2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Technology,
ICCTET’14
Durability And Characteristics of Copper Slag As
Fine Aggregate and Fly Ash as Cement in Concrete
M.Velumani
Assistant Professor,
K.S. Rangasamy College of Technology,
Tiruchengode, Erode
Abstract – The main objective of this study was to identify
alternative source of good quality fine aggregates which is
depleting very fast due to the fast pace of construction activities
in India. Use of slag sand is a waste material of copper
production and fly ash is a waste material of power plants
provides great opportunity to utilize it as an alternative to
normally available aggregates and cement. For this research
work , M35 grade concrete was used and tests were conducted for
various proportions of copper slag replacement with sand of 0 to
100% and fly ash replacement with cement of 0 to 30%. The fine
aggregate was replaced with copper slag as proportions of 0%,
10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, and 100% and cement
was replaced with fly ash as proportions of 30% in OPC 53 grade
cement. Concrete mixtures are evaluated for workability,
Ultrasonic pulse velocity test and water absorption test. The
obtained result was compared with those of control concrete
made with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).
Keywords – Copper slag, fly ash, Ordinary Portland cement,
Ultra sonic pulse velocity test, Water absorption test.
I. INTRODUCTION
This exploration work is an effort to develop the
awareness & importance of industrial waste management & its
utilization in productive manner in construction industry.
Large amounts of industrial waste or by-products accumulate
every year in the developing countries. Nowadays utilization
of secondary materials is being encouraged in construction
field. Copper slag is one of the materials that is considered as
a waste material which could have a promising future in
construction industry as partial or full substitute of either
cement or aggregates [1]. Copper slag used in this work was
brought from Sterlite Industries Ltd (SIL), Tuticorin, Tamil
Nadu, India. SIL is producing Copper slag during the
manufacture of copper metal. Currently, about 2600 tons of
Copper slag is produced per day and a total accumulation of
around 1.5 million tons [2]. Copper slag reduces the water
absorption is reduced by 33.59% and chloride ion penetrability
decreases by 77.32%. The copper slag reduces the pH value of
© IEEE 2014
IEEE Conference Number - 33344
July 8, 2014, Coimbatore, India.
►222◄
Dr.K.Nirmalkumar
Professor,
Kongu Engineering College,
Perundurai, Erode
concrete by3.04% [3]. R.R. Chavan et al., 2013, replaced
copper slag with sand of 0 to 100% in concrete.
The results shows that the compressive strength
increased by 55% at 40% replacement of copper slag the
flexural strength of Concrete increased by 14% at 28 days is
higher than design mix (Without replacement) for 20%
replacement of fine aggregate by Copper slag Compressive
strength and flexural Strength is increased due to high
toughness of Copper slag [4].Khalifa S. Al-Jabir, (2011)
pointed an experimental investigation was conducted to study
the effect of using copper slag as a fine aggregate on the
properties of concrete. There was more than 70%
improvement in the compressive strength of mortar with 50%
copper slag substitution in comparison with the control
mixture. The volume of permeable voids decreased with the
replacement of up to 50% copper slag [5].
This paper presents the details of experimental setup
and discussion on test results. In this paper the impact of
potential replacement of fine aggregate by copper slag and
cement by fly ash on the properties of concrete, experiments
were conducted on different concrete mixes.
II. MATERIALS AND PROPERTIES
A. Cement
The cement used in this project is Ordinary Portland
Cement of 43 Grade from Ultratech Cement Company.
This cement is most widely used in the construction
industry in India.
B. Coarse And Fine Aggregate
Coarse aggregate of 20mm size and fine aggregate of
zone III from Karur area of TamilNadu
C. Copper Slag
The slag is a black glassy granular material by
product of Sterlite Industries Limited (SIL), Tuticorin,
TamilNadu, India.
2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Technology, ►223◄
ICCTET’14

