CHAPTER 1

Introduction
1.1 General
Aggregate was viewed as inner filler material in the past but with the development of time and
research, it was found that aggregate properties not only affect the properties of green concrete
but also the behavior of hardened concrete. With the rapid growth of construction, the use of
concrete has increased resulting in quick depletion of natural mineral aggregates. And there is
a scarcity of mineral aggregates. However, in Bangladesh concretes are made from stone
aggregates or brick aggregates. Due to the scarcity of mineral aggregates, people are more
interested in using brick aggregates in concrete. And therefore, there is a heavy increase in
brick making industry. Bangladesh is a land of sediments. The top soil is very much suitable
for production of bricks. Consequently, the brick industry has spread all over the country.
However, the brick industry has serious adverse effects on the surrounding environment. To
prepare brick, the top clayey soil is burned which causes a significant amount of soil erosion
and air pollution along with health hazards for human and bio-life.

On the other hand, slag is the main industrial by-product of steel producing industry, With the
increase in demand of steel, the production of steel has increased in the recent time and
subsequently the production of slag has also increased.

In the past, slag was identified as an industrial waste. However, after analyzing mineralogical
composition it was found that there is a scope of using slag as an alternate to mineral aggregate.
Besides, the environment friendly disposed of these high amounts of slag is also a matter of
great concern. If slag can be used as an alternative of mineral aggregate or as an alternative of
brick aggregate, it will greatly benefit the society and environment and eventually help us
achieving environment friendly sustainable development.

1.2 Objectives
The prime focus of this study is to evaluate performance of slag as construction material.

a. Determine various engineering properties of course aggregates (large particles retained

on number 4 standard sieve)
b. Determine various engineering properties of fine aggregates (particles passing through
number 4 standard sieve).
 c. Evaluating various mechanical (compressive strength, tensile strength and modulus of
elasticity) and durability (durability against chloride ingress) properties.
d. Evaluate performance of full-scale slab made of slag aggregate subjected to uniformly
distributed load.
e. Compare all the evaluated properties.
f. Compare the performance of brick and slag as aggregate in concrete.
1.3 Report Outline
This report includes 5 chapters. A brief description of this chapters is given below:

1.3.1 Chapter 1
This chapter provides a general introduction and the objectives of this study.

1.3.2 Chapter 2
This chapter provides a brief literature review on the use of slag aggregate in concrete. The
literature review covers the history of slag, various code specified requirements for aggregates
to be used in concrete for various purposes.

1.3.3 Chapter 3
Chapter 3 provides details of the experimental program and tested specimens. In addition, the
chapter contain details of the apparatus used for conducting various tests along with the details
of the test procedure.

1.3.4 Chapter 4
This Chapter presents the experimental data and corresponding analysis. The main objective
of this chapter is to evaluate the performance of concrete made of different aggregate and
compare the results. Comparisons among the specimens are made to illustrate the function and
importance of various parameters (water-cement ratio, aggregate-cement ratio, aggregate type)
on the mechanical and durability properties of concrete.

1.3.5 Chapter 5
This chapter presents the problems associated with the slag while using it in concrete along
with suggestion to prevent such problems.

1.3.6 Chapter 6
This chapter provides a brief summary of the research program and gives effective conclusion
on the basis of the performed tests along with recommendation for future study.