as Cement Constituent and as Concrete Addition

Typical ggbfs contents in concrete range from 20 to ~80% of the total cementitious material. The cement
replacement level depends on the requirements on:
– Strength development
– Durability, e.g. resistance to ASR, or attack by sulfates, sea water, or other chemicals or frost and
deicing salt
– Heat of hydration
– Setting time.
Ggbfs is either used as a cement constituent replacing Portland clinker and/or as concrete constituent
replacing cement. The kind of ggbfs utilization differs locally. North America, the UK and Australia, for
example, have a long tradition of using ggbfs as concrete addition, while in Latin America, most of central
Europe and India, ggbfs is mainly used as cement constituent.
Both applications have their advantages and disadvantages. The direct use of SCM in concrete gives the
concrete producer a maximum flexibility for designing concretes for various applications with a minimum
number of silos for cement and SCM. The prerequisite is an adequate knowledge about concrete design and
performance. A disadvantage of direct SCM addition to concrete is that the performance of the cementitious
part cannot be optimized. In cases, where ggbfs and/or cement were of lower reactivity, higher cement
contents can be necessary to achieve the same performance as a concrete made with an optimized Portland
composite cement with ggbfs (Fig. 1.3, Addis 1986). Intergrinding calcium sulfate with gbfs can help to
improve the reactivity of the cementitious system, especially when the gbfs has a medium alumina
content >10%.
Fig. 1.3
Concrete compressive strength of composite cements with 50% ggbfs versus 50% ggbfs site blends,
redrafted from Addis (1986)
When using ggbfs as concrete addition it is the responsibility of the ready mix concrete producer to handle
changes in the quality of cement and SCMs. This is typically done via adjustments to the concrete design.
Composite cements are optimized for performance including quality control of the single cement
constituents, optimization of type and dosage of the calcium sulfate phase for optimum setting and hardening
and optimum fineness and particle size distribution for best fresh concrete properties and strength. Due to
permanent quality control of all cement constituents and of the final product by the cement producer, the
concrete producer will obtain cements with a consistent quality.
3
When proportioning concrete with ggbfs, the lower specific gravity of ggbfs of ~2.9 g/cm versus Portland
3
cement of ~3.14 g/cm has to be considered. Replacing cement by ggbfs on a mass basis leads to higher
volume of cementitious phase, which usually improves placeability, finishability, and compaction of the
concrete. Moreover, coarser aggregate can be used to increase strength and to reduce water demand without
affecting plastic properties (SCA 2002).
Ternary composites including Portland cement and ggbfs plus another SCM such as fly ash, silica fume or
limestone are beneficial to further improve concrete properties, e.g. in high performance concrete.
Combinations with fly ash can further improve workability due to the ball-bearing effect of spherical fly ash
particles and further reduce heat of hydration. Combinations with silica fume will further increase strength
and reduce permeability of the concrete at early ages (ACI 2011; Matthes 2012).
1.2. Relevant Standards for Ggbfs as Cement and Concrete Addition

The different options of using ggbfs, either as a cement or concrete constituent, are reflected by the existing
standards. Examples of standards for ggbfs as a cement addition are the European EN 197-1 or ASTM C
595. They include different cement classes differentiated according to the amount of Portland clinker and to
the type and amount of SCMs. EN 197-1 for example differentiates between Portland composite cements
with up to 35% SCMs, be it pure or in combinations. Apart from that, three classes of blast-furnace cements
exist, CEM III/A, B, C, which have ggbfs contents from 36 to 95%. So far, apart from 5% minor
constituents, no combinations with other SCMs are allowed in these blast-furnace cements, but this is
expected to change in the revised version. The CEM V/A and CEM V/B cements are low clinker cements
containing a combination of ggbfs and pozzolans or siliceous fly ash, each with minimum contents of 18 and
31%, respectively.
Special cements for exposure to chemical attack are usually covered by national standards. In this respect,
slag composite cements are often mentioned. For example, the French NF P 15-317 on sea-water resisting
cements allows CEM II/A-S, II/A-M (S-V), CEM III/A with minimum 60% ggbfs and CEM III/B, CEM
III/C and CEM V cements, together with specifications on the composition of the cements and clinker,
including C3A and sulfate contents etc. The same cements plus CEM II/B are allowed by NF-P 15-319,
which specifies cements for applications in high sulfate environment, again in connection with chemical
specifications. The German DIN 1164 defines CEM III/B and CEM III/C cements according to EN 197-1 as
high sulfate resistant.
Examples of standards on ggbfs as addition to concrete, mortar and grouts are the American ASTM C 989
and the European EN 15167-1:2006. ASTM C 989 differentiates three grades of ggbfs, based on their
strength development when mixed at 50% with a reference, ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The addition of
calcium sulfate is allowed. EN 15167-1 does not include strength classes and does not foresee calcium
sulfate additions. Apart from standards for single SCMs such as ggbfs as concrete addition, also
combinations are specified, for example by the Austrian öNORM B 3399 or by ASTM C 1697.
Recommendations on how to account for ggbfs in the concrete mix design are given by the European
concrete standard EN 206. The EN 206 lists ggbfs conforming to EN 15167-1, along with fly ash and silica
fume, as type II concrete additions. The prescriptive k-value concept as well as the Equivalent Concrete
Performance Concept (ECPC) and Equivalent Performance of Combinations Concept (EPCC) are included.
The k-value concept is based on the comparison of the 28-day strength performance of a reference concrete
with a specified cement versus a test concrete, in which part of this cement is replaced by a type II addition.
The concept permits type II additions to be taken into account by replacing the term “water/cement ratio”
with “equivalent water/cement ratio” (w/ceq = water/(cement + k · addition)). The amount of (cement + k ·
addition) shall not be less than the minimum cement content required for the relevant exposure class.
According to EN 206:2013, the k-value for ggbfs and the maximum acknowledgeable amount of ggbfs have
to comply with the respective national regulations. In Annex L, the following recommendations are given:
The k-value of ggbfs in combination with CEM I or CEM II/A shall be 0.6. The maximum ggbfs useable for
calculating the water/binder ratio and the minimum cement content shall comply with the weight ratio
ggbfs/cement ≤1.0.
As the k-value concept, also the performance concepts ECPC and EPCC are used on a national basis. The
ECPC permits amendments to the requirements for minimum cement content and maximum water/cement
ratio when one or more specific additions and one or more specific cements are used, for which the
manufacturing source and characteristics are clearly defined and documented. Such amendments are in place
for example in Belgium and the Netherlands. The concept includes comparative testing of concrete
compositions, which deviate from the generally specified and accepted design criteria for defined
applications versus the specified reference composition. If the defined properties such as compressive
strength, resistance to carbonation, chloride penetration and freeze-thaw deicing salt attack, are comparable,
the suitability of the new concrete design can be certified. In Belgium the methodology for the assessment
and the validation of the fitness for use of cements or additions for concrete as slag amongst others is
described in NBN B15-100.
The EPCC treats a combination of a cement and additions as technically equivalent to a standardized cement
of the same composition. This concept may permit a defined range of combinations to count fully towards
the requirements for maximum w/c ratio and minimum cement content specified for the standardized cement
(EN 206).
In North America, k-values are not used and ggbfs is treated as equivalent to Portland cement. Due to its
latent hydraulic properties, ggbfs is referred to as slag cement. For concrete placements in cool weather,
ggbfs replacement levels are often reduced, while they are increased in hot weather to provide similar setting
times and early-age strength development. The ACI 233R Guide to the use of Slag Cement in Concrete and
Mortar (ACI 2011) states, that the proportioning techniques for concrete incorporating ggbfs are similar to
those used in proportioning concrete made with Portland cement or blended cement. Methods for
proportioning are given in the ACI 211.1 Standard Practice for Selecting Proportions for Normal,
Heavyweight, and Mass Concrete. Adjustments must be made for changes in solid volume due to the
difference in specific gravity of slag and Portland cement.
1.3. Health and Safety Issues

Gbfs and ggbfs composition and trace elements
Ggbfs is a vitreous material containing silica, alumina, magnesia and calcium oxides. It also contains a
small quantity of iron, sodium, titanium and manganese oxides. The oxides do not actually occur in free form
but as silica-based glass. The content of crystalline silica is <1%. Wet gbfs or ggbfs is alkaline. The pH in
water is 8–11 (Material Safety Data 2008). As such it is incompatible with acids, ammonium salts, and
aluminum metal. Solubility in water is negligible and specific gravity is 2.7–3.1 g/cm3. Emergency Overview.
Gbfs consists of sand-sized granules, ggbfs is a fine powder. A single short-term exposure to the dry material
is not likely to cause serious harm. Exposure to wet material can cause serious, potentially irreversible tissue
(skin or eye) destruction in the form of chemical (caustic) burns. The same type of tissue destruction can
occur if wet or moist areas of the body are exposed for sufficient duration to these materials by chemical
(caustic) burns or an allergic reaction.
Routes of exposure are eye contact, skin contact, inhalation, and ingestion.
For handling and storage, gbfs or ggbfs should be kept dry until use.
Skin Protection is essential to avoid potentially severe skin injury. Actions that cause dust to become
airborne should be avoided. It is recommended to wear safety glasses with side shields or safety goggles
(Material Safety Data 2008).
1.4. Selected Environmental Aspects on Gbfs and Ggbfs

