See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/324599754

Reuse of Waste Ferrochrome Slag in the Production of Mortar with Improved

Thermal and Mechanical Performance

Article  in  Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering · May 2018

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002345

CITATIONS READS

0 237

5 authors, including:

Khalifa S. Al-Jabri H. Shoukry

Sultan Qaboos University Housing and Building National Research Center
95 PUBLICATIONS   1,233 CITATIONS    19 PUBLICATIONS   100 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Sobhi Nasir Hossam Hassan

Sultan Qaboos University Sultan Qaboos University
300 PUBLICATIONS   1,126 CITATIONS    41 PUBLICATIONS   316 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Use of Ferrochrome in Asphalt Concrete View project

Satellite mapping of Chromite, Copper, Manganese ore deposits and limestone, dolomite, clay, marble industrial minerals and basalt, gabbro, chert industrial rocks:
Successful Research studies to the Sultanate of Oman and Arid Region View project

All content following this page was uploaded by H. Shoukry on 18 May 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Reuse of Waste Ferrochrome Slag in the Production
of Mortar with Improved Thermal and
Mechanical Performance
K. Al-Jabri 1; H. Shoukry 2; Ibrahim S. Khalil 3; Sobhi Nasir 4; and Hossam F. Hassan 5

Abstract: This study focuses on the reuse of waste ferrochrome (FeCr) slag as a partial replacement for sand in the production of cement
mortar with improved thermal and mechanical properties. Sand was replaced by FeCr slag in different percentages ranging from 0 up to 20%
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

(by weight). The flowability test was performed to evaluate the mortar’s behavior in a fresh state. Tests for the compressive strength, flexural
strength, drying shrinkage, thermal conductivity, and specific heat of the blended mortars have been conducted according to ASTM standards
at 3, 7, and 28 days of curing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was utilized to examine the phase composition. The scanning electron microscope
(SEM) was used for inspecting the microstructure changes of the hardened samples. The results revealed considerable improvements in the
compressive and flexural strengths; improvement ratios of about 33 and 39% were attained respectively at 20% FeCr slag replacement after
28 days of curing. The drying shrinkage generally decreased with increasing replacement of sand by FeCr slag. FeCr slag acts to increase both
the thermal conductivity and specific heat effectively. FeCr slag caused remarkable modifications in the microstructure of the blended
mortars. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002345. © 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Mortar; Ferrochrome (FeCr) slag; Compressive strength; Flexural strength; Drying shrinkage; Thermal conductivity;
Microstructure.

Introduction construction applications is found to be helpful in saving landfill

Over recent decades, there has been a quick increase in industrial
waste and by-product generation due to the progressive growth rate
of the population, development of industry and technology, and the
growth of consumerism (Al-Jabri et al. 2009). With the growing
environmental pressure to reduce waste and pollution, intensive
research studies have been conducted to explore all suitable reuse
methods (Alwaeli and Nadziakiewicz 2012). Fly ash, silica fume,
and slag were considered as waste materials. Mostly, concrete pre-
pared with such materials showed enhanced mechanical strength and
improved workability and durability compared to conventional con-
crete (Al-Jabri and Shoukry 2014). Construction waste, blast furnace
slag, coal fly ash, and bottom ash have been approved in many places
as alternative aggregates in bridges, roads, pavements, foundations,
and building construction (Lim and Chu 2006). The utilization of
industrial solid waste as a partial substitution of raw materials in
1
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Architectural Engineering, College
of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos Univ., P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoud 123,
Oman (corresponding author). Email: aljabri@squ.edu.om; kaljabri68@
gmail.com
2
Researcher, Housing and Building National Research Center,
87 El-Tahrir St., Dokki, P.O. Box 1770, Cairo, Egypt.
3 creasing rate of about 3–5% (Acharya and Patro 2016; Moodie
Associate Researcher, Housing and Building National Research
Center, 87 El-Tahrir St., Dokki, P.O. Box 1770, Cairo, Egypt.
4
Director and Professor, Earth Science Research Centre, Sultan Qaboos
Univ., Al-Khoud 123, Oman.
5
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Architectural Engineering,
College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos Univ., P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoud
123, Oman.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on March 16, 2017; approved on
January 19, 2018; published online on May 18, 2018. Discussion period
open until October 18, 2018; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561.
space and reducing the demand for extraction of natural raw materi-
als (Rakshvir and Barai 2006; Taha and Nounu 2008). Various types
of solids like glass, plastic, and demolished concrete have been also
considered for sand or aggregate partial replacement in the produc-
tion of sustainable concrete as reported by Batayneh et al. (2007).
This study affirmed that the three types of waste materials could
be reused effectively as partial substitutes for sand or coarse aggre-
gates in concrete mixtures. The effect of using copper slag as a
replacement of fine aggregate on the strength properties of concrete
has been examined for various proportions of copper slag from 0 to
100% in concrete (Ishimaru et al. 2005). The test results indicated
that compressive strength of concrete increased by 55% at 40%
replacement of fine aggregate by copper slag. It was also observed
that flexural strength at 28 days is higher than the control mix (with-
out replacement) for 20% replacement of fine aggregates by copper
slag; the flexural strength of concrete increased by 14%. It was
mentioned in this study that compressive and flexural strengths were
increased due to the high toughness of copper slag.
Ferrochrome (FeCr) slag is a by-product from the production of
ferrochrome, an essential component in the stainless steel industry.
Between 1.1 and 1.6 t of slag is produced for each ton of FeCr
(Niemela and Kauppi 2007). The annual world production of FeCr
slag is around 11.8 million tons (Moodie 2016) with an annual in-
2016). In Oman, there are two FeCr plants producing about
355,000 t of FeCr slag annually (Al-Jabri 2017). This quantity
is expected to increase in the future. The majority of this by-product
is not utilized in a beneficial manner and is currently being dumped.
Dumping of FeCr slag in the landfills causes environmental prob-
lems associated with the scarcity of landfilling area and the risk of
leaching of hazardous elements such as Cr(VI) leading to contami-
nation of the soil and ground water. The exhaustive consumption of
natural aggregates in the construction industry and road projects
has led to the depletion of natural resources at an alarming rate.

