Slag cements for special concrete applications

Dr. D. Rosani
Team Leader ITI / GRD
HeidelbergCement Technical Centre
Leimen, Germany
Agenda

Cement types according to standards

Main characteristics of slag cements

Durability performance of slag cements

Application of slag cements in concrete

Conclusions
Slag Cements – a bit of history…

1878 Portland Cement, Germany

1904 Portland Cement, U.K.
1909 Blast furnace slag cement, Germany
1923 Blast furnace slag cement, U.K.
1936 Pozzolanic cement, Italy
1940 Trass cement, Germany
1948 Slag, pozzolana and fly ash cement, France
1957 Fly ash cement, Czechoslovakia
1976 Limestone cement, France
 CEM II/A-P 80-94 - -
Portland- CEM II/B-P 65-79 - -
Slag Cement types – acc. to European CEM
Standard
II/A-Q 80-94 EN- 197-1
-
pozzolana-
cement
CEM II/B-Q 65-79 - -
CEM II/A-V 80-94 - -
Main
Composition [M.-%] Notation of the 27 Products
1)

Types Portland fly CEM II/B-V 65-79 - -

Blast-
CEM
Main II
constituents ash cement Silica-
Main CEM II/A-W 80-94
Clinker -
furnace -
Types
Notation of the 27 Products
Minor fume
Blast-
Silica-
Pozzolana Fly ash
Burnt CEM II/B-W additional 65-79 Slag
- -
Clinker furnace Limestone
fume shale constituents
Slag natürlich natural
natürlich silliceous
getempert calcined
Portland burnt CEM II/A-T 80-94 - -
K S D 2) P Q V W T L LL K S D 2)
CEM I Portland cement CEM I 95-100 - - - - - shale
- cement
- - -
CEM 0-5
II/B-T 65-79 -- --
CEM II/A-S 80-94 6-20 - -
CEM- I -
Portland
-
cement
- -
CEM
-
I 0-5 95-100
Portland-slag
cement CEM II/B-S 65-79 21-35 - - - - - - - CEM
-
CEM II/A-L
0-5
II/A-S 80-94
80-94 -
6-20 --
Portland-silica
Portland-slag
CEM II/A-D 90-94 - 6-10 - - - - - - - 0-5
fume cement cement lime-
Portland CEM
CEMII/B-L
II/B-S 65-79
65-79 -
21-35 --
CEM II/A-P 80-94 - - 6-20 - - - - - - 0-5
Portland- CEM II/B-P 65-79 - - 21-35 - -
ston- cement
- - CEM
- II/A-LL
0-5 80-94 - -
pozzolana- Portland-silica
cement CEM II/A-Q 80-94 - - - 6-20 - - - - CEM
- II/A-D
0-5 90-94 - 6-10
CEM II/B-Q 65-79 - - - 21-35 -
fume-
cement
- - CEM
- II/B-LL
0-5 65-79 - -
CEM II/A-V 80-94 - - - - 6-20 - - - - 0-5
Portland com- CEMII/A-M
CEM II/A-P 80-94
80-94 - -
Portland fly CEM II/B-V 65-79 - - - - 21-35 - - - - 0-5
CEM II ash cement Portland-
posite
6-20 cement
3)
CEM II/B-P 65-79 - -
CEM II/A-W 80-94 - - - - - - -
CEM
-
II/B-M
0-5
65-79
CEM II/B-W 65-79 - - - - - pozzolana-
21-35 - - - 0-5

Portland burnt CEM II/A-T 80-94 - - - - - -

cement 6-20 - CEM
CEM
- II/A-Q
III/A
0-5 80-94
35-64 -
36-65 --
shale cement CEM II/B-T 65-79 - - - - - Blastfurnace
- 21-35 - - 0-5
CEM II/A-L 80-94 - - - CEM- III - CEM
CEM II/B-Q
III/B 65-79
20-34 -
66-80 --
cement -
- 6-20 - 0-5