given in Table 3
D. Fly Ash
Fly ash of class C is obtained from thermal power Table 3 Chemical components of Copper Slag
plant, Mettur, TamilNadu, India was made use of.
Component CS(%)
E. Physical And Chemical Properties Silica (sio2) 33.05
Alumina ( Al2so3) 2.79
 Physical properties of OPC and Fly ash
Iron oxide ( Fe2o3) 53.45
Ordinary Portland cement from Ultratech Cement Calcium oxide (Cao) 6.06
Company is used for super grade. The cement is produced Magnesium oxide (Mgo) 1.56
as per the Indian standard IS specification given in IS:
Sulfuric trioxide ( so3) 1.89
1489 Part-I-1991.
Fly ash of class C is obtained from thermal power
plant. IS: 3812 Part-I -2003 The Physical properties of  Mix Ratio
Ordinary Portland Cement and Fly ash are given in Table 1
The Mix proportions are given in Table 4
Table 1 Physical properties of OPC and Fly ash
Table 4 Mix ratio
S.No Physical OPC Fly ash
Cement Fine Coarse Water
properties
(Kg/m3) aggregate aggregate (lit/m3)
1. Fineness 335.7 397 m2/kg (Kg/m3) (Kg/m3)
modulus m2/kg 362 790 1172 160
2. Initial setting 28 min 130 min 1 2.18 3.24 0.41
time
3. Final setting 595 min 290 min
 Various Replacements Of Copper Slag And Fly Ash
time In Concrete
4. Soundness 0.8% 0.20%
5. Specific gravity 3.15 2.14 The various replacements of Copper slag and
Fly ash are given in Table 5
 Chemical properties of OPC and Fly ash Table 5 Replacement of Copper slag and Fly ash

The Chemical properties of Ordinary Portland

S.NO Cement Fly ash FA CS
Cement and Fly ash are given in Table 2
(%) (%) (%) (%)
Table 2 Chemical properties of OPC and Fly ash 1. 100 0 100 0
2. 70 30 90 10
Component OPC (%) Fly ash (%) 3. 70 30 80 20
Silica (sio2) 20.85 58.65 4. 70 30 70 30
Alumina(Al2so 3) 4.78 15.65 5. 70 30 60 40
Iron oxide(Fe2o 3) 3.51 6.08
6. 70 30 50 50
Calcium oxide(Cao) 63.06 3.50
7. 70 30 40 60
Magnesiumoxide Mgo) 2.32 0.28
8. 70 30 20 80
trioxide (SO3) 2.48 0.16
9. 70 30 0 100
 Chemical Components of Copper Slag
III. TESTING OF MATERIALS
The Chemical components of Copper Slag are

© IEEE 2014
IEEE Conference Number - 33344
July 8, 2014, Coimbatore, India.
2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Technology, ►224◄
ICCTET’14

A. Sieve Analysis S.No Material Specific

The sample of aggregate into various fraction gravity
each consisting of particles of the same size. The sieve 1. Cement 3.15
analysis is conducted to determine the particle size
2. Fly ash 2.14
distribution in a sample of aggregate.
The aggregate used for making concrete are 3. Fine aggregate 2.65
4.75mm, 2.36mm, 1.18mm, 600 micron, 300 micron, and 4. Copper Slag 3.91
150 micron. The aggregate passes through 40mm and 5. Coarse aggregate 2.64
retained at 4.75mm as coarse aggregate and the aggregate
passes through 4.75mm and retained at 150 micron as fine IV. TESTS ON FRESH CONCRETE
aggregate. Sieve can be done manually or mechanically.
C.Slump test
Slump test is the most commonly used method of
measuring consistency of concrete. A concrete is thought
to be workable if it can be easily mixed and easily placed,
compacted and finished. This result in large voids, less
durability and less strength. The increase in water cement
ratio increases the slump and workability but decreases the
strength of concrete.

Figure1. Sieve Analysis

From the above Figure 1 is unstated that the fineness

modulus of copper slag (3.76) is more than the fineness
modulus of fine aggregate (2.73). The copper slag can be
used as fine aggregate in concrete.
Figure 2. Workability of concrete
B. Specific Gravity
From the above Figure 2 shows the workability of concrete
The Specific gravity of aggregate is made use of as Slump value.
in design calculation of concrete mixes. The specific
gravity is defined as the ratio between the weight of a IV.TESTS ON HARDENED CONCRETE
given volume of the material and weight of an equal
volume of standard material. Specific gravity of aggregate A.Compression Test
is also required in calculating the factor in connection with In order to determine the compressive strength
the workability measurements. cube mould of size 150×150×150 mm were casted. The
cubes were casted for different percentage of copper slag
The Specific gravity of materials are given in Table 6 from 0% to 100%. The mould is cleaned and oiled properly
Table 6 Specific gravity of materials