It is recognized that supplementary cementitious materials or additions used as secondary main constituents
in cement or concrete influence the environmental impact during manufacturing and service life of the
material. In this chapter, the CO2 emissions, the heavy metal contents and leaching and radioactivity are
discussed.
1.4.1. CO2 Footprint

Using ggbfs as secondary main constituent, either in cement or in concrete production reduces the carbon
footprint of total cementitious materials. Proceeding from 913 kg CO2/t CEM I and 67 kg CO2/t ggbfs as
quoted in the UK, the CO2 footprint of the cementitious materials can be reduced to less than 30% of that of
CEM I, due to the high replacement levels of ggbfs (Table 1.3).
Table 1.3
CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) of combinations with ggbfs produced at the concrete plant (Technical Datasheet
2014)
Content of the CO2ea (without transport of constituents to the concrete

Combination (CEM addition plant)
I + ggbfs)
wt% kg CO2e/t (addition content low–high)
CIIB-S 21–35 (ggbfs) 735–617
CIIIA 36–65 (ggbfs) 608–363
Content of the CO e (without transport of constituents to the concrete

Combination (CEM addition plant)
I + ggbfs)
wt% kg CO e/t (addition content low–high)
CIIIB 66–80 (ggbfs) 354–236

aCO e can be interpolated for proportions of addition between the minimum and maximum, noting that the minimum
2
CO2e is associated with the highest proportion of addition
When using supplementary cementitious materials, attention has to be paid to the allocated environmental
impact. Bfs is a useful by-product, and part of the environmental load of the steel production can be allocated
to it. In this context different allocation principles can be adopted (Van den Heede and De Belie 2012). In
some countries the environmental load from steel production is completely attributed to the steel and the
only environmental load of the ggbfs results from grinding and transport. In the UK, the carbon footprint of
ggbfs is 67 kg/t. This excludes any CO2e allocation from the primary process, i.e. iron production. According
to EN 15804, processes contributing of the order of 1% or less to the overall revenue are allowed to be
neglected.
1.4.2. Heavy Metal Contents

Gbfs may contain small quantities of heavy metals. Table 1.4 compares the contents of these elements with
that of OPC. The heavy metal contents of gbfs are usually lower than that of OPC.
Table 1.4
Contents of heavy metals and trace elements of CEM I and blast furnace slag
CEM I (Brameshuber and Vollpracht 2007) Gbfsa
Parameter n Range Average n Median
– mg/kg – mg/kg
Antimony (Sb) 21 <1–9.4 2.4 53 <5
Arsenic (As) 14 <2–12 6.1 53 <5
Barium (Ba) 8 104–818 346 – –
Lead (Pb) 21 5–145 27 53 <5
Cadmium (Cd) 18 <0.1–1.7 0.5 53 <0.5
Chromium (Cr) 21 29–129 61 53 21.2
Cobalt (Co) 15 5.6–14 8 – –
Copper (Cu) 18 14–101 35 53 <5
Molybdenum (Mo) 14 <1–6.9 2.9 53 <5
Nickel (Ni) 18 14–84 31 53 <5
Mercury (Hg) 18 0.003–0.7 0.06 – –
Selenium (Se) 5 <5–10 5.9 – –
Thallium (Tl) 15 <0.1–3.9 0.6 – –
CEM I (Brameshuber and Vollpracht 2007) Gbfs
Parameter n Range Average n Median
– mg/kg – mg/kg
Vanadium (V) 16 22–100 39 53 34
Zinc (Zn) 14 30–514 146 53 7.4
n: Number of tested samples

aResults from the database of the FEhS, Duisburg, personal note from Dr. Bialucha
1.4.3. Leaching
The Technical Committee 351 of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN/TC351) is developing
harmonised leaching tests for building materials. For monolithic materials like concrete, the following
technical specification has been published: CEN/TS 16637-2:2014 (Construction products—Assessment of
release of dangerous substances—Part 2: Horizontal dynamic surface leaching test—DSLT).
The DSLT is a method to determine the release of substances from a specimen with demineralised water in
contact with its surface as a function of time. The specimen is placed in a leaching vessel and completely
submerged in the demineralised water, which is changed at defined time steps (0.25, 1, 2.25, 4, 9, 16, 36 and
64 days). The leachates are analysed for the relevant parameters. The cumulative release of these parameters
is calculated in relation to its surface (Eq. 1.1)
n n
L 1.1
Rn = ∑ ri = ∑ ci ⋅
A
i=1 i=1
2
Rn cumulative release of the substance for period n including fraction i = 1 to n in mg/m
2
ri release of the substance in fraction i in mg/m
ci concentration of the substance in leachate i in mg/l
2
L/A volume of the liquid, divided by the surface area of the sample, L/A = (80 ± 10) l/m .
Similar tank tests have been carried out in the Netherlands and in Germany for many years. The leaching
steps and the L/A-ratio differ, but the principle of the test is the same. The storage conditions before starting
the leaching test are relevant. Even a slight carbonation of the surface changes the pH of the leachates and
thus the concentration of heavy metals (Rickert and Vollpracht 2014). Thus, for comparative studies it is
necessary to use the same storage conditions.
The release of trace elements from mortars and concretes made of commercial Portland cement and blast
furnace slag cements was studied by Rickert et al. (2011), Rickert and Vollpracht (2014), Van der Sloot et al.
2001, and Vollpracht, RTWH Aachen (unpublished data). The trace element contents of the cements used
(Table 1.5) indicate, that CEM III cements do not show elevated contents versus CEM I, except for V and Ba
in some cases.
Table 1.5
Contents of heavy metals and trace elements of the cements used in the mortars/concretes of the tank leaching tests,
(2011) [CEM I B1 (2011), CEM III/A (2011)], Rickert and Vollpracht (2014) [CEM I B1 (2014), CEM III/B (2014
(2001) [CEM I N1, N2, D1, D2, H1, H3, H6, H7, H9)]
Heavy CEM I CE
metal/trace
Heavy CEM I CE
B1 B1
metal/trace 1a N1 N2 D1 D2 H1 H3 H6 H7 H9 II
(2011) (2014)
1a
CE
B1 B1
1mg/kg N1 N2 D1 D2 H1 H3 H6 H7 H9 m
II
(2011) (2014)
1
Sb 2 2.1 <1 1.2 3.6 4.8 <1 <1 <1 3.9 8.6 3.8 5
mg/kg m
As 4 23 4.5 8.6 6.9 7.2 2.3 5.7 10 4.9 16 172 2
element
Ba 331 – – – – – – – – 201 47 269 42
Pb
element 14 20 30 106 15 64 12 19 5.8 57 29 155 14
Cd 0.2 0.21 0.38 0.61 <0.1 0.96 0.15 0.57 0.51 0.94 1.46 4.93 <0
Cr 59 184 70 76 29 89 92 578 129 33 85 41 46
Co 4 12 8.9 7.3 7.5 13 14 22 7.6 5.9 12 11 4
Cu 22 16 14 16 29 54 16 27 16 15 89 158 18
Mo – 1.9 5 6.9 1.1 3.7 <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 4.3 2.7 39 –
Ni 36 61 22 45 14 47 25 75 42 14 41 25 23
Hg 0.2 <0.02 0.03 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 <0.02 0.12 0.05 0.12 <
Se – – – – – – – – – – <1 <1 –
Tl 0.2 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <1 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <1 <0.2 3.37 0.
V – 44 30 31 22 100 73 36 34 27 67 35 –
Zn 281 55 43 104 130 382 33 83 30 223 528 1178 24

aUnpublished data Vollpracht, RWTH Aachen; –: Not determined
After demoulding the samples were wrapped airtight in a polyethylene foil and stored at 20 ± 3 ℃ until
testing. The leaching tests started at 28 or 56 days. The release of Ba, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb of CEM III cement
concrete is comparable to Portland cement concrete, the release of V can be higher (Figs. 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 and
1.7). The concentrations of Sb, As and Se were below 1 µg/l, the concentrations of Cd below 0.5 µg/l and of
Hg below 0.1 µg/l for all tested mixtures. Due to these low concentrations the release was not calculated.
Fig. 1.4
Release of barium and lead from mortars and concretes with different cements (Rickert et al. 2011; Rickert
and Vollpracht 2014; Van der Sloot et al. 2001; Vollpracht, unpublished data)
Fig. 1.5
Release of chromium and cobalt from mortars and concretes with different cements (Rickert et al. 2011;
Rickert and Vollpracht 2014; Van der Sloot et al. 2001; Vollpracht, unpublished data)
Fig. 1.6
Release of copper and nickel from mortars and concretes with different cements (Rickert et al. 2011;
Rickert and Vollpracht 2014; Van der Sloot et al. 2001; Vollpracht, unpublished data)
Fig. 1.7
Release of vanadium from mortars and concretes with different cements (Rickert et al. 2011; Rickert and
Vollpracht 2014; Van der Sloot et al. 2001; Vollpracht, unpublished data)
In the EU the evaluation of leaching results is regulated at national level.
1.4.4. Radioactivity
The radioactivity of gbfs or ggbfs generally does not exceed typical concentrations in other commercial
products and building materials (Table 1.6).
Table 1.6
Radioactivity of gbfs compared to natural rocks and other building materials
Material Ra-226 Th-232 K-40 Reference
Material Average
Ra-226 Range Average
Th-232 Range Average
K-40 Range Reference
Bq/kg Bq/kg Bq/kg –

