Effects of BOF steel slag and other cementitious materials on the rheological properties of self-compacting cement pastes

This study presents an evaluation of the effects of Blast Oxygen Furnace (BOF) steel slag on the rheological characteristics of cement pastes derived from self-compacting concrete mixtures. Cement pastes were designed using four types of cementitious materials blended in different proportions (100% BOF steel slag, 70% BOF steel slag and 30% blast furnace slag, 85% of BOF steel slag and 15% fly ash, and 100% limestone filler). The workability-related properties of the selected materials were evaluated through slump flow diameter tests, and V-Funnel tests. The effects of different superplasticizer contents in the mix proportions were also investigated through mini-slump and Marsh cone tests. A new method based on video analysis was developed to evaluate flow time and flow diameter. Testing results indicated that BOF steel slag can be an alternative material to be incorporated in the SCC mixtures.