© ASCE 04018152-1 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152

 Therefore, searching for new viable materials in lieu of natural ag-
gregate has become imperative. Research studies conducted on
FeCr slag indicated that it possesses the required properties of ag-
gregates (Moodie 2016; Acharya and Patro 2016; Al-Jabri 2017).
Moodie (2016) reported that the use of FeCr slag in lieu of natural
aggregate in road construction resulted in 30–50% reduction in the
amount of natural aggregate required during construction, which
led to an added benefit of speeding up the construction process
and a reduction in the number of work hours required for the con-
struction project. Other studies reported the beneficial use of FeCr
slag as an aggregate in concrete (Al-Jabri 2017). Therefore, the uti-
lization of FeCr slag in beneficial applications satisfies the objectives
of the sustainable development strategies in saving the environment
and paying special attention to prevention, control, and remedy.
Although many previous studies investigated the use of waste metal
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
sands such as copper slag, aluminum sand, and iron ore sand (IOS)
and slag as a replacement of fine aggregate on the mechanical
strength of cement mortar and concrete, few research studies have
been carried out regarding reuse the ferrochrome slag in the construc-
tion industry. Furthermore, studies about the thermal properties of
metal sand cement mortars are limited.
Recently, FeCr slag has been successfully utilized in road pave-
ments, road bases, and road subbases. FeCr slag is safely utilized in
landfills In South Africa. Due to its high refractory compounds con-
tent and superior strength, the FeCr slag can be applied in many
ways including construction building materials, road construction,
and landfilling. (Yılmaz and Karasahin 2010). Zelić (2005) inves-
tigated the properties of concrete pavements prepared with ferro-
chromium slag as concrete aggregate. The results showed that
the 28-day compressive strength of the concrete made with original
unfractioned slag and with standard limestone as aggregate reached
the values of 57 and 36.7 MPa, respectively. The properties of con-
crete under combined effects of fly ash as cement replacement and
ferrochrome slag as aggregate substitution were investigated by
Gencel et al. (2012). Cement was replaced with fly ash at the ratio
of 10, 20, and 30% by weight, whereas coarse limestone aggregates
were replaced with coarse ferrochromium aggregate at the ratio of
25, 50, and 75% by weight. The results from the study revealed that
ferrochromium aggregates increased the strength of concrete and
also the abrasive and wear resistance, but it has negligible influence
on the porosity and water absorption of concrete. A study carried
out on the effect of microsilica addition within a low cement ca-
stables matrix of calcined bauxite and ferrochrome slag showed
that slag containing castables achieved good thermal properties
such as thermal shock resistance, permanent linear change, and py-
rometric cone equivalent (Kumar et al. 2014). A number of re-
searchers (Nadeen and Pofale 2012; Panda et al. 2013; Susheel
et al. 2016; Sathwik et al. 2016) studied the properties of normal-
and high-strength concrete made with FeCr slag as an aggregate
substitute. The results indicated that replacement of fine aggregate
with FeCr slag up to 75% has improved the strength of concrete
compared with conventional concrete.
The desired thermal characteristics of cementitious materials are
closely related to their applications in buildings, bridges, and other
structures. Evidently, increasing the thermal conductivity is helpful
in dissipating heat from concrete structures and reducing the effects
of thermal stresses. Moreover, reducing the thermal conductivity is
useful for thermal insulation applications (Xu and Chung 2000a, b).
The temperature gradient within the concrete structures is respon-
sible to a large extent for the internal thermal stresses that cause the
disintegration in mechanical strength and hence durability. Bridges
are the most likely structures to show temperature difference be-
tween their top and bottom surfaces. Concrete with high thermal
conductivity can dissipate a portion of heat and reduce temperature
© ASCE 04018152-2
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152
gradient, therefore it could be recommended for massive structures
like bridges and related structures (Xu and Chung 2000a, b). Gen-
erally, the equivalent thermal conductivity of cementitious compo-
sites is quite dependent on the volume fraction and corresponding
properties of each of the constituents (Lee 2007; Osiroff and
Hasselman 1991; Shoukry et al. 2016a, b). The thermal conduc-
tivity of concrete and mortar can be easily controlled, i.e., reduced
or raised, by replacing one or more of its components with ther-
mally insulating or conductive materials. Previous work on increas-
ing the thermal conductivity of concrete involved the use of an
aggregate with a higher thermal conductivity (Schneider 1988).
Metal sand with high thermal conductivity has been found to in-