Average Range Average Range Average Range
Soils (worldwide) 32 n. i. 45 n. i. 412 n. i. UNSCEAR Report (2010)
Bq/kg Bq/kg Bq/kg –
Limestone 24 4–41 5 2–20 90 <40–
240
Sand/gravel 15 1–39 16 1–64 380 3–

1200
Basalt 26 6–36 29 9–37 270 190–

380
Sandstone 20 13–70 25 15–70 500 <40–

1100
Tuff 100 <20– 100 30– 1000 500–

200 300 2000
Granite 100 30– 120 17– 1000 600–

500 311 4000
<20– 70– Bundes-ministerium für

Expanded clay 40 70 70 30–90 600 800 Umwelt, Naturschutz und
Reaktorsicherheit (1993)
Brick 50 100– 52 12– 700 100–

200 200 2000
Gbfs 100 40– 100 30– 500 200–

200 300 1000
Fly ash 200 26– 100 14– 700 170–

1110 300 1450
CEM I 30 10–50 20 10–40 200 100–

700
CEM II 60 20– 80 30– 100 < 40–

100 200 200
Concrete 30 7–92 23 4–71 450 50–

1300
Average for 50 – 50 – 500 – UNSCEAR Report (2008)

building materials
n. i.: No information
According to Bialucha (2000), who tested 30 gbfs, all samples had sums of Ra-226 + Th-232 lower than the
German sum index of 500 Bq/kg, above which a material is required to be observed (Table 1.7). For 80% of
the slags this sum was below 200 Bq/kg. The content of K-40 was lower than stated in Bundesministerium
für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (1993).
Table 1.7
Radioactivity of bfs (30 samples), (Bialucha 2000)
Material Ra-226 Th-232 K-40
Average Range Average Range Average Range
Material Bq/kg
Ra-226 Bq/kg
Th-232 Bq/kg
K-40
Bfs 130
Average 66–360
Range 62
Average 28–129
Range 167
Average 60–405
Range
1.5. Impact of Ggbfs on Fresh Concrete Properties and Setting Time

1.5.1. Workability and Superplasticizer Demand
Using ggbfs in concrete generally improves workability. Thus, with increasing content of ggbfs, either the
water/binder ratio (w/b), the dosage of superplasticizer or the paste content can be reduced, compared to a
mix with Portland cement (Figs. 1.8 and 1.9) (Beushausen et al. 2012; Eren et al. 1995; Megat Johari et al.
2011; Osborne 1989; Wimpenny et al. 1989).
Fig. 1.8
Effect of water content on slump of concrete mixtures with and without ggbfs (Meusel and Rose 1983)
Fig. 1.9
Effect of partial cement replacement by ggbfs on dosage of superpasticizer (naphthalene based) required
for concrete with a slump of 150 mm, redrafted after Domone and Soutsos (1995)
This workability improvement by ggbfs additions is usually perceivable at elevated contents of ggbfs of at
least ~50 wt% of total cementitious material. It can be attributed to the smooth, glassy surface of ggbfs,
which creates slip planes in the paste (Wood 1981). Moreover, ggbfs has a latent hydraulic reactivity and
therefore binds less water than Portland cement during concrete manufacture. At ggbfs contents of 40–65%
the mixing water can be reduced by ~5% compared to OPC concrete (Lothia and Joshi 1995; Meusel and
Rose 1983). If in presence of major amounts of ggbfs the mixing water volume or superplasticizer dosage
would not be adjusted, excessive bleeding may occur, coupled with prolonged setting and strength reduction.
The effectiveness of ggbfs to reduce superplasticizer demand decreases with increasing ggbfs fineness and/or
at low water/binder ratios <0.3 (Gesoğlu et al. 2009; Lothia and Joshi 1995; Marushima et al. 1993;
Nakamura et al. 1991; Peterson Becknell and Hale 2011). Boukendakdji et al. (2012) confirmed in SCC
concrete the effectiveness of ggbfs additions of 15% and higher in reducing superplasticizer demand for a
targeted workability.
Regarding the response of cements to polycarboxylate-based superplasticizers (SP), CEM III/B with 72%
ggbfs showed a higher sensitivity towards SP dosage than OPC (Alonso et al. 2007; Hamada et al. 2000;
Puertas et al. 2005). The relation between ggbfs content and SP demand decreases with increasing w/b
(Carette and Malhotra 1987). The influence of 0–75% ggbfs additions on the zeta potential and rheology of
cement pastes with and without polycarboxylate-based admixtures was studied by various authors (Palacios
et al. 2009a, b).
Fulton (1974) and Swamy (1990) mention the improved cohesiveness of concrete containing major amounts
of ggbfs. However, this cohesiveness, also called “stickiness”, does not impair the ease of compaction on the
construction site. Also high ggbfs concrete is easy to compact by conventional mechanical vibration. When
comparing the placeability of concrete using the Vebe apparatus, concrete with 50% ggbfs was easier to
place than the mix without ggbfs (Fulton 1974).
Shi et al. (2004) confirmed the workability improvement through ggbfs additions in concrete, which resulted
in a decrease in plastic viscosity and yield stress. With decreasing amorphous content of the ggbfs this
dispersing effect was reduced. However, also contradictory experiences exist, especially when working at
very low w/b ratios as done by Soutsos (1992). Under such conditions the influence of ggbfs on the
rheological properties can be rather limited (Fig. 1.10).
Fig. 1.10
Effect of partial cement replacement by ggbfs on the yield (g) and plastic viscosity (h) values for concrete
mixes with water/binder ratio of 0.26 and a slump of approx. 150 mm, data from Soutsos (1992)
Generally, the effects of chemical admixtures on concrete with ggbfs are similar to those for OPC concrete.
Retarding admixtures are typically more effective when ggbfs is present, especially if the cement is low in
C3A or alkalis (ACI 2011). At elevated ggbfs contents, the dosage of air entraining agent usually has to be
increased to achieve a target air content, especially at low w/b (ACI 2011; Lothia and Joshi 1995; Matthes
2012).
1.5.2. Segregation and Bleeding

Coupled with the effect of workability improvement by ggbfs is an increased tendency to bleeding and
segregation. To adjust the concrete design the superplasticizer dosages and/or the water added should be
reduced to achieve the target workability. Following the national standards and working practices, further
adjustments ensure the required concrete performance in terms of strength development and, potentially,
durability (Ait-Aider 1988; Cesareni and Frigione 1969; Matthes 2012; Rickett 1990; Swamy 1990;
Wainwright and Ait-Aider 1995; Wainwright and Rey 2000).
Generally, the bleeding capacity and bleeding rate of concrete are influenced by the ratio of the surface area
of the solid constituents to the volume of water and thus are sensitive to changes in the surface area of the
cementitious constituents (ACI 2011). Thus, if a fine ggbfs would replace a coarser cement, bleeding can be
reduced and vice versa. Especially effective for reducing bleeding would be very fine ggbfs
2
(Blaine > 10,000 cm /g, Nakamura et al. 1991).
1.5.3. Slump Loss

The data on slump loss of ggbfs concrete are varying. Frigione (1986) reported a reduced rate of slump loss,
while Meusel and Rose (1983) reported a similar slump loss of concrete containing 50% ggbfs versus OPC
concrete. Lea (1971) described reduced slump loss, especially when OPC with rapid slump loss is replaced
by ggbfs. Boukendakdji et al. (2009) reported an increase of open time of self-compacting concrete (SCC)
from 30 to 60 min when 15% of Portland cement was replaced by ggbfs.
1.5.4. Setting Time

