International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)

ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 2 Issue 3, March - 2013

An Experimental Investigation Of Properties Of Concrete With Partial Or

Full Replacement Of Fine Aggregates Through Copper Slag

Amit S. Kharade1, Sandip V. Kapadiya2, Ravindra Chavan3

1
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, TKIET Warana, INDIA
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, GTU, Ahmadabad, INDIA
3
Post Graduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, RIT, Sakharale, INDIA

Abstract 1. Introduction
Natural resources are depleting worldwide while at Aggregates are considered one of the main constituents
the same time the generated wastes from the of concrete since they occupy more than 70% of the
industry are increasing substantially. The concrete matrix. In many countries there is scarcity of
sustainable development for construction involves natural aggregates that are suitable for construction
the use of nonconventional and innovative materials, while in other countries there is an increase in the
and recycling of waste materials in order to consumption of aggregates due to the greater demand
compensate the lack of natural resources and to find by the construction industry. In order to reduce
alternative ways conserving the environment. So, dependence on natural aggregates as the main source of
this paper presents the results of an experimental aggregate in concrete, artificially manufactured
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investigation carried out to evaluate the mechanical aggregates and artificial aggregates generated from
properties of concrete mixtures in which fine industrial wastes provide an alternative for the
aggregate (sand) was replaced with Copper Slag. construction industry. Therefore, utilization of
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The fine aggregates (sand) was replaced with aggregates from industrial wastes can be alternative to
percentages 0% (for the control mixture), 10%, the natural and artificial aggregates. Without proper
20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of alternative aggregates being utilized in the near future,
Copper Slag by weight. Tests were performed for the concrete industry globally will consume 8–12
properties of fresh concrete and Hardened billion tons annually of natural aggregates after the year
Concrete. Compressive strength and Flexural 2010. Such large consumption of natural aggregates
strength were determined at 7, 28 and 56days. The will cause destruction to the environment.
results indicate that workability increases with The beneficial use of by-products in concrete
increase in Copper Slag percentage. Test results technology has been well known for many years and
indicate significant improvement in the strength significant research has been published with regard to
properties of plain concrete by the inclusion of up to the use of materials such as coal fly ash, pulverized fuel
80% Copper slag as replacement of fine aggregate ash, bottom ash, blast furnace slag and silica fume as
(sand), and can be effectively used in structural partial replacements for Portland cement or as fine
concrete. Also as percentage of Copper Slag aggregate.
increased the density of concrete increased. The
workability of concrete increased with increase in 1.1 Need of replacement of natural resource in
percentage of copper slag. Toughness of copper slag concrete
is found to be more, which increases the compressive
and flexural strength of concrete. In concrete, the cement with water forms a binder phase
while the aggregate phase is mainly a filler phase which
Keywords: Copper Slag, Concrete, Compressive occupies about 75% of volume of concrete of which the
strength, Fine Aggregate, Flexural strength, fine aggregate is about 28 to 40 % of this volume. In
Replacement etc concrete construction, usually the prime source of fine
aggregate is naturally available river sand which,
possess a problem of its non-availability during floods
and in rainy reasons as well as due to huge need of
construction industry. In order to solve this problem,
reliable source and continuous supply of alternative

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 2 Issue 3, March - 2013

material for these ingredients should be thought of and Copper slag is widely used in the sand blasting industry
their use should be recommended. It is essential that and it has been used in the manufacture of abrasive
this recommended alternative material should be eco- tools. In general, the spent copper slag is suitable to be
friendly and they should be available at cheaper cost used as a fill material for land reclamation. Copper slag
without an interrupted supply on to the construction is widely used as an abrasive media to remove rust, old
sites. On Indian scenario it is observed that at very few coating and other impurities in dry abrasive blasting
places good quality of sand may be available in plenty. due to its high hardness (6-7 Mohs), high density (2.8-
All metro and mega cities in India are facing acute 3.8 g/cm3) and low free silica content.
shortages of good quality of sand. At some places sand
available is coarser than Zone I sand and hence not 2 Selections of Materials
suitable for construction work.
2.1 Cement
1.2 Copper Slag
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is by far the most
Copper slag is a by-product obtained during the matte important type of cement. The OPC was classified into
smelting and refining of copper. To produce every ton three grades, namely 33 grade, 43 grade and 53 grade
of copper, approximately 2.2–3.0 tons copper slag is depending upon the strength of the cement at 28 days
generated as a by-product material. Utilization of when tested as per IS 4031-1988. If the 28 days
copper slag in applications such as Portland cement strength is not less than 33N/mm2, 43N/mm2 and 53
substitution and/or as aggregates has threefold N/mm2 it called 43 grade and 53 grade cement
advantages of eliminating the costs of dumping, respectively. Ordinary Portland cement of 53 Grade
reducing the cost of concrete, and minimizing air from Ultra Tech Cement brand conforming to IS: 8112-
pollution problems. Consequently, conducting 1989 and IS 12269-1987 is used in this experimental
researches on the application of these environmental work. The different property of cement is shown in
pollutant wastes in the concrete industry is of the most Table 2.1. It conforms to various standard test as per IS
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important movement towards sustainable development. recommendation
.
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1.3 Uses of copper slag

“Figure 1.1 Process of generation of Copper Slag (www.google.com)