crease the overall thermal conduction of mortar or concrete
(Shin and Kodide 2012; Uysal et al. 2004). An investigation into
thermal performance of IOS blended mortar has been performed by
Liu et al. (2015) in which IOS was utilized as an aggregate at differ-
ent replacement ratios; furthermore, the effects of water–cement
ratio, total sand–cement ratio, and river sand–iron ore sand ratio
have been examined. The IOS cement mortar showed high thermal
conductivity performance. The developed mortar presented in this
paper characterized with high thermal conductivity facilitates its
applications in the fields of chemical industries, petroleum pipeline,
deicing and snow melting, and heating. This work represents an
attempt to enhance the thermal properties including thermal con-
ductivity and specific heat and mechanical performance of cement
mortar through the reuse of FeCr slag as a partial replacement
for sand.
Experimental Testing Program
Materials
The cement used in this study was ordinary portland cement (OPC)
(CEM I 42.5 N). There were two types of fine aggregates: natural
siliceous sand passing through a 2.36-mm sieve and with a specific
gravity of 2.60 and FeCr slag aggregate. The FeCr slag was bought
from the Al Tamman Indsil Company (ATIC) in Sohar city, Oman.
The water cooled–air cooled ratio was about 70%:30%. The par-
ticle size distribution of both the sand and the as-received granu-
lated FeCr slag is presented in Fig. 1. The grain size of FeCr slag
used in this study was also adjusted to range from 0.06 to 2.36 mm
by using a US standard Sieve No. 8. The amount of material pass-
ing this sieve was about 85% of the as-received batch.
100
90
80
Percentage passing, %
70
60
Sand FeCr-Slag
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.1 1 10 100
Sieve size, mm
Fig. 1. Particle size distribution of sand and FeCr slag aggregate.
J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
 Table 1. Oxide composition of cement and FeCr slag aggregate
Material SiO2 Al2 O3 Fe2 O3 CaO MgO
OPC 20.92 4.69 3.30 64.21
FeCr slag 29.14 23.21 4.01 6.13 20.86
The chemical compositions of OPC and FeCr slag were
analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF); the oxide compositions
analyses are illustrated in Table 1. FeCr slag contains three major
chemical components—alumina, silica, and magnesia—and in-
cludes an appreciable amount of chromium (about 12.6%). The
mineralogical phase compositions of fine sand and FeCr slag were
examined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) as shown in Fig. 2. The
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
XRD pattern of the sand confirms its siliceous nature (i.e., quartz is
predominantly present). The XRD pattern of FeCr slag indicated
the presence of dominant mineral phases like the metallic phase
of magnesiochromite (MgCr2 O4 ) and chromoferride, and silicate
phases like forsterite (Mg2 SiO4 ), and fayalite (Fe2 SiO4 ). As clear
from the XRD pattern, the peak broadening from 2θ: 15–35 points
to the presence of amorphous phase (aluminosilicate) (Shoukry
et al. 2016a, b). Table 2 presents some of the physical properties
of FeCr slag and natural sand.
Since the surface roughness of the aggregate has significant in-
fluence on the bond strength of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ),
the scanning electron microscope (SEM) integrated with Scandium
image analysis software was used to investigate surface micro-
roughness of the aggregates and the results are shown in Fig. 3.
It can be seen from Fig. 3 that the particle shape of the sand is partly
rounded. However, the slag particles are irregular angular; further-
more, the slag aggregates exhibited relatively rough surfaces as
compared with sand grains, which have smooth surfaces.
The roughness of the aggregate surface was assessed by the index
Ra , which was calculated from Eq. (1) (Rao and Prasad 2002), where
Fig. 2. XRD patterns of natural sand and FeCr slag.
Table 2. Physical properties of FeCr slag and natural sand
Property FeCr slag Natural sand
Specific gravity 2.85 2.67
Thermal conductivity (W=m · K) 0.96 0.27
Water absorption (%) 0.63 0.74
© ASCE 04018152-3
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152
Oxide (%)
SO3 Na2 O K2 O Cr2 O3 Loss on ignition
2.57 0.67 0.11 0.02 — 3.5
0.039 0.14 0.04 12.59 4.06
l is the sampling length on a surface, n is the total number of
sampling points, and Zi is the coordinate of sampling point i in
the Z direction, as shown in Fig. 4
Z
1 l 1X n
Ra ¼ jZðxÞjdx or Ra ≈ jZ j ð1Þ
l 0 n i¼1 i
The Ra values for the fine sand and FeCr slag aggregates were
36.0 and 142.8 μm, respectively. Each value was the mean of 10
aggregates’ measurements, and the coefficients of deviation for
each kind of coarse aggregates were 3.3 and 4.1%, respectively.
Samples Preparation
The mortar was prepared using a cement–sand weight ratio of
1:2.75 and a water–binder ratio of 0:485. Fine sand was partially
replaced by various ratios of FeCr slag at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% by
weight. The study proposed to partially replace the sand with FeCr
slag up to 20% only to avoid increasing the MgO content in the