When OPC is replaced by ggbfs, usually the time of setting is increased. The degree of this increase depends
on various factors, for example on the amount of cement substituted, the initial concrete temperature, the w/b
ratio, and the properties of the cement and additives used (Fulton 1974; Swamy 1990). In fact, concrete
temperature is a key parameter for the setting time of ggbfs composites. The delay of time of set is especially
pronounced at low concrete temperatures and/or at major ggbfs contents >50% (Robeyst et al. 2008; SCA
2002; Yoshida et al. 1986). At 20 ℃ and above, the reported results are manifold, reaching from no or little
impact (Alshamsi 2001; Hooton 2000; Juenger et al. 2008) to even reduced times of set (Eren et al. 1995).
Hogan and Meusel (1981) for example reported that at 23 ℃ initial setting can be prolonged by 30–60 min,
while at 29 ℃ hardly any change is detected. Similar trends are described by SCA (Fig. 1.11, SCA 2002) and
numerous other authors. Prolonged setting can be compensated either by using accelerators, by reducing the
cement substitution by ggbfs in the concrete mix (ACI 2011), or by adjusting the concrete design, including
w/b and superplasticizer dosage.
Fig. 1.11
Influence of ggbfs and temperature on time of set, redrafted after SCA (2002)
By continuous monitoring of the evolution of the ultrasonic wave velocity through concrete containing high
amounts of ggbfs, valuable information can be extracted about the setting behaviour (Robeyst et al. 2008). In
Fig. 1.12, three important stages can be distinguished. During the dormant period, the P-wave velocity is
nearly constant. However at that time, the signal attenuation is large and the determination of the signal onset
time and thus P-wave velocity is less accurate. After the dormant period, the P-wave velocity increases
rapidly as the stiffness of the concrete develops. The P-wave velocity is lower for mixes containing high
amounts of ggbfs (>50%), because the stiffness develops slower. For these mixes, the initial increase in P-
wave velocity is mainly due to the hydration of OPC. Moreover, at early ages, the presence of ggbfs
decelerates the temperature rise and increases the distance between the cement particles (Robeyst 2009).
When comparing different CEM III cements, the increase of P-wave velocity depends not only on the ggbfs
content, but also on their fineness, clinker reactivity, and content of set modifiers and accelerators (Robeyst
et al. 2008; Robeyst 2009). For concrete with high ggbfs contents in the binder [S85 and S (CEM III/C
32.5)], a second increase of P-wave velocity can be noticed, which can be attributed to the hydration of slag
particles.
Fig. 1.12
Evolution of the P-wave velocity in function of concrete age (left: slag added as a separate component to
the concrete mix at OPC replacement levels ranging from 0 to 85%, right: blended cements) (left: slag
added as a separate component to the concrete mix, right: blended cements) (Robeyst et al. 2008)
In comparison to the more traditional tests to determine the initial and final setting times (e.g. penetration
resistance test), the ultrasonic transmission method is non-destructive. The change of ultrasonic velocity in
time is sensitive to the differences in setting behaviour of the tested mixtures. The initial setting seems to
correspond with the inflection point of the velocity versus time curve and the final setting with the point at
which the velocity increase levels off (Robeyst 2009).
1.6. Impact of Ggbfs on Heat of Hydration

The hydration of cement is an exothermal chemical process. Based on the mineralogical composition of the
Portland clinker and the total heat produced during complete hydration of these minerals, the total theoretical
hydration heat of OPC can be determined (Qtot). For cement composites with ggbfs, the maximum heat
released at the end of the reaction can be experimentally determined. Literature results range from 355 to
461 J/g ggbfs (Bensted 1981; De Schutter 1999; Kishi and Maekawa 1995; Schindler and Folliard 2003).
By replacing part of the hydraulic, rapidly hydrating OPC by the latent hydraulic, slower reacting ggbfs, the
heat production rate and total heat of hydration is reduced. This is especially beneficial for mass concrete to
avoid thermal shrinkage cracking.
The heat production rate of ggbfs containing concrete is also sensitive to curing temperature (Fig. 1.13) and
so is its strength development.
Fig. 1.13
Heat output per kilogram binder of mortar grade C45 cured at 20, 30, 40 and 50 ℃ at different cement
replacement rates of 20, 35, 50 and 70% with ggbfs. rRedrafted after Turu’allo (2013)
Some researchers reported, that the tensile strain capacity of concrete with 70% ggbfs at early age was lower
than that of equivalent OPC concrete and it was estimated, that with sections over 2.5 m deep the reduced
tensile strain capacity of ggbfs concrete may cancel out the benefit of the reduced temperature rise (Bamforth
1980). Also others indicated, that the use of ggbfs should not be based on its ability to reduce heat of
hydration alone (Springenschmid et al. 1994; Thomas and Mukherjee 1994).
Apart from reducing the total cementitious content, the partial replacement of OPC by ggbfs or other SCMs
is an effective and common means to reduce peak temperatures in mass concrete (Fig. 1.14). Generally, OPC
replacement rates between 65 and 80% are considered effective, whereas for smaller mass pours 50–65%
ggbfs were successfully used (SCA 2002).
Fig. 1.14
Effect of ggbfs additions on temperature increase versus time in mass concrete, adopted from SCA (2002)
For mass concrete projects the performance of the concrete designs should be tested using the local materials
to ensure their performance regarding temperature and strength development. Adiabatic tests may be used for
this purpose. The adiabatic temperature histories of concretes with different ggbfs contents are shown in
Fig. 1.15 (Soutsos et al. 2005). The Portland cement concrete had a temperature rise of 45 ℃ from the
casting temperature of 25 ℃. Low levels of cement replacement with ggbfs, i.e. 20 and 35%, do not appear
to be effective in reducing the peak temperature. Higher levels of 50 and 70% are required to reduce the peak
temperature by 10 ℃. It must be noted that the high levels of cement replacement also, in addition to
reducing the peak temperature, reduce the rate of temperature rise at early ages.
Fig. 1.15
Adiabatic temperature histories for concretes with target mean strengths 94–105 MPa, redrafted after
Soutsos et al. (2005)
Bamforth 1980 showed that, although the temperature development in mass concrete decreases with
increasing replacement of OPC by ggbfs, this effect becomes less pronounced with increasing volume
poured, i.e. higher lift heights (Fig. 1.16, Bamforth 1980). Nevertheless, temperature data from the center of
3
3
three 4.5 m deep foundations containing 144–212 m of concrete respectively, revealed the following
temperature increases:
Fig. 1.16
Effect of ggbfs and lift height on temperature increase of massive concrete foundations redrafted after
Bamforth (1980)
– Plus 54.5 ℃ from placing temperature of 20.5 ℃ for OPC concrete
– Plus 47.5 ℃ from placing temperature of 21.5 ℃ for concrete with 30% low calcium FA
– Plus 46.0 ℃ from placing temperature of 18.0 ℃ for concrete with 75% ggbfs (Bamforth 1980).
The temperature development in concrete blocks is not only affected by their size but also by the ambient
temperature at the time of casting. Strength grade and level of replacement by ggbfs both affect the
temperature increase in the concrete. Figure 1.17 shows concrete blocks that were cast to determine the ratio
of in situ strength, determined from cores, to companion cubes cast and cured alongside the blocks. The
different temperature histories of the same mix during winter and summer make such ratios impossible to
determine. Winter temperatures allow more heat dissipation from the concrete blocks and the lower reaction
of ggbfs assists in obtaining lower peak temperatures. The differences in peak temperatures between the OPC
and ggbfs mixes increased with winter conditions.
Fig. 1.17
Temperature rise in concrete blocks made of OPC and a mix of 50% OPC and 50% ggbfs, both with 30
and 50 MPa compressive strength. Left: summer, right: winter (Soutsos et al. 2016)
In the laboratory, the core temperature of insulated, very massive concrete blocks can be estimated based on
adiabatic calorimetric measurements (De Schutter 1999; De Schutter and Taerwe 1995; Soutsos et al. 2005).
As shown in Fig. 1.18, the temperature in OPC concrete can reach over 65 ℃, while these values are
significantly decreased as soon as the ggbfs content of the cementitious phase is 50% and higher.
Fig. 1.18
Heat production rate and temperature evolution in function of concrete age under adiabatic conditions, for
concrete mixes containing different amounts of ggbfs (ggbfs/(ggbfs + OPC) ranging from 0 to 85%),
redrafted after Gruyaert (2011).
1.7. Impact of Ggbfs on Strength Development

