Durability in Marine Environment of High-performance Concrete with Electric arc Furnace Slags and Cupola Slag Admixture

Abstract

Obtaining new building materials that are more environmentally friendly than the traditional and that guarantee an optimal response to the most demanding conditions, is one of the greatest challenges in the science of materials. The use of electric arc furnaces slags (EAFS) and cupola slag (CS) to produce a structural self-compacting concrete (SCC), involves the valorization of industrial byproducts that often end up in landfill and avoid the extraction of a natural resource. The potential qualities of these wastes make them desirable for the production of high quality concrete. Highperformance concrete mixes are designed taking advantage of the high stiffness, the peculiar geometry and the high strength of the EAFS, as well as the high pozzolanicity of the cupola slag. There are great benefits at the mechanical level with its use, but it is necessary to know more about its durability. Different mixes using basalt aggregates and silica sand are used to compare the effects of using EAFS and cupola slag admixture in mixes that have been subjected to durability tests. These tests consist of the determination of chloride ion penetration and protection against reinforcement corrosion after 10 months of exposure in tidal race. The comparisons made after subjecting the different mixes to these tests allow to conclude that chloride ions penetrate almost twice with EAFS than with natural aggregates, while no corrosion of the bars has been shown in any of the mixes.

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