Portland lime- CEM II/B-L 65-79 - - - - - - - 21-35 - 0-5

ston cement CEM II/A-LL 80-94 - - - - - - - -
CEM
CEM
6-20
II/A-V
III/C
0-5
80-94
5-19 -
81-95 --
CEM II/B-LL 65-79 - - - - - - - - 21-35 0-5
Pozzolanic
Portland fly CEM
CEM II/B-V
IV/A 65-79
65-89 -- -
Portland com- CEM II/A-M 80-94 CEM
CEM IV
II
6-20
3)
0-5
posite cement 3)
CEM II/B-M 65-79 21-35 ash cement
cement CEMIV/B
CEM II/A-W
0-5 80-94
45-64 -- -
CEM III/A 35-64 36-65 - - - - - - - - 0-5
CEM III
Blastfurnace
cement
CEM III/B 20-34 66-80 - - - - Composite
- - - CEM
CEM
- V/A
II/B-W
0-5 40-64
65-79 18-30
- --
CEM III/C 5-19 81-95 - - CEM- V - - 3) - - - 0-5
cement CEM
CEM V/B
II/A-T 20-38
80-94 31-50
- --
Pozzolanic CEM IV/A 65-89 - 11-35 Portland burnt
- - - 0-5
CEM IV
cement 3) CEM IV/B 45-64 - 36-55 shale cement
- -
CEM
-
II/B-T
0-5
65-79 - -
Composite CEM V/A 40-64 18-30 - 18-30 - - - - 0-5
CEM V
cement 3) CEM V/B 20-38 31-50 - 31-50 - - - - 0-5
CEM II/A-L 80-94 - -

Portland lime- CEM II/B-L 65-79 - -

ston cement CEM II/A-LL 80-94 - -
CEM II/B-LL 65-79 - -
Slag Cement types – according to ASTM C595

The following slag-containing cements are specified:

 Binary blended cement with 80% OPC and 20% slag

= Type IS(20)
 Ternary blended cement with 70% OPC, 20% slag and 10% pozzolan
= Type IT(S20)(P10)
 Ternary blended cement with 60% OPC, 20% of slag and 20% pozz.
= Type IT(P20)(S20)
 Ternary blended cement with 75% OPC, 15 % slag and 10% limestone
= Type IT(S15)(L10)

 Note: ASTM C989 specifies characteristics of ground slag to be used

in concrete, thus allowing a wider range of slag dosages
Slag Cement types – according to SNI 8363/2017

 Slag cements shall contain blast furnace slag between

36 and 70%

 Three different slag cements are also specified according

to application

 LH – low heat slag cement

60 cal/g after 7 days
70 cal/g after 28 days
 MS – moderate sulfate resisting slag cement
max. 0.1% expansion after 180 days1
 HS – high sulfate resisting slag cement
max. 0.05% expansion after 180 days1
max. 0.1% expansion after 1 year1

1 acc. ASTM C1012

Slag Cements

Main properties and characteristics

Slag Cements – Hydration

 Blast furnace slag is a latent hydraulic material

– can harden when mixed with water
– has a lower hydration rate than OPC
– addition of OPC, lime, or alkali salts increases hydration rate
 Hydration products of slag are essentially the same like OPC

 Different amounts of hydration products – the CaO/SiO2 ratio is

– between1 and 1.5 in slag
– around 3 in clinker
– around 1.5 in hydrated tobermorite C3S2Hn
Therefore
– higher amount of silicate hydrates => higher strength
– lower amount of hydration lime => higher chemical resistance
Slag Cements – Compressive strength

 Due to the slower hydration of slag, the strength development of

slag cements is typically lower at early ages and higher at late ages

80
Compressive strength in MPa

70
60
50
40 CEM I 52.5 R
30 CEM I 42.5 R
20 CEM I 32.5 R
10 CEM III/A 32.5 R

1 2 7 28 90 1 3

Time in days Time in years

Slag Cements – Compressive strength

 For special applications, testing of concrete strength after

56 or 90 days may be more appropriate to garantee achievement
of relevant durability properties