1.7.1. Compressive Strength
1.7.1.1. Hardening at Standard Conditions

Due to its latent hydraulic properties, ggbfs starts to hydrate when in contact with water. However, this
reaction diminishes with time. Only in presence of an activator the ggbfs hydration continues. The nature and
dosage of activators play an important role for strength development of ggbfs concrete. The most common
activator of ggbfs in concrete is Portland cement. Here the ggbfs activation is alkaline due to the liberation of
calcium hydroxide and alkalis during Portland clinker hydration and sulfatic due to the presence of calcium
sulfate in the cement. Apart from that, ggbfs can also be activated by other compounds such as alkali and
alkali earth hydroxides, sulfates, chlorides, nitrates, carbonates, and silicates (Andersson and Gram 1988;
Daugherty et al. 1983; Douglas and Brandstetr 1990; Hooton 1987; Malolepszy 1986; Roy and Idorn 1982;
Shi and Day 1996; Song and Jennings 1999; Teoreanu and Georgescu 1974). The activation potential
depends significantly on the properties of the ggbfs.
Compared to OPC the hydration rate of ggbfs is slower. This is reflected by a later initial setting time and
lower early strength with increasing ggbfs content (Fig. 1.19). However, late strength development of
concrete with ggbfs composites mostly exceeds that of OPC concrete. Depending on the reactivity and
fineness of the ggbfs and its content in the mix, the strength of slag concrete typically reaches the strength of
OPC concrete between ~10 and 35 days for a given concrete design (Demirboga 2003; Hewlett 1998; Hogan
and Meusel 1981; Neville 1995; Oner and Akyuz 2007; Wang et al. 2007).
Fig. 1.19
Effect of ggbfs on compressive strength, adopted from Hogan and Meusel (1981)
At very high replacement levels, a persistent strength reduction compared to a reference OPC concrete was
noticed by several researchers (Duran Atis and Bilim 2007; Khatib and Hibbert 2005). An optimum cement
replacement level regarding fresh concrete properties and late strength development is about 50% (Dubovoy
1986; Hogan and Meusel 1981; Hwang and Lin 1986; Meusel and Rose 1983; Roy and Idorn 1982).
The reactivity of ggbfs itself is significantly influencing the strength development at a given ggbfs content
and constant fineness (Fig. 1.20). It is mainly governed by its basicity index, expressed as CaO/SiO2, or also
(CaO + MgO)/SiO2 ratio (Matthes 2014). The example given in Fig. 1.20 shows the strength development of
50:50 composites of ggbfs and OPC. Both ggbfs materials were ground to the same fineness. The more
reactive ggbfs had a CaO/SiO2 ratio of ~1.2 and created a far higher strength gain than the ggbfs of low
reactivity, which had a CaO/SiO2 of ~0.9 (Matthes 2014). Furthermore, an elevated alumina content in ggbfs
tends to increase early strength development, often on cost of late strength (Matthes 2014; Taylor 1997).
Also the presence of minor components can have a significant influence. Especially critical is TiO2, which
significantly reduces ggbfs reactivity and thus strength development at all ages (Matthes 2014).
Fig. 1.20
Influence of ggbfs reactivity on development of compressive strength in standard ASTM mortars (50%
OPC, 50% ggbfs), Fineness of ggbfs 4500 cm2/g Blaine (Matthes 2014)
As far as the content of crystalline materials is concerned, gbfs from state-of -the art granulation facilities
usually have a glass or amorphous content of >95%. Typical crystalline phases are merwinite or melilite.
Significantly lower amorphous contents will affect strength development, as the latent hydraulic behaviour
origines from the glassy phase (Matthes 2014).
Also the fineness of the ggbfs has a major impact on its hydration degree and its strength development, but
also on transport properties of the concrete (Chen 2006; Feldrappe et al. 2016; Matthes 2012). Finer grinding
mainly improves medium and late strength. The influence on early strength is limited due to the lower
hydration rate of ggbfs (Fig. 1.21, Matthes 2014). This is valid for minor and major additions of ggbfs of a
2
fineness ranging from ~3500 to ~6000 cm /g Blaine.
Fig. 1.21
Influence of ggbfs fineness on development of compressive strength in standard ASTM mortars (50%
OPC, 50% ggbfs), redrafted after Matthes (2014)
Also concrete design parameters such as w/b, temperature and curing conditions strongly influence the
strength gain achievable through ggbfs additions. With increasing w/b, the compressive strength decreases at
all ages. The late strength increase due to ggbfs additions tends to be greater for concretes with higher w/b
than for concrete with lower w/b (Fulton 1974; Malhotra 1980; Meusel and Rose 1983; Soutsos 1992).
1.7.1.2. Importance of Curing and Curing Temperature

At early ages, all concrete has to be kept in proper moisture and temperature conditions in order to fully
develop the required strength and durability properties. As ggbfs has a lower hydration rate than OPC, less
hydration products are formed at early stage and less water is bound. Therefore, concrete with ggbfs is more
sensitive to poor curing than OPC concrete, especially if the ggbfs content exceeds 30% of cementitious
materials (Fulton 1974). Therefore prolonged curing times have to be applied when using ggbfs in concrete
as described in procedures such as ACI 308R (2001).
When proportioning concrete mixtures and matching them with construction schedules, which also depend
on early strength development, it needs to be taken into account, that the rate of hydration of ggbfs is more
sensitive to concrete temperature than that of OPC. This results at low temperatures, i.e. 10 ℃ and below, in
a lower early strength development of ggbfs concrete compared to OPC concrete, which however, is
compensated by a higher late strength development (Fig. 1.22). According to Hewlett (1998) this is
especially true for concrete with w/b ratios above 0.5 and s/b ratios above 0.7. Generally, it is not
recommended to use ggbfs at temperatures below 10 ℃ (Neville 1995).
Fig. 1.22
Effect of curing temperature in the range of 10–50 ℃ on strength development of concrete containing
varying amounts of ggbfs, redrafted after Soutsos and Turu’allo (2016)
At high temperatures of 30 ℃ and above, as found in hot climates or during steam curing, for example, a
higher early strength is achieved in concrete with ggbfs, however often at theon cost of late strength
development (Fig. 1.23). The magnitude of this effect depends on the cement and ggbfs fineness and
reactivity and on the proportion of ggbfs in the concrete mix (Barnett et al. 2006; Neville 1995; Sato and
Masuda 2005). In this context Barnett et al. (2006) recorded, that at elevated curing temperatures the ultimate
strength is lower compared to OPC concrete and concluded, that further hydration was prevented due to the
formation of dense hydration products around the unhydrated particles. Since the hydration products were
not uniformly distributed, a coarser pore structure was obtained. While Barnett et al. (2006) did not observe a
clear trend with the cement replacement level, Neville (1995) mentioned, that the harmful effects of high
curing temperatures on the long-term strength are not that pronounced in ggbfs concrete, in comparison to
OPC concrete.
Fig. 1.23
Influence of temperature on strength development of concretes with OPC (CEM I) and ggbfs composite
cement (CEM III/A, 36–65% ggbfs), redrafted after Brand et al. (1982)
Also the relative humidity has an influence on the strength development of ggbfs concrete. In Neville (1995),
the importance of moist curing in case of ggbfs concrete is emphasized. Poor curing in combination with the
initial slow hydration process of ggbfs can lead to evaporation of the capillary pore water which prevents
further hydration. This was confirmed by Duran Atis and Bilim (2007), who cured ggbfs and OPC concrete
at 22 ℃ and a relative humidity RH of 65 and 100%. Concrete with ggbfs, especially at elevated amounts,
showed a reduction of compressive strength at 65% RH versus 100% RH of 15%. The compressive strength
of OPC concrete was reduced by only 6%.
1.7.1.3. Adiabatic Curing Experiments for Simulation of Field Conditions

In order to get an insight how strength data of ggbfs concrete obtained under laboratory conditions at 20–
22 ℃ and close to 100% RH compare to concrete hydrated under field conditions with the influence of the
climate and of the dimensions of the concrete elements as described above, Soutsos et al. (2005) compared
the strength development of laboratory cured concrete samples with different amounts of ggbfs (Figs. 1.24
and 1.25, left sides) with samples of the same concrete mixes cured under adiabatic conditions (Figs. 1.24
and 1.25, right), which should reflect possible conditions in the field. The authors confirm for the laboratory
cured samples the adverse effect of increasing ggbfs contents on early strength, which is set off at later age.
Curing under adiabatic conditions revealed and confirmed the higher sensitivity of ggbfs versus OPC to
curing temperature. Laboratory cured concrete with 20 and 35% ggbfs achieved at 1 day 90 and 70% of the
OPC concrete strength, respectively. Adiabatic curing resulted in 100% OPC strength at 1 day. Concrete with
50 and 70% ggbfs which had developed under laboratory curing 45 and 25% of OPC strength at 2 days
achieved essentially 100% of OPC strength during adiabatic curing (Fig. 1.25).
Fig. 1.24
Strength development of concretes with varying ggbfs content at standard 20 ℃ curing (left) and at
adiabatic curing (right), redrafted after Soutsos et al. (2005)
Fig. 1.25
Ratio of compressive strengths of ggbfs concretes to Portland cement concretes under standard (left) and
adiabatic (right) curing regimes, redrafted after Soutsos et al. (2005)
While in mass concrete high temperatures can be achieved, which accelerate hardening, under cold
conditions and within thin concrete structural elements the concrete temperatures can be lower than during
laboratory curing, which can delay strength development. Similar to Soutsos et al. (2005), Bamforth (1980)
compared the strength development of laboratory concrete with OPC, 30% FA or 75% ggbfs cement with
concrete cured according to temperature profiles measured in mass concrete foundations (Fig. 1.26). During
temperature matched curing, all concretes showed a more rapid early strength development, but reduced late
strength development, compared to the laboratory cured samples. Interestingly and in contrast to the results
by Soutsos et al. (2005), the 90d strength of the OPC concrete was significantly reduced during temperature
matched curing. As found by Soutsos et al. (2005), the late strength of the concretes with SCM was
essentially comparable under both curing regimes.
Fig. 1.26
Effect of partial OPC replacement by fly ash or ggbfs on the strength development of 100 mm concrete
cubes exposed to standard laboratory curing and temperature matched curing reflecting conditions in mass
concrete, redrafted after Bamforth (1980)
1.7.2. Flexural and Tensile Strength