prepared mortars. Increasing the MgO content may hinder the ce-
ment hydration. A rotary mixer was used for mixing. With a view to
achieve a constant degree of flowability among the prepared blends,
the blended mortar samples were cast using water of standard con-
sistency. Cubes with dimensions of 50 × 50 × 50 mm were pro-
duced for the compressive strength test, prisms with dimensions
of 40 × 40 × 160 mm were prepared for the flexural strength, ther-
mal conductivity, and specific heat tests, and samples with dimen-
sions of 280 × 25.4 × 25.4 mm were created for drying shrinkage
measurement. Compressive strength, flexural strength, and drying
shrinkage tests were conducted on three samples per mix, and the
mean value was reported. The fresh mixes were maintained in
molds for 24 h after casting; then they were removed and kept
to cure under water for 3, 7, and 28 days.
Testing and Analysis Techniques
Compressive Strength
A universal compression instrument was used to conduct the com-
pressive strength test according to ASTM C109 (ASTM 2016). The
loading rate was adjusted to 1 kN=s.
Flexural Strength
This test was performed according to ASTM C348-08 (ASTM
2008) on 40 × 40 × 160 mm prisms.
Drying Shrinkage
The drying shrinkage test was performed as a function of curing
age. Stainless steel contact nails were fixed at each end along
the length of the test sample in a manner that the exterior tips
of the two contact nails were outside the sample and the interior
tips were dipped inside the sample and were separated by a distance
of 280 mm, which was the gauge length for drying shrinkage strain
J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 3. SEM micrographs and three-dimensional surface topography images of sand and FeCr slag.
Fig. 4. Surface profile and Ra . (Data from Rao and Prasad 2002.)
measurement. The measurements were made in accordance with
ASTM C596-01 (ASTM 2001).
X-Ray Diffraction
The phase composition and decomposition analysis was studied by
XRD. A Shimadzu X-600 (Kyoto, Japan) diffractometer using
CuKα radiation (40 kV, 30 mA, λ ¼ 0.1543 nm) recorded the dif-
fraction patterns from 5° ≥ 2θ ≥ 90° with a scan rate of 1° min−1 .
Scanning Electron Microscopy
To investigate the phase composition and microstructural character-
istics for the blended mortars, a scanning electron microscope
equipped with an energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) unit
(Model JSM 6360, Jeol, Tokyo, Japan) was used. Freshly fractured
pieces were used for SEM analysis.
Thermal Properties
The transient line heat source method for determining thermal con-
ductivity and specific heat capacity of cement-based structures has
been used effectively in many previous studies (Kim et al. 2003;
© ASCE 04018152-4
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152
Demirboga 2003; Log and Gustafsson 1995). Typically, a probe
for this measurement consists of dual needles (one acts as a heater
and the other is a detector) 1.3 mm in diameter × 3 cm long, with
6 mm spacing. When heat is applied, a current passes through the
heated needle for a set heating time, and temperature is measured in
the detector needle, 6 mm distant during heating and during the
cooling period following heating. Analysis of the sensor tempera-
ture determines the thermal conductivity. The analysis of the tem-
perature versus time relationship for the separated probes (in the
dual probe) yields information on diffusivity and heat capacity
as well as conductivity. In this study, a KD2 Pro [Meter group
(formerly Decagon), Washington] thermal properties analyzer
was used to evaluate the specific heat and the thermal conductivity.
Two parallel grooves were created for three prisms of every mix
during the period of initial setting by dipping two metal needles
having the same dimensions of the measuring probe with the
aid of a 6-mm spacer; paraffin was used to avoid the bonding
of metal needles with the cement paste and to help the simple re-
moval of these needles at the time of test. To avoid the influence of
moisture content on thermal conductivity results, the test samples
were dried at 80°C for 24 h before testing. Thermal grease is im-
portant to avoid the contact thermal resistance of the probe.
Results and Discussion
Flow Properties
In order to assess the mortar’s behavior in a fresh state, the flow-
ability test was conducted using a flow table methodology accord-
ing to BS EN 1015-3 (BSI 1999) other than the used flow mold
dimensions (40 mm in height, internal diameter was 80 mm at
the base 80 mm and 70 mm at the top). Fig. 5 presents the variation
J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
 of flow value with FeCr slag percentages. As can be seen from
Fig. 5, incorporating ferrochromium aggregate in the cement mor-
tar slightly decreased the flow (spread) of mortar, i.e., reduced
workability. This may be explained by the higher surface area
of angular FeCr slag aggregates with rough texture, which requires
more water for a standard workability than rounded sand. In other
words, the FeCr slag blended mortars attain the standard consis-
tency at higher water–cement ratios than ordinary mortar.