© IEEE 2014
IEEE Conference Number - 33344
July 8, 2014, Coimbatore, India.
2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Technology,
ICCTET’14
along its faces. Then the concrete is compacted properly
using tamping rod. Then the cubes are kept curing for
7day,28 day,60 day and90 day. The compression test is
done according to the specification IS 516:1959. The
compressive strength is calculated using the formula
Figure 3. Replacement % Vs Compressive Strength
Compressive strength =P/A
From the above fig 5.1 it is known that in the 7th
day testing the compressive strength is maximum at 40%
on surrogating fine aggregate by copper slag which is
about 46.98 N/mm2 where the conventional concrete
having compressive strength of 21.62N/mm2 . On 28th day
testing the compressive strength 63.54N/mm2 by
surrogating 40% of fine aggregate were the conventional
concrete contain compressive of about 41.33N/mm2 . On
60th day compressive testing it is also found that the
maximum strength is 40% (81.68 N/mm2) surrogating fine
aggregate. Whereas on 90th day compressive testing the
maximum strength is at 40% (119.65 N/mm2) surrogating
fine aggregate.
B.Split Tensile Test
For testing split tensile strength concrete cylinder
of size 150 mm diameter and 300mm height were casted
with different percentage of copper slag.
The mould where properly cleaned and oiled then
the concrete is filled in three layer then each layer is
compacted using tamping rod. It is cured for 7, 28, 60 and
90 days. The load is applied until the failure occurs and
failure lode is noted. The split tensile strength is calculated
using the formula
© IEEE 2014
IEEE Conference Number - 33344
July 8, 2014, Coimbatore, India.
►225◄
Figure 4. Replacement % Vs Split Tensile Strength
From the fig 5.2 the split tensile strength of
concrete with 40% surrogating fine aggregate by copper
slag has the maximum split tensile strength. In that 7th day,
28 th day, 60th day and 90th day. On surrogate concrete the
7th day split tensile strength is 6.24 N/mm2 where the
conventional concrete is about 4.23 N/mm2. In 28th day it is
about 7.25 N/mm2 where conventional concrete is about
4.89 N/mm2. In 60th and 90th day it is about 7.89 N/mm2
and 8.06 N/mm2 where the conventional concrete is 5.29
N/mm2 6.02 N/mm2.
C. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test
A reference bar is provided to check the
instrument is zero. The pulse time for the bar is engraved
on it. Apply a smear of grease to the transduced faces
before placing it on the opposite ends of the bar. Adjust the
SET REF control until the reference bar transit time is
obtained on the instrument read out.
For maximum accuracy it is recommended that
the 0.1 micron second range be selected for path length up
to 400mm. having determined the most suitable test points
on the material to be tested make careful measurement of
the path length ‘L’. Apply car plant to the surface of the
transducers and press it hard on to the surface of the
material. Do not move the transducers while a reading in
being taken as this can generate noise signals and error in
measurements continue holding the transducers onto the
surface of the material until a constant reading appears on
the display which is the time in microsecond for the
ultrasonic pulse to travel the distance L. The mean value of
the display readings should be taken when the unit digits
hunts between the two values.
2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Technology, ►226◄
ICCTET’14

