Studies on the utilization of eaf slag as coarse aggregate in concrete- A review

Every year tonnes of steel is manufactured from steel plants due to mammoth rise in construction activities. This results in huge increase in the generation of steel slag as it accounts about 15-20% of total steel. Currently, more than 40% of steel is produced from electric arc furnaces which results in the formation of electric furnace slag. Disposal of EAF slag requires large land resulting in environmental pollution and also permanent loss to valuable ingredients. The utilization of steel slag as construction material is being considered to lessen disposal issues and aids to conserve exhaustible materials. Because of the superior physical properties, electric arc furnace slag can provide a feasible alternative to natural aggregates in asphalt construction, hydraulic concrete, dam construction and other spheres of civil engineering. This paper describes the effect on mechanical properties of concrete made with EAF slag as coarse aggregate. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and elastic modulus were found to improve on account of replacement of the natural aggregates with steel slag. The results, thus, imply that electric arc furnace slag is a promising construction material in field of civil engineering that can be efficiently put to use.