Mechanical Properties
Figs. 6(a and b) present the development in compressive and flexu-
ral strengths of cement mortars containing 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%
FeCr slag hydrated for 3, 7, and 28 days. It is clear from Fig. 6 that
FeCr slag enhanced both the compressive and flexural strengths at
Fig. 5. Variations of flow spread as a function of FeCr slag ratio.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

early and later ages of hydration; the maximum strength was

45

3 days 7 days 28 days

40

35
Compressive strength, MPa

30

25

20

15

10

5
0 5 10 15 20
(a) FeCr- slag percentage, %

4.5
y = 0.0628x + 3.2672
R² = 0.9833
4
Flexural strength, MPa

3.5
R² = 0.9746
3

2.5 R² = 0.9446
3 days
2 7 days
28 days
Linear (3 days)
1.5
Linear (7 days)
Linear (28 days)
1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
(b) FeCr- slag percentage, %

Fig. 6. Variations in the (a) compressive strength; and (b) flexural strength of cement mortars incorporating 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% FeCr slag hydrated
for 3, 7, and 28 days.

© ASCE 04018152-5 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152

 observed for the mixes with the highest FeCr slag percentage. Con-
siderable enhancements of about 33 and 39% were obtained for
compressive and flexural strengths, respectively, at 28 days of hy-
dration. The enhancement in compressive and flexural strengths is
attributed to the high toughness of FeCr slag aggregates. The ag-
gregate surface roughness has a direct effect on the interfacial bond
strength; the aggregates that have rough surfaces can achieve high
bond strength (Hong et al. 2014). Furthermore, the rough aggre-
gates exhibit a high critical aggregate fracture energy release rate
as reported by Tread and Buyukozturk (1998). Due to the high
roughness and irregularities of the slag surfaces, the hydration
products of cement can penetrate the cavities or fine wrinkles of
the aggregate surface, acting as several hooks binding both matrix
and aggregate, known as mechanical interlacing (Hong et al. 2014;
Tread and Buyukozturk 1998). In addition, as mentioned previ-
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
mechanical behavior of MgO concrete structures is stable (Fang
2004; Li 1998, 2000). Drying shrinkage is responsible for a portion
of the total deformation that is observed in hardened cement–based
structural members; therefore, decreasing the drying shrinkage will
be helpful in improving the structural performance and will result in
enhanced durability characteristics.
Thermal Properties
The variations in thermal conductivity and specific heat of the ce-
ment mortars incorporating 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% FeCr slag at
28 days of hydration are shown in Fig. 8. Both thermal conductivity
and specific heat increase with increasing FeCr slag content and the
improvement ratios reached 26 and 29%, respectively, at 20% FeCr
slag. The thermal conductivity is the product of the density, specific
heat, and thermal diffusivity. Therefore, the increment in all three

ously, FeCr slag has small amounts of amorphous silica, which par-
ticipates in the pozzolanic reaction, consuming some of the calcium
hydroxide (CH) liberated during cement hydration and creating
supplementary amounts of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH). This
in turn improves the bond between FeCr slag aggregate and cement
paste and forms a dense hardened cement matrix and hence con-
tributes to the mechanical strength of mortar.
Drying Shrinkage
The variations in drying shrinkage of cement mortars incorporating
0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% FeCr slag at 3, 7, and 28 days of hydration are
shown in Fig. 7. As compared with the plain ordinary mortar, the
drying shrinkage decreases as the percentage of FeCr slag increases.
The drying shrinkage decreased by about 42% at 28 days of curing
when 20% FeCr slag was used as sand replacement. The hydration of
MgO present in FeCr slag may help to explain the effect of shrinkage
reduction in the blended mortars. The hydrated MgO is made of
magnesium hydroxide, MgðOHÞ2 . Because MgðOHÞ2 has a larger
volume than its constituents, this process results in volume expan-
sion, which partially compensates for contraction due to curing (Chui
et al. 1992). The formation of MgðOHÞ2 has been confirmed by
SEM and EDS. The expansion is proportional to the quantity of
MgO; therefore, the reduction in drying shrinkage is significant at
the 20% replacement level. The expansion of FeCr slag blended mor-
tars is irreversible due to the irreversibility of hydration reaction of
magnesia. Long-term studies have demonstrated that because the hy-
dration process is irreversible and the MgðOHÞ2 phase is stable, the
quantities contributes to an increase in the thermal conductivity
(Xu and Chung 1999). In this study, the enhanced thermal conduc-
tivity was achieved by the increase in the specific heat. Basically,
the enhancement in thermal properties could be attributed to the
unique thermal characteristics of FeCr slag as compared with natu-
ral sand, which exhibits less specific heat and thermal conductivity
coefficients. The high amounts of MgO and Cr2 O3 in FeCr slag are
responsible for its high thermal conductivity. The increase in ther-
mal conductivity of FeCr slag blended mortars agree with findings
of a previous study on enhancing the thermal conductivity of mor-
tar through the use of an iron ore slag aggregate (Uysal et al. 2004).
Furthermore, increases in the specific heat and thermal conductivity
of cement paste by up to 50 and 38%, respectively, have been pre-
viously achieved utilizing various admixtures, such as silane and
silica fume (Xu and Chung 2000a, b). Finally, the enhancement
in specific heat could be helpful for increasing the temperature sta-
bility of cement and concrete structures; furthermore, increasing the
thermal conductivity of cement and concrete structures is helpful in
reducing temperature gradients and hence the thermal stresses.
Phase Composition Analysis by XRD
Fig. 9 shows the XRD charts for the plain and FeCr slag mortars at
28 days of hydration. The compounds detected in all samples are the
main hydration products calcium silicate hydrate and calcium
hydroxide along with calcium carbonate and quartz. The magnesium
hydroxide phase was detected in the FeCr slag blended mortars

2.5 3000
1.1 2900
2.4
2800
1 2.3 Thermal conductivity 2700
Thermal conductivity, W/m.k

2600
2.2 Specific heat R² = 0.9843
2500
Specific heat, KJ/m3.k

0.9
Drying shrinkage, %

2.1 2400
R² = 0.9816 2300
0.8 2
2200
3 days
1.9 2100
0.7 7 days R² = 0.9956
2000
28 days 1.8
1900
0.6 Expon. (3 days)
R² = 0.9972 1.7 1800
Expon. (7 days)
1700
Expon. (28 days) 1.6
0.5
1600
R² = 0.9947 1.5 1500
0.4 0 5 10 15 20
0 5 10 15 20 FeCr- Slag percentage, %
FeCr- slag percentage, %
Fig. 8. Variations in thermal conductivity and specific heat of the
Fig. 7. Variations in drying shrinkage of cement mortars incorporating cement mortars incorporating 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% FeCr slag at 28 days
0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% FeCr slag hydrated for 3, 7, and 28 days. of hydration.