Table 8. Results for Water Absorption Test

The ultrasonic pulse velocity of the hardened
concrete values are given in the below Table 5.1. Weight of Weight of Saturated
saturated oven water
Table 7. Ultrasonic pulse velocity of concrete S.N Mix id specimens dried absorption
o (Kg) specimens @ 56 days
Replac Replace Dist Tra Pulse Concrete (Kg) (%)
ement ment ance nsmi velocit quantity 1 Conve Fly
S. % of % of in t y in ntional ash 8.6 8.4 2.3
N copper fly ash (m time (KN/se concret (0%)
o slag in in m) (µse c) e
concret concret c) 2 S10 FA 8.74 8.6 2.2
e e 30%
1 CC S Cc (0%) 150 32.2 4.615 Excellent 3 S20 FA 8.87 8.7 2.1
(0%) 0 30%
2 CS10 Fly ash 150 30.8 4.870 Excellent 4 S30 FA 8.92 8.79 1.9
30% 0 30%
3 CS 20 FA 30% 150 30.5 4.747 Excellent 5 S40 FA 9.04 8.88 1.8
0 30%
4 CS30 FA 30% 150 31.6 4.870 Excellent 6 S50 FA 9.26 8.90 3.2
0 30%
5 CS40 FA 30% 150 34.1 5.208 Excellent 7 S60 FA 9.48 8.95 3.0
0 30%
6 CS50 FA 30% 150 33.4 4.491 Excellent 8 S80 FA 9.53 8.76 2.7
0 30%
7 CS60 FA 30% 150 32.2 4.615 Excellent 9 S100 FA 9.76 8.69 3.1
0 30%
8 CS80 FA 30% 150 30.7 4.886 Excellent
0 The blocks shall then be removed from the water
9 CS100 FA 30% 150 29.8 5.208 Excellent and allowed to drain for one minute by placing them on a
0 10mm or coarse wire mesh visible surface being
removed with a damp cloth, the saturated and surface dry
D. Water Obsorbtion Test blocks immediately weighed. After weighing all blocks
The full size blocks shall be completely shall be dried in a ventilated oven at 100 to 11500c for
immersed in clean water at room temperature for 24 not less than 24 hours and until to successive weighing at
hours. intervals of 2 hours show an increment of loss of not
The blocks shall then be removed from the water greater than 0.2 percent of the last previously determined
and allowed to drain for one minute by placing them on a mass of the specimen.
10mm or coarse wire mesh visible surface being removed
with a damp cloth, the saturated and surface dry blocks V.CONCLUSION
immediately weighed. After weighing all blocks shall be
dried in a ventilated oven at 100 to 11500c for not less than 1. From the test results it has been founded that the
24 hours and until to successive weighing at intervals of 2 average pulse velocity is above 5 km/sec for 40%
hours show an increment of loss of not greater than 0.2 copper slag replacement with fine aggregate and 30%
percent of the last previously determined mass of the replacement with cement.
specimen. 2. The sieve analysis test proves that the copper slag can
be surrogated for fine aggregate in concrete.
3. Water absorption in replaced concrete is lower than

© IEEE 2014
IEEE Conference Number - 33344
July 8, 2014, Coimbatore, India.
2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Technology, ►227◄
ICCTET’14

the conventional concrete.

4. As the subrogation of copper slag increases the
workability of concrete decreases due to free water left
in the concrete.
5. The compressive strength on concrete increased by
surrogating fine aggregate by 40% of copper slag.
6. By surrogating 40% of fine aggregate by copper slag
the split tensile strength is increased.
7. It has been understood that for 40% replacement, the
density of the mix is high and free from pores.
8. Up to 40% replacement of copper slag with fine
aggregate showed very less water absorption than
control concrete.
9. Beyond 40% the segregation and bleeding effect of
copper slag and fly ash mixed concrete increases
thereby increasing value of water absorption.
10. Finally this overall review concluded that the effect of
different kinds of industrial waste in concrete
properties, like slump value, workability, mechanical
properties of hardened specimen and durability were
studied. This paper will also encourage the utilization
of copper slag and fly ash derived from various
industries.

REFERENCES
[1] Arivalagan.S, “Experimental Study on the Flexural
Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beams as
Replacement of Copper Slag as Fine Aggregate”,
Journal of Civil Engineering and Urbanism, Vol.3, July
2013.
[2] Khalifa S. Al-Jabri, et al, “Effect of Copper Slag as a
Fine Aggregate on the Properties of Cement Mortars
and Concrete”, Construction and Building Materials
Vol-25 (2011), pp 933-938.
[3] Arunkumar.A, A.S.Santhi, G.Mohanganesh, “Various
Utilization of Fly Ash and its Properties on Concrete –
A Review” Trends in Engineering and Development,
Vol.2, March 2012.
[4] Khalife S. Al-Jabri, et al ‘ Performance of high strength
concrete made with copper slag as fine aggregate’,
construction and building material vol-23 (2009).
[5] N.K.S.Pundhir, et al ‘Use of copper slag as construction
material in bituminous pavements’, Journal of
Scientific & Industrial Research, vol 64 (2005).

© IEEE 2014
IEEE Conference Number - 33344
July 8, 2014, Coimbatore, India.