Experimental Investigation on the Performance of Self Compacting Concrete Using Copper Slag

Abstract

Copper manufacturing industry produces bulk quantity of copper slag as an industrial by-product. Its management and disposal is a major challenge for the environment, thus an urgent need for its potential alternative is recommended. The intent of the current work was to design self-compacting concrete mixes incorporating copper slag as fine aggregate replacement. Self-compacting concrete is a highly flowable type of concrete that spreads into the form and compact without the need for external vibration. Self-compacting concrete was developed as per IS 10262:2019 using copper slag as fine aggregates with partial and full replacement of sand. Five different SCC mixes with 0% as control mix, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of copper slag substituting sand were cast and tested for both fresh and mechanical properties. The results obtained indicates that the flowability and passing ability of SCC mixes enhanced as the content of copper slag increased. Compressive strength and split tensile strength were also increased as the content of copper slag enhanced. A substitution of up to 40% copper slag as a sand replacement yielded compressive strength of about 41.23 MPa.