Ggbfs in concrete does not only improve compressive strength over the service life, but improves also
flexural strength, which is a key parameter for concrete pavements (Fig. 1.27, Hogan and Meusel 1981). This
has to be attributed to the denser microstructure achieved through pore refinement, which also results in an
improved bonding between paste and aggregates.
Fig. 1.27
Effect of ggbfs on flexural strength, adopted from Hogan and Meusel (1981)
Results obtained from three-point bending tests of water cured mortar prisms, showed at ages below 28 days
a decreasing flexural strength with increasing ggbfs content. However at later ages, the concretes with 30–
85% ggbfs reached or exceeded the flexural strength of OPC concrete. This was confirmed with mortars
containing commercial CEM III/A 42.5 and CEM III/C (Fig. 1.28, Gruyaert 2011).
Fig. 1.28
Evolution of the flexural strength of mortar prisms containing different amounts of ggbfs in function of
age (top: ggbfs added as a separate component to the mix at OPC replacement levels ranging from 0 to
85%, bottom: blended cements). , r Redrafted after Gruyaert (2011).
The relation between the flexural strength and compressive strength for mortar prisms containing different
amounts of ggbfs from 1 day to 1 year is essentially constant (Fig. 1.29, Gruyaert 2011). The replacement of
cement by ggbfs has no significant effect on this relation. In Neville (1995) different empirical formulae,
based on a power law function (Eq. 1.2), are quoted to connect the compressive strength (fc) with the flexural
strength (ffl). The values of the parameters for the best fitted curves are given with 1.106 for k and 0.512 for
n.
Fig. 1.29
Relation between the flexural strength (three-point bending test) and compressive strength (mean values)
of mortar prisms containing different amounts of ggbfs, indicated by the numbering in the legend.,
r Redrafted after Gruyaert (2011).
1.2
n
ffl = k ⋅ (fc )
For all concretes, an increase of compressive strength results in an increase of flexural strength, but at a
decreasing rate. Consequently, the ratio of the compressive strength to the flexural strength increases as time
proceeds.
Regarding tensile strength development, Darquennes (2009) shows a more important increase of tensile
strength with time for cements with slag compared to Portland cement. At late ages, tensile strength of
concrete with ggbfs cements exceeds the one of OPC concrete (Fig. 1.30).
Fig. 1.30
Evolution of tensile strength with time for Portland and ggbfs composite cements CEM III/A and CEM
III/B, redrafted after Darquennes (2009)
1.8. Impact of Ggbfs on Modulus of Elasticity

The relationship between modulus of elasticity and compressive strength of concrete is essentially unaffected
by the presence of SCMs. Existing predictive equations can be used for concrete with and without SCM
(Thomas 2013). Thus, the modulus of elasticity of concrete with moderate amounts of ggbfs can be expected
to be lower at early age and higher at late ages (Fig. 1.31, Thomas 2013).
Fig. 1.31
Effect of ggbfs on modulus of elasticity, redrafted from Thomas (2013); data from Wainwright and
Tolloczko (1986)
Darquennes (2009) illustrated similarities in the evolution of elastic modulus versus tensile strength for
Portland and ggbfs composite cements with high and moderate ggbfs contents (Fig. 1.32, Darquennes 2009).
Fig. 1.32
Elastic modulus E versus tensile strength of Portland cement, CEM III/A and CEM III/B, redrafted after
Darquennes (2009)
1.9. Impact of Ggbfs on Concrete Color

Usually concrete containing ggbfs has a lighter color than Portland cement concrete. At elevated ggbfs
contents >60% the color could be described as off-white.
After demoulding, concrete with ggbfs can exhibit greening at the surface—these are stains of dark bluish-
green to black color. Also inside, the concrete displays an intense dark coloration.
These dark stains are caused by sulfide minerals, which form during the hydration of the cement. When
finely dispersed in the concrete, these compounds cause shades from green/blue to black, according to their
composition. The phases are sulfides of mainly iron and manganese in low oxidation states, which are
supplied by the ggbfs. The higher the content of ggbfs in the concrete, the higher the fineness of the binder
constituents and the lower the water/cement ratio, the higher is the probability of greening.
Generally, greening at the surface of the concrete is a passing effect. In contact with air, the blue/green color
vanishes after a few days due to oxidation of the sulfides to sulfates. Exposure to sunshine accelerates this
process.
After the greening has vanished, the concrete containing ggbfs usually is lighter than concrete made from
OPC.
If the oxygen in the atmosphere cannot reach the concrete, greening will persist. This can be the case if the
concrete surface is sealed, e.g. by traces of oil/fat from the formwork or by a glaze applied on bricks, etc. In
the case of excess form oil, the surface greening may persist for several weeks until form oil/fat wears off. In
applications where concrete would be permanently sealed and greening would be aesthetically disturbing,
e.g. glazed concrete bricks, swimming pools etc., the use of ggbfs should be avoided ( References to be
inserted in Ref list:
Le Cornec D, Wang Q, Galoisy L, Renaudin G, Izoret L, Calas G (2017) Greening effect in slag
cement materials, Cement and Concrete Composites, 84, 93-98.
Problem Clinic (2011) Greening of slag cement concrete, http://www.concreteconstruction.net/how-

to/greening-of-slag-cement-concrete_o, August 31, 2011.
Slag Cement Association (2002) Greening, Slag Cement Association P.O. Box 2615 Sugar Land, TX
77487-2615. Slag Cement Association 2002, Matthes 2012, Le Cornec et al 2017).
In rare cases where surface greening does not vanish after several days of exposure to the atmosphere and the
stains are optically disturbing, they can be removed by chemical treatment of the surface of the hardened
concrete, e.g. with diluted solutions of acetic acid or hydrogen peroxide , sodium hypochlorite, or
diammonium citrate (Problem Clinic 2011).. However, such treatments may lead to scaling of the concrete
and therefore should be avoided.
Inside the concrete, greening will persist as long as oxygen is not entering the system. The denser the
structure of the concrete, the longer greening will persist. Thus, greening within the concrete can be regarded
as an indicator of the low permeability and thus, high quality of a concrete. The faster the transition zone of
blue to grey penetrates into the concrete, the lower is the concrete quality. The core of concrete of good
quality can maintain its dark color during the whole service life. When the reinforcement is surrounded by
blue/green concrete, no corrosion has occurred, because oxygen could not reach the reinforcement.
1.10. Impact of Ggbfs on Shrinkage and Creep

Regarding the influence of ggbfs on shrinkage, conflicting observations exist. Apparently, drying shrinkage
of concrete with ggbfs is similar to OPC concrete (ACI 2011). A review by Hooton et al (2009) found that
with low-alumina ggbfs, drying shrinkage of concretes over a range of replacement levels was similar to that
of OPC concrete. When ggbfs with alumina content in excess of 12% was used, shrinkage was increased due
to alumina reacting with some of the calcium sulfate from the OPC, but this could be corrected by
intergrinding calcium sulfate with the gbfs. There did not appear to be a difference in relative drying
shrinkage between concretes made with blended cement and those made with ggbfs added separately at the
time of mixing.
Autogenous shrinkage generally increases with decreasing w/b. For concrete with ggbfs it was shown, that
with increasing ggbfs content autogenous shrinkage increased (Fig. 1.33, Fulton 1974; Lee et al. 2006).
Other authors reported small differences in shrinkage or even reduced shrinkage when ggbfs was used in
concrete. Obviously, the amount of ggbfs has an influence on the results as well as the amount of calcium
sulfate added (ACI 2011).
Fig. 1.33
Effect of ggbfs on autogenous shrinkage of concrete redrafted after Lee et al. (2006)
The amount of creep of a concrete mainly depends on the concrete design and nature of loading. The most
important parameters to reduce creep are a high aggregate content, a low water content, a low w/b, and
sufficient maturity prior to loading, because creep depends on the loading stress/concrete strength ratio
(Thomas 2013). The conflicting results in literature on the influence of ggbfs on creep are probably due to
different concrete designs and testing regimes. Generally, concrete with major amounts of ggbfs, if loaded at
early age, will probably creep more than OPC concrete because of its lower early strength. At late age, this
relation is inverse (Fig. 1.34, Brooks et al. 1992).
Fig. 1.34
Effect of ggbfs on basic creep of sealed concrete specimens (Brooks et al. 1992)
1.11. Impact of Ggbfs on Transport Properties

