Performance of high strength concrete made with copper slag as a fine aggregate

This research study was conducted to investigate the performance of high strength concrete (HSC) made with copper slag as a fine aggregate at constant workability and to study the effect of superplasticizer addition on the properties of HSC made with copper slag. Two series of concrete mixtures were prepared with different proportions of copper slag. The first series consisted of six concrete mixtures prepared with different proportions of copper slag at constant workability. The water content was adjusted in each mixture in order to achieve the same workability as that for the control mixture. Twelve concrete mixtures were prepared in the second series. Only the first mixture was prepared using superplasticizer whereas the other eleven mixtures were prepared without using superplasticizer and with different proportions of copper slag used as sand replacement. The results indicated that the water demand reduced by almost 22% at 100% copper slag replacement compared to the control mixture. The strength and durability of HSC were generally improved with the increase of copper slag content in the concrete mixture. However, the strength and durability characteristics of HSC were adversely affected by the absence of the superplasticizer from the concrete paste despite the improvement in the concrete strength with the increase of copper content. All concrete mixtures did not meet the strength and durability design requirements due to the segregation and dryness of the concrete paste. Therefore it can be concluded that the use of copper slag as sand substitution improves HSC strength and durability characteristics at same workability while superplasticizer is very important ingredient in HSC made with copper slag in order to provide good workability and better consistency for the concrete matrix.