© ASCE 04018152-6 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 9. XRD patterns of plain and FeCr slag blended mortars at 28 days of hydration.
as a result of the hydration of magnesia. The magnesium hydroxide
crystals oriented in the (1 1 0) plane found at 2θ ≈ 59° (Kumari et al.
2009) is the phase responsible for expansion in mortar as discussed
previously. Furthermore, intensities of the peaks characterizing the
CH phase in the FeCr slag blended mortars were found to be less
than that of the plain ordinary mortar. This may be attributed to
the partial consumption of CH by pozzolanic reaction with the amor-
phous silica present in the FeCr slag. Minimizing the CH content
contributes to enhanced strength and durability of concrete structures
(Al-Salami et al. 2013).
Microstructure Characteristics
The SEM micrographs obtained for the plain and FeCr slag blended
mortars at 28 days of hydration are shown in Fig. 10. The micro-
graph of the plain mortar shows the formation of gel-like CSH
around the sand grains. MgðOHÞ2 microplates were observed in
all the FeCr slag blended mortars as confirmed by EDS. These plate-
like crystals were formed by the hydration of MgO in the FeCr slag.
MgðOHÞ2 has a larger volume than its constituents; this process
compensates for contraction due to curing, i.e., reducing drying
shrinkage. The MgðOHÞ2 content increases with the increase of FeCr
slag replacements. As can be seen in Figs. 10(b and e),
crystalline MgðOHÞ2 particles with a length of about 50 μm are em-
bedded in the CSH gel. Figs. 10(c and e) show the growth of
MgðOHÞ2 crystals oriented to the aggregate’s side, i.e., modifying
ITZ characteristics. Many previous studies concluded that both
the surface texture and the type of aggregates have great influence
on the ITZ properties (Elsharief et al. 2003). FeCr slag improves the
microstructure of the blended mortars by two mechanisms. The first
mechanism is the increase in the physical bond between the aggre-
gate and cement matrix due to the high surface roughness of FeCr
© ASCE 04018152-7
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152
slag particles. The second mechanism is the formation of the
MgðOHÞ2 phase, which helps in minimizing the drying shrinkage
and hence reducing the structural defects in the matrix. Xiao et al.
(2013) concluded that the physical and chemical interactions that
occur between aggregate and the cement hydrates are responsible
for the ITZ mechanical strength.
Conclusions
The influence of FeCr slag as a partial replacement of sand on the
compressive and flexural strengths, drying shrinkage, specific heat,
and thermal conductivity has been investigated in this study; the
following conclusions can be drawn:
• Partial replacement of fine sand by 20% FeCr slag led to remark-
able improvements in both compressive and flexural strengths
of mortar by about 33 and 39%, respectively, which can be at-
tributed to the high toughness of FeCr slag aggregates in addi-
tion to the improved bond strength.
• FeCr slag is very helpful in minimizing the drying shrinkage of
cement mortar. The drying shrinkage has decreased by about
42% when 20% FeCr slag is loaded. The volume expansion that
occurred due to hydration of MgO in FeCr slag is responsible
for the improvement in drying shrinkage.
• Both thermal conductivity and specific heat increased with increas-
ing FeCr slag percentage; enhancements by about 26 and 29%
have been attained respectively at 20% FeCr slag. The enhance-
ment in the thermal properties could be attributed to the unique
thermal characteristics of FeCr slag as compared with natural sand.
• The incorporation of FeCr slag resulted in great modification in
the microstructural characteristics of blended cement mortars.
• The enhancement in the thermal properties of the mortar as a
result of FeCr slag replacement could be beneficial in increasing
J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 10. SEM micrographs of (a) ordinary mortar; and blended mortars with FeCr slag percentages of (b) 5%; (c) 10%; (d) 15%; and (e) 20%.

the temperature stability and reducing temperature gradients and Acknowledgments

thus reducing the thermal stresses in concrete structures.
• Future research on the application of FeCr slag in concrete The authors would like to express their gratitude to Petroleum
mixtures is recommended including the fresh and hardened Development Oman (PDO) and Sultan Qaboos University for
properties. providing financial support to the project under Contract No.

© ASCE 04018152-8 J. Mater. Civ. Eng.