1.11.1. Pore Refinement and Permeability
The movement of fluids through the concrete can occur by flow, diffusion, and sorption. Strictly speaking,
permeability refers to the flow, and penetrability is a more general term including all processes. However, for
concrete research, ‘permeability’ is commonly used instead of ‘penetrability’ (Neville 1995).
The permeability of concrete is not simply related to the total volume of pores, but depends on the size,
distribution, shape, tortuosity and continuity of mainly the capillary pores. Since the formation of gel
gradually fills the pore space, the pore structure continuously changes and the permeability of pastes
decreases with progressing hydration (Neville 1995). The partial replacement of cement by ggbfs lowers the
permeability, provided that enough time has elapsed for sufficient slag hydration (Taylor 1997). Pores in
concrete are partly and progressively filled with C-S-H resulting from the hydration of ggbfs. Compared to
an OPC paste of same w/b and comparable maturity, the total pore volume of a slag cement paste would be
comparable, even slightly higher. However, the pore structure is strongly refined (Figs. 1.35 and 1.36,
Romberg 1978; Roy and Parker 1983). The volume of fine capillary and gel pores is increased at the cost of
the volume of large capillary pores. The capillary pores include macropores and mesopores (Fig. 1.35, Roy
and Parker 1983). Macropores, 10,000–50 nm in size, and large mesopores of 50–10 nm enable mass
transport processes. The mesopores, 50–2.5 nm, are also responsible for shrinkage at 50–80% RH. Thus, a
lower volume of capillary pores reduces pore connectivity and thus reduces mass transport processes.
Fig. 1.35
Effect of ggbfs on the pore size distribution of hardened cement pastes, redrafted after Roy and Parker
(1983)
Fig. 1.36
Pore refinement by replacing cement clinker by ggbfs, redrafted after Romberg (1978)
The gel pores, including micropores 2.5–0.5 nm and the interlayer spaces of C-S-H ≤0.5 nm influence both,
shrinkage and creep.
Due to this pore refinement the strength of the ggbfs concrete is increased. The reduced permeability on the
other hand increases the durability of the concrete against chemical attack, such as chloride, sea water or
sulfate ingress. A prerequisite, however, is an adequate curing of the concrete.
The pore refinement by ggbfs additions was reported by numerous other researchers (Gruyaert et al. 2013;
Hadj-Sadok et al. 2011; Megat Johari et al. 2011; Panesar and Chidiac 2009). In Megat Johari et al. (2011),
for example, results of mercury intrusion porosimetry of mortars show that with increasing ggbfs contents
between 20 and 60% the relative volume of pores in the size range <30 nm is progressively increased at the
expense of the relative volume of pores between 30 and 50 nm. Bouikni et al. (2009) showed on the basis of
2
pore refinement, that a high OPC replacement of 50 and 65% by ggbfs with a Blaine of only 350 m /kg
showed an enhanced performance regarding transport properties, even though total porosity of concrete
increased with increasing ggbfs replacement.
De Belie et al. (2010) compared pore size distributions of OPC paste and 50 and 85% ggbfs pastes obtained
from data of water vapor sorption isotherms. They found similar pore size distributions in the size range 2–
10 nm, but a high reduction of pores in the size range of 1–2 nm when ggbfs was included.
Besides porosity measurements, results of permeability tests can also be found in the literature. The
capability of ggbfs to reduce concrete permeability is widely accepted however the extent of its impact varies
in literature.
Berndt (2009) performed permeability tests according to ASTM D 5084 on concrete specimens with s/b
ratios of 0, 50 and 70%, which were wet cured for 84 days and found similar permeability coefficients for all
−12
mixes, ranging from 1.0 to 1.4 × 10 m/s. Contrarily, Cheng et al. (2005) obtained permeability coefficients
at 91 days, which decreased with increasing ggbfs content. For concrete containing 0, 40 and 60% ggbfs the
−13
permeability coefficients obtained by their permeability test setup amounted to 2.56, 1.52 and 1.32 × 10
m/s respectively.
Shi et al. (2009) investigated the influence of ggbfs on nitrogen gas permeability of high strength concrete.
They found that replacement percentages between 15 and 60% of cement by ggbfs produce no significant
further improvement in gas permeability measured as recommended by RILEM TC116-PCD (RILEM 1999).
Niknezhad and Kamali-Bernard (2015) measured the intrinsic permeability of different SCCs based on
different cements containing various mineral admixtures. Figure 1.37 shows the significant effect of a CEM
III with 62% of ggbfs and CEM V with 25% of ggbfs on the decrease of this intrinsic property.
Fig. 1.37
Intrinsic permeability of different SCCs based on different binders (Niknezhad and Kamali-Bernard 2015)
Nokken and Hooton (2004) found that 35% ggbfs replacement of cement in concrete with w/b = 0.40
resulted in reduced water permeability by a factor of 7, and reduced chloride bulk diffusion by a factor of 3
at an age of 28 d.
1.11.2. Sorptivity
Ggbfs influences the transport properties and sorptivity (Güneyisi and Gesoğlu 2008; Hadj-Sadok et al.
2011; Villagrán Zaccardi et al. 2012), even without significant reduction in the volume of accessible pores.
This is connected with an increase in tortuosity and pore refinement.
An informative study on the on-site performance of ggbfs concrete is presented in (Lane 2012), where
comparisons are made between the properties of ggbfs concretes and OPC concretes used in the construction
of bridge decks, all of them with a w/b of 0.45, which were 12–16 years old at the time of testing. Concrete
properties were evaluated on extracted cores from the structure. Ggbfs cement concretes generally showed
lower transport properties than OPC concrete. Two thirds of samples of ggbfs concrete showed
lower capillary suction rates, which were lower than the targeted maximum sorptivity values, whereas only
one third of OPC concrete met this limit. The absorption rates of ggbfs concretes were about half of those of
OPC concrete. Similar results were found for concrete conductivity, where the values for OPC concrete were
double those of ggbfs concrete.
Gruyaert (2011) determined the sorptivity coefficients for specimens containing different amounts of ggbfs at
different ages from 1 to 12 months, which were oven-dried at 105 ℃ until constant mass. These sorptivity
coefficients decreased with increasing ggbfs contents and decreased as a function of time.
1.11.3. Carbonation
The carbonation resistance of concrete depends mainly on the concrete design parameters, the cement type,
especially Portland clinker content, w/c and total water added, and on the applied curing. These parameters
determine the long term porosity and permeability of the concrete. Of high importance are furthermore the
humidity conditions of the concrete. High carbonation rates are obtained, when the concrete faces conditions
between 50 and 70% relative humidity (Hunkeler and Lammar 2012).
Especially the Portland clinker content is decisive for the carbonation rate, because it determines the amount
of calcium hydroxide, which is available for carbonation (Fig. 1.38). Consequently, when tested at constant
w/b, the carbonation coefficient of concrete increases with the ggbfs content (Brameshuber et al. 2008, 2009;
Scholz and Wierig 1988).
Fig. 1.38
Influence of the Portland cement content on the carbonation rate, results from Brameshuber et al. (2008,
2009), Feldrappe et al. (2016)
Moreover, it is likely that CO2 also affects the other phases in ggbfs concrete, especially CSH phases, which
also can react with CO2. The reaction mechanism is that CSH decomposes and a porous silica gel is formed.
Since the formation of silica gel results from a condensation of Si-OH groups to Si-O-Si linkages and thus
polymerisation of the silicate chains in CSH, this reaction is accompanied by carbonation shrinkage. For
ggbfs concrete, the resulting effect of carbonation is thus a coarsening of the pore structure (Sisomphon et al.
2010; Valenza and Scherer 2007a, b). Borges et al. (2010) mention a reduced overall porosity due to pore
filling by carbonates, but an increased permeability due to carbonation shrinkage and cracking for ggbfs
pastes after carbonation. In contrast, the carbonation of OPC concrete yields a denser microstructure because
of the formation of voluminous calcite, which overcompensates the shrinkage induced by CSH
decomposition (Sisomphon et al. 2010).
Decisive is also the w/c or w/b ratio. The data of Osborne (1989) show, that concrete with 40% ggbfs and a
w/b of 0.45 would have a comparable carbonation coefficient as concrete with OPC with a w/b of 0.55
(Fig. 1.39, Hunkeler and Lammar 2012).
Fig. 1.39
Influence of ggbfs content and w/b on carbonation coefficient (Hunkeler and Lammar 2012), data
Osborne (1989)
In practice, the concrete is designed to achieve a certain strength at 28 days and a target workability. In
presence of major amounts of ggbfs, the water addition can often be reduced, which would lead to a lower
concrete permeability and thus to a lower carbonation depth—provided, that the concrete is properly cured.
Most importantly, increasing additions of ggbfs slow down hardening and strength development at early age,
so that concrete with major amounts of ggbfs requires adequate curing, more than OPC concrete.
1.11.4. Chloride Ingress