80
Compressive strength in MPa

70
60
50
40 CEM I 52.5 R
30 CEM I 42.5 R
20 CEM I 32.5 R
10 CEM III/A 32.5 R

1 2 7 28 90 1 3

Time in days Time in years

Slag Cements – Reduction of soluble Ca(OH)2

 Due to the reaction of slag with calcium hydroxide, slag cements

improve chemical resistance and reduce porosity
25
Ca(OH)2 - content in g / 100 g cement

0% ggbfs
25% ggbfs
20 50% ggbfs
75% ggbfs

15

10

0
0 2 7 28 91 365 1095
Age (days)
Slag Cements – CO2 footprint

 Use of blast furnace slag in cement considerably reduces the

emission of CO2 due to clinker production

900

- 50

CEM I 52,5
%
CO2 [kg/t]

450
CEM III/A

0 15 50 100
clinker content %
Slag Cements

Durability
Slag Cement – Durability

Structures are called durable, if they show ...

... the required properties under the designed stresses
during the projected service life at low maintenance costs.

Therefore, durability ...

... may be defined as the ability of concrete
to resist weathering actions and environmental influences

Durability of concrete ...

... mainly depends on the density of the structure and
the crack formation
Slag Cements – Porosity
 Closed gel pores are increased, but open capillary porosity is reduced

Pores of CSH gel

Capillary Pores
Pore volume

Slag Cem
CEM I

Pore diameter
Slag Cements – Sulphate attack

 Effect of slag content on sulphate expansion of mortars

Slag Cements – Sulphate attack

 Durability is not only choosing the right cement, it is about

proper concrete technology!
Slag Cements – Corrosion of reinforcement

 Slag cements form chloro-aluminates which immobilize chloride

and reduce risk of corrosion (in conjunction with reduced capillaries)

Calculated corrosion due to

chloride ion penetration
Source: Bijen
Slag cements – Chloride binding capacity

 Content of chlorides in concrete in function of the slag content

1,2
Content of chlorides in % of

1
total weight of cement *

0,8

0,6

0,4

0,2

0
0 20 40 60
Slag content of cement in %

* after resting in a 3.0-molar NaCl solution for 1 year

Slag Cements – Low heat of hydration

 Temperature rise in the core of concrete units with different thickness

is reduced when slag cements are used

300 kg/m³ CEM III/A 32,5 N

300 kg/m³ CEM I 32,5 N
40
Temperature rise [K]

30
6m

3m
20
2m
10 1m

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Concrete age [days]
Slag Cements – Low heat of hydration

 Lower ΔT between core and surface of concrete reduces

thermal stress and avoids cracking

300 kg/m³ CEM III/A 32,5 N

300 kg/m³ CEM I 32,5 N
40
Temperature rise [K]

30
6m

3m
20
2m
10 1m

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Concrete age [days]
Slag Cements – Alkali-aggregate reaction

 The higher the slag content, the lower the effective alkali content
 the lower the risk due to AAR
Totali alkali content in % Na2OEq.

1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
allowed
1.0 alkali
0.8 content

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Slag content of cement in %
Slag Cements – Sea water resistance

100

80
weigth-loss in %

60
CEM I
40

20
CEM III
0
0,44 0,56 0,66
w/c-ratio
Slag Cements – Application in concrete

Concrete technology
Same equipment and procedures can be used
to batch, mix, transport, place and finish
 Fresh concrete properties
Better workability due to less water absorption and smoother surface of slag
Improved cohesion => excellent pumpability
 Hardened concrete properties
Smoother finish, lighter color
 Curing
Slower strength development  concrete requires a longer curing period

 Quality Control
The same quality control procedures used for OPC concrete can be used
for slag cement concrete
Slag Cements – Concrete compressive strength
Slag Cements – Concrete compressive strength
Slag Cements – Conclusions

Good long term

strength development

Low hydration heat High sulfate resistance

High
performance High resistance to
High density sea water attack
with slag
cements

Low effective
High resistance to
alkali content
chloride diffusion
and corrosion
Light color