J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152

 CR/ENG/CIVL/14/09. Our thanks are extended to Al-Tamman
Indsil Company for providing the ferrochrome slag used in the
study.
References
Acharya, P. K., and S. K. Patro. 2016. “Utilization of ferrochrome wastes
such as ferrochrome ash and ferrochrome slag in concrete manufactur-
ing.” Waste Manage. Res. 34 (8): 764–774. https://doi.org/10.1177
/0734242X16654751.
Al-Jabri, K. S. 2018. “Research on the use of ferrochrome slag in civil en-
gineering applications.” MATEC Web of Conf. 149: 01017. https://doi
.org/10.1051/matecconf/201814901017.
Al-Jabri, K. S., M. Hisada, S. K. Al-Oraimi, and A. H. Al-Saidy. 2009.
“Copper slag as sand replacement for high performance concrete.”
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Cem. Concr. Compos. 31 (7): 483–488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j
.cemconcomp.2009.04.007.
Al-Jabri, K. S., and H. Shoukry. 2014. “Use of nano-structured waste ma-
terials for improving mechanical, physical and structural properties of
cement mortar.” Constr. Build. Mater. 73 (Dec): 636–644. https://doi
.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.10.004.
Al-Salami, A. E., M. S. Morsy, S. Taha, and H. Shoukry. 2013. “Physico-
mechanical characteristics of blended white cement pastes containing
thermally activated ultrafine nano clays.” Constr. Build. Mater.
47 (Oct): 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.05.011.
Alwaeli, M., and J. Nadziakiewicz. 2012. “Recycling of scale and steel
chips waste as a partial replacement of sand in concrete.” Constr. Build.
Mater. 28 (1): 157–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011
.08.047.
ASTM. 2001. Standard test method for drying shrinkage of mortar con-
taining hydraulic cement. ASTM C596-01. West Conshohocken, PA:
ASTM.
ASTM. 2008. Standard test method for flexural strength of hydraulic-
cement mortars. ASTM C348-08. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2016. Standard test method for compressive strength of hydraulic
cement mortars (using 2-in. or [50-mm] cube specimens). ASTM C109/
C109M-16a. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Batayneh, M., I. Marie, and I. Asi. 2007. “Use of selected waste materials in
concrete mixes.” Waste Manage. 27 (12): 1870–1876. https://doi.org/10
.1016/j.wasman.2006.07.026.
BSI (British Standards Institution). 1999. Methods of test for mortar for
masonry. Determination of consistence of fresh mortar (by flow table).
BS EN 1015-3. London: BSI.
Chui, X. H., Z. Liu, and M. S. Tang. 1992. “MgO as expansive constituent.”
East-China Hydropower Technol. 3 (2): 28–32.
Demirboga, R. 2003. “Influence of mineral admixtures on thermal con-
ductivity and compressive strength of mortar.” Energy Build. 35 (2):
189–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7788(02)00052-X.
Elsharief, A., M. D. Cohen, and J. Olek. 2003. “Influence of aggregate size,
water cement ratio and age on the microstructure of the interfacial tran-
sition zone.” Cem. Concr. Res. 33 (11): 1837–1849. https://doi.org/10
.1016/S0008-8846(03)00205-9.
Fang, K. H. 2004. “Hydration of MgO and its influence on autogenous
volume expansion.” J. Hydrol. Eng. 4 (1): 45–49.
Gencel, O., F. Koksal, C. Ozel, and W. Brostow. 2012. “Combined effects
of fly ash and waste ferrochromium on properties of concrete.” Constr.
Build. Mater. 29 (Apr): 633–640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat
.2011.11.026.
Hong, L., X. Gu, and F. Lin. 2014. “Influence of aggregate surface rough-
ness on mechanical properties of interface and concrete.” Constr. Build.
Mater. 65 (Aug): 338–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014
.04.131.
Ishimaru, K., H. Mizuguchi, C. Hashimoto, T. Ueda, K. Fujita, and M.
Ohmi. 2005. “Properties of copper slag and second class fly ash as
a part of fine aggregate.” J. Soc. Mater. Sci. Jpn. 54 (8): 828–833.
https://doi.org/10.2472/jsms.54.828.
Kim, K.-H., S.-E. Jeon, J.-K. Kim, and S. Yang. 2003. “An experimental
study on thermal conductivity of concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 33 (3):
363–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(02)00965-1.
© ASCE 04018152-9
J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152
Kumar, P. H., A. Srivastava, V. Kumar, M. R. Majhi, and V. K Singh. 2014.
“Implementation of industrial waste ferrochrome slag in conventional
and low cement castables: Effect of calcined alumina.” J. Asian Ceram.
Soc. 2 (4): 371–379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jascer.2014.08.001.
Kumari, L., W. Z. Li, C. H. Vannoy, R. M. Leblanc, and D. Z. Wang. 2009.
“Synthesis, characterization and optical properties of MgðOHÞ2 micro-
nanostructure and its conversion to MgO.” Ceram. Int. 35 (8):
3355–3364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2009.05.035.
Lee, J. K. 2007. “Prediction of thermal conductivity of composites with
spherical fillers by successive embedding.” Arch. Appl. Mech. 77 (7):
453–460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00419-006-0108-7.
Li, C. M. 1998. “Expansive behaviour of cement paste with additive of
lightly and heavily burnt MgO powder.” Res. Hydropower Eng. 4 (3):
7–11.
Li, C. M. 2000. “Mechanical properties and durability of MgO concrete.”
Adv. Sci. Technol. Water Resour. 20 (5): 30–35.
Lim, T. T., and J. Chu. 2006. “Assessment of the use of spent copper slag
for land reclamation.” Waste Manage. Res. 24 (1): 67–73. https://doi
.org/10.1177/0734242X06061769.
Liu, K., Z. Wang, C. Jin, F. Wang, and X. Lu. 2015. “An experimental study
on thermal conductivity of iron ore sand cement mortar.” Constr. Build.
Mater. 101 (Dec): 932–941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat
.2015.10.108.
Log, T., and S. E. Gustafsson. 1995. “Transient plane source (TPS) tech-
nique for measuring thermal transport properties of building materials.”
Fire Mater. 19 (1): 43–49. https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.810190107.
Moodie, E. 2016. “The benefits of using ferrochrome slag as waste aggre-
gate in South Africa.” M.Sc. thesis, Dept. of Geography and Environ-
mental Management, North-West Univ.
Nadeen, M., and A. D. Pofale. 2012. “Utilization of industrial waste slag as
aggregate in concrete applications by adopting Taguchi’s approach for
optimization.” Open J. Civ. Eng. 2 (3): 96–105. https://doi.org/10.4236
/ojce.2012.23015.
Niemela, P., and M. Kauppi. 2007. “Production, characteristics and use
of ferrochromium slags.” In INFACON XI, 171–179. Noida, India:
Macmillan.
Osiroff, R., and D. P. H. Hasselman. 1991. “Effect of interfacial thermal
barrier on the thermal stresses near spherical inclusion in matrix sub-
jected to linear heat flow.” J. Compos. Mater. 25 (12): 1588–1598.
https://doi.org/10.1177/002199839102501202.
Panda, C. R., K. K. Mishra, K. C. Panda, B. D. Nayak, and B. B. Nayak.
2013. “Environmental and technical assessment of ferrochrome slag as
concrete aggregate material.” Constr. Build. Mater. 49 (Dec): 262–271.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.08.002.
Rakshvir, M., and S. V. Barai. 2006. “Studies on recycled aggregates-based
concrete.” Waste Manage. Res. 24 (3): 225–233. https://doi.org/10.1177
/0734242X06064820.
Rao, G. A., and B. K. R. Prasad. 2002. “Influence of the roughness of
aggregate surface on the interface bond strength.” Cem. Concr. Res.
32 (2): 253–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(01)00668-8.
Sathwik, S. R., J. Sanjith, and G. N. Sudhakar. 2016. “Development of high
strength concrete using ferrochrome slag aggregate as replacement to
coarse aggregate.” Am. J. Eng. Res. 5 (9): 83–87.
Schneider, U. 1988. “Concrete at high temperatures—A general review.” Fire
Saf. J. 13 (1): 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-7112(88)90033-1.
Shin, A. H. C., and U. Kodide. 2012. “Thermal conductivity of ternary
mixtures for concrete pavements.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 34 (4):
575–582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2011.11.009.
Shoukry, H., M. F. Kotkata, S. A. Abo-EL-Enein, M. S. Morsy, and S. S.
Shebl. 2016a. “Enhanced physical, mechanical and microstructural
properties of lightweight vermiculite cement composites modified with
nano metakaolin.” Constr. Build. Mater. 112 (Jun): 276–283. https://doi
.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.02.209.
Shoukry, H., M. F. Kotkata, S. A. Abo-EL-Enein, M. S. Morsy, and S. S.
Shebl. 2016b. “Thermo-physical properties of nanostructured light-
weight fiber reinforced cementitious composites.” Constr. Build. Mater.
102 (Jan): 167–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.10.188.
Susheel, S. M., S. R. Sathwik, T. Vinayak, S. Darshan, J. Sanjith, and A.
Ranjith. 2016. “Development of normal strength concrete using
J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
 ferrochrome slag aggregate as replacement to coarse aggregate.” Int. J.
Innovative Sci. Eng. Technol. 3 (6): 250–253.
Taha, B., and G. Nounu. 2008. “Properties of concrete contains mixed col-
our waste recycled glass as sand and cement replacement.” Constr.
Build. Mater. 22 (5): 713–720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat
.2007.01.019.
Tread, U., and O. Buyukozturk. 1998. “Size effect and influence of aggregate
roughness in interface fracture of concrete composites.” ACI Mater. J.
95 (4): 331–338.
Uysal, H., R. Demirboga, R. Sahin, and R. Gul. 2004. “The effects of differ-
ent cement dosages, slumps, and pumice aggregate ratios on the thermal
conductivity and density of concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 34 (5):
845–848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2003.09.018.
Xiao, J., W. Li, Z. Sun, D. A. Lange, and S. P. Shah. 2013. “Properties of
interfacial transition zones in recycled aggregate concrete tested by
nanoindentation.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 37 (Mar): 276–292. https://doi
.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2013.01.006.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by SDL Portal on 05/18/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
© ASCE 04018152-10
View publication stats J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 2018, 30(8): 04018152
Xu, Y., and D. D. L. Chung. 1999. “Increasing the specific heat of cement
paste by admixture surface treatments.” Cem. Concr. Res. 29 (7):
1117–1121. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(99)00080-0.
Xu, Y., and D. D. L. Chung. 2000a. “Cement of high specific heat and high
thermal conductivity, obtained by using silane and silica fume as admix-
tures.” Cem. Concr. Res. 30 (7): 1175–1178. https://doi.org/10.1016
/S0008-8846(00)00296-9.
Xu, Y., and D. D. L. Chung. 2000b. “Effect of sand addition on the specific
heat and thermal conductivity of cement.” Cem. Concr. Res. 30 (1): 59–61.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(99)00206-9.
Yılmaz, A., and M. Karasahin. 2010. “Mechanical properties of ferrochro-
mium slag in granular layers of flexible pavements.” Mater. Struct.
43 (3): 309–317. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-009-9490-2.
Zelić, J. 2005. “Properties of concrete pavements prepared with ferrochro-
mium slag as concrete aggregate.” Cem Concr. Res. 35 (12): 2340–2349.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.11.019.
J. Mater. Civ. Eng.