Chloride ingress into concrete can be notably diminished by the addition of ggbfs, with a very significant
improvement at replacement levels >50% (Bijen 1996; Tuutti 1982; Bleszynski et al. 2002). This is due to
the reduced capillary porosity and the increased chloride binding capacity of ggbfs concrete. Figure 1.40
presents results of free, bound and total chloride content of SCC samples subjected to an electrical steady-
state migration test. SCC based on CEM III containing 62% ggbfs or CEM V with 25% ggbfs exhibit a
significantly higher bound chloride content than SCC based on OPC (Niknezhad and Kamali-Bernard 2015).
Fig. 1.40
Total, free and bound chloride contents of different SCC samples (Niknezhad and Kamali-Bernard 2015)
Other authors confirm, that the replacement of cement by ggbfs, fly ash or silica fume has a positive
influence on the binding capacity (Angst et al. 2009; Izquierdo et al. 2004; Tang 1996; Thomas et al. 2012).
The use of ggbfs increases the chemical (Dhir et al. 1996; Luo et al. 2003) as well as the physical binding of
chlorides (Arya et al. 1990). The calcium aluminate hydrates, which are formed during the hydration of
ggbfs, can transform to Friedel’s salt (Dhir et al. 1996; Luo et al. 2003) and the large amount of CSH gel
provides a high surface area for adsorption of chloride ions. According to Xu (1997), the higher binding
capacity of cement with ggbfs can be attributed to the dilution effect of sulfate ions. He found that the higher
binding capacity disappears when the sulfate level in slag cement paste is increased up to that of OPC paste.
Luo et al. (2003) also mention that sulfates greatly reduce the binding capability of ggbfs. They concluded
that the lower content of sulfate of ggbfs is one of the reasons for the better performance of ggbfs concrete
towards chloride-induced corrosion. Contrarily to these findings, the experiments of Yuan (2008) did not
show a higher binding capacity for ggbfs concrete in comparison to OPC concrete.
Over time, the chloride diffusion coefficient of ggbfs concrete decreases significantly - more than in
conventional concrete. At early ages the chloride diffusion may be higher for ggbfs concrete in comparison
with conventional concrete, but at later ages this relationship is inverted (Thomas and Bamforth 1999). Using
2 2
ultrafine ggbfs (Blaine = 870 m /kg, BET = 4968 m /kg), Teng et al. (2013) achieved a 25 and 88%
reduction of the chloride migration coefficient according to NT Build 492 (1999) after 28 d of curing with
only 30% of cement replacement by ggbfs in concrete with w/b = 0.35 and 0.28 respectively. The ultrafine
ggbfs refined the particle size distribution of the cement. Gruyaert (2011) also showed the better performance
of ggbfs concrete with regard to chloride ingress with non-steady state migration and diffusion tests. The
level of replacement of cement by ggbfs, being 50, 70 or 85%, did not significantly alter the chloride
resistance of the concrete. However, the on-going hydration in ggbfs mixes caused still a significant decrease
of the migration coefficients with time, while this was not the case for OPC concrete. Chloride bulk diffusion
measurements of cores taken from 14 year old concrete slabs showed that 25 and 50% ggbfs replacement of
cement reduced values by factors of 2 and 4 respectively, compared to a reference OPC concrete (Hooton et
al. 2013).
AQ4
Studies on samples exposed in marine environment for 25 years have confirmed significant reduction in the
chloride ingress rate of concrete when 45–65% replacement levels of cement by ggbfs are employed
(Thomas et al. 2008). The obtained penetration depth of the control concrete with w/c of 0.40 and 0.60 was
higher than 100 mm, more than twice of the penetration depth of the 45 and 65% ggbfs concretes. On the
basis of these results, a modified model for chloride ingress considering the effect of ggbfs has been
established and validated (Riding et al. 2013).
1.11.5. Resistivity
Resistivity is affected by the addition of SCMs and the degree of hydration, as they affect the concrete
microstructure and the chemistry of pore solution (Osterminsky et al. 2006). The refinement of pores
increases resistivity as it reduces the volume of conductive phase (Basheer et al. 2002). Moreover, resistivity
is very sensitive towards changes of the chemical composition and pH of the pore solution. Teng et al. (2013)
obtained increases of 81 and 462% of concrete resistivity when replacing 30% of OPC with ultrafine ggbfs in
w/c = 0.35 and 0.28 concrete, respectively. This variation was much higher than that of other transport
properties. The variation of resistivity with time was more pronounced in ggbfs concrete than in OPC
concrete. Ggbfs was observed, among the SCMs, as the one, which increaseds concrete resistivity the most
(Basheer et al. 2002; Polder and Peelen 2002). A similar trend was found for reduction of conductivity, the
inverse of resistivity, of ggbfs concretes with time (Nokken and Hooton 2006). Concrete with 35% ggbfs was
found to increase resistivity by 230% while 50% ggbfs increased resistivity by 400–500%, depending on the
Portland cement and the water/binder ratio of the concrete mixtures (Hooton and Charmchi 2015).
Olsson et al. (2013) studied the relationship between desorption isotherms and conductivities of mortars with
different binders. Plotting conductivity versus moisture content of mixes prepared with the same w/c ratio,
they found different correlations, depending on the ggbfs content (Fig. 1.41, Olsson et al. 2013). Ggbfs has a
strong impact on the conductivity of the pore solution. This is confirmed by Lübeck et al. (2012), who
obtained a decreased electrical conductivity of pore liquid due to ggbfs replacement of both, OPC and white
cement.
Fig. 1.41
Results of conductivity measurements on mortars with w/b = 0.38, as a function of moisture ratio (Olsson
et al. 2013)
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11/6/2017 e.

Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag

Yury Villagrán 3,4

2 Institute of Building Materials Research, RWTH Aachen University, Schinkelstr.

1.1. Blast-Furnace Slag—An Overview

1.1.2. Production and Use of Blast-Furnace Slag

1.1.3. Composition and Reactivity of Gbfs

SiO2 % 32 42 34.6– 33.5–34.8 32.0– 33.5– 32.6–36.9

CaO % 35 48 35.3– 39.1–43.8 34.9– 36.9– 33.0–43.0

Al2O3 % 6 >19 6.6–11.5 10.0–13.0 9.5–12.5 5.5–12.4 10.2–19.3

MgO % 3 14 7.0–13.1 5.9–9.9 5.0–13.4 2.5–11.2 4.9–13.8

TiO2 % 0.2 >2 0.3–0.8 0.5–0.6 0.4–1.3 0.2–1.3 0.6–2.1

Na2Oeq % 0.3 1.2 0.3–0.8 0.4–0.8 0.3–1.2 0.6–1.1 0.4–0.8

SO3a % 1 4 2.0–3.0 1.1–3.7 2.0–4.5 1.6–3.8 1.7–4.0

CaO/SiO2 – 0.9 1.3 0.9–1.2 1.1–1.3 1.0–1.3 0.9–1.3 0.9–1.3

Glass % 66 100 Not analysed

Bulk kg/l 0.6 1.3 Not analysed

Reactivity index Year Definition Criteria

Basicity according to Tetmajer 1886 CaO/ SiO2 –

German Standard for "Eisenportlandzement” CaO+MgO

German Standard for "Hochofenzement” 1932 ≥1

Reactivity according to 1949 20 + CaO + Al2 O 3 + 0.5 ⋅ MgO − SiO2 –

European Standards for cement and Bblast-furnace 1994 CaO+MgO

1.1.4. Ggbfs as Cement Constituent and as Concrete Addition

1.2. Relevant Standards for Ggbfs as Cement and Concrete Addition

1.3. Health and Safety Issues

1.4. Selected Environmental Aspects on Gbfs and Ggbfs

1.4.1. CO2 Footprint

Content of the CO2ea (without transport of constituents to the concrete

CIIB-S 21–35 (ggbfs) 735–617

CIIIA 36–65 (ggbfs) 608–363

Content of the CO e (without transport of constituents to the concrete

CIIIB 66–80 (ggbfs) 354–236

1.4.2. Heavy Metal Contents

CEM I (Brameshuber and Vollpracht 2007) Gbfsa

Parameter n Range Average n Median

Antimony (Sb) 21 <1–9.4 2.4 53 <5

Arsenic (As) 14 <2–12 6.1 53 <5

Barium (Ba) 8 104–818 346 – –

Lead (Pb) 21 5–145 27 53 <5

Cadmium (Cd) 18 <0.1–1.7 0.5 53 <0.5

Chromium (Cr) 21 29–129 61 53 21.2

Cobalt (Co) 15 5.6–14 8 – –

Copper (Cu) 18 14–101 35 53 <5

Molybdenum (Mo) 14 <1–6.9 2.9 53 <5

Nickel (Ni) 18 14–84 31 53 <5

Mercury (Hg) 18 0.003–0.7 0.06 – –

Selenium (Se) 5 <5–10 5.9 – –

Thallium (Tl) 15 <0.1–3.9 0.6 – –

CEM I (Brameshuber and Vollpracht 2007) Gbfs

Parameter n Range Average n Median

Vanadium (V) 16 22–100 39 53 34

Zinc (Zn) 14 30–514 146 53 7.4

n: Number of tested samples

Cr 59 184 70 76 29 89 92 578 129 33 85 41 46

Co 4 12 8.9 7.3 7.5 13 14 22 7.6 5.9 12 11 4

Mo – 1.9 5 6.9 1.1 3.7 <1.0 <1.0 <1.0 4.3 2.7 39 –

Zn 281 55 43 104 130 382 33 83 30 223 528 1178 24

In the EU the evaluation of leaching results is regulated at national level.

Material Ra-226 Th-232 K-40 Reference