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 2 Issue 3, March - 2013

“Table 2.1 Properties of Cement used in experiment” 2.3 Coarse Aggregate

The aggregate size bigger than 4.75 mm, is considered
Avg. Values of
as coarse aggregate. It can be found from original bed
OPC used in Standard
rocks. Coarse aggregate are available in different
Properties current values for
shape like rounded, Irregular or partly rounded,
Experimental OPC
Angular, Flaky etc. It should be free from any organic
work
impurities and the dirt content was negligible. There
Specific gravity 3.15 - has been a lot of controversy on subject whether the
angular aggregate or rounded aggregate will make
Consistency (%) 31.5% - better concretes. They suggest that if at all the rounded
aggregate is required to be used for economical
Initial setting time
48 (min) >30 reason; it should be broken and then used. But the
(min)
angular aggregate are superior to rounded aggregate
Final setting time
225 (min) <600 from following two points.
(min)
1. It exhibits a better interlocking effect in
Soundness (mm) 2.8 <10
concrete.
Fineness by Dry 2. The total surface area of rough textured
8% <10%
Sieving angular aggregate is more than smooth
rounded aggregate for the given volume.
Compressive strength of cement
Dried angular coarse aggregate of 20 mm maximum
3 – days 28.7 >27
sized and 10 mm minimum size locally available was
used for experimental work.
7 – days 39.63 >37
Physical properties of a used coarse aggregates
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workout in Table 2.3
28 - days 55.94 >53
“Table 2.3 Physical properties of Coarse Aggregate”
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2.2 Fine Aggregate Properties Average values

The aggregate size is lesser than 4.75 mm is Water absorption 2.03
considered as fine aggregate. The sand particles
should be free from any clay or inorganic materials Fineness Modulus 6.67
and found to be hard and durable. Silt test is carried Specific Gravity 2.86
out to specify the limits of presence of organic matter
and silt in fine aggregates. It was stored in open space Organic matter Nil
free from dust and water. In our experiment fine
aggregate can be found from bed of Tapi River. It 2.4 Water
conforms to IS 383 1970 comes under zone II.
Physical properties of a used fine aggregates workout Water is an important ingredient of concrete, as it
in Table 2.2 actively participates in the chemical reaction with
cement. Since, it helps to form the strength giving
“Table 2.2 Physical properties of Fine Aggregate” cement gel and required workability to the concrete.
The quantity and quality of water is required to be
Properties Average values checked very carefully. Portable water is used in
Water absorption 2.52 concrete

Fineness Modulus 2.80 2.5 Copper slag

Specific Gravity 2.76 Copper slag is a by-product material produced from
Silt content (%) 1.4 the process of manufacturing copper. As the copper
settles down in the smelter, it has a higher density,
Organic matter Nil impurities stay in the top layer and then are
transported to a water basin with a low temperature
for solidification. The end product is a solid, hard

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 2 Issue 3, March - 2013

material that goes to the crusher for further 3. Experimental work

processing. Copper slag used in this work was brought
from Birla Copper (The details are specify in 3.1 Sieve Analysis
references), the nature of copper slag used in The experimental work starts with the sieve analysis.
experimental work shown in fig. 2.1. IS specified sieves of varying sizes are used. The
Physical properties of copper slag workout in table 2.4 details of sieve analysis are shown in Table 3.1

3.2 Mix design and sample preparation

1] Concrete mixtures
Concrete mixtures with different proportions of
Copper slag used as a partial or full substitute for fine
aggregates were prepared in order to investigate the
effect of Copper slag substitution on the strength of
normal concrete. Concrete mixtures were prepared
with different proportions of Copper slag. The
proportions (by weight) of Copper slag are added to
concrete mixtures as follows,
“Figure 2.1 Grinded copper slags from industry”
0% (for the control mix), 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%,
60%, 80%, and 100%, the control mixture (with 0%
“Table 2.4 Physical properties of Copper Slag” Copper slag and 100% sand) was designed to have a
target 28 day compressive strength of 30 N/mm2 (M-
Properties Average values 30), using a water-to-cement ratio of 0.48. The mix
Water absorption 0.2% to 0.3% proportion chosen for this study is given in Table 3.2
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Fineness Modulus 3.38 “Table 3.1 Sieve Analysis of fine, Coarse Aggregate,
Specific Gravity 4.0 and Copper Slag.”
Bulk density (gm/cc) 2.20 Coarse Fine
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IS Copper Slag
Aggregates Aggregates
Sieve
Cumulative Cumulative Cumulative
(mm)
2.6 Chemical Composition of Cement and % Retained % Retained % Retained
Copper slag 20.00 0.7 0.00 0.00
“Table 2.5 Composition of OPC and Copper” 16.00 4.15 0.00 0.00
12.50 15.85 0.00 0.00
Component OPC Copper Slag 10.00 48.75 0.00 0.00
Sio2 20.85 33.05 4.75 97.25 1.17 0.20
Al2O3 4.78 2.79 2.36 100 5.68 4.75
1.18 100 28.14 50.65
Fe2O3 3.51 53.45
0.600 100 57.07 88.25
Cao 63.06 6.06 0.300 100 95.39 96.15
MgO 2.32 1.56 0.150 100 98.68 98.00
SO3 2.48 1.89 FM 6.67 2.8 3.38
Note – FM – Fineness Modulus
K2O 0.55 0.61
Na2O 0.24 0.28 “Table 3.2 M 30 Mix proportions (Kg/m 3) and Mix
ratio”
TiO2 0.25 0.00
Fine Coarse
Mn2O3 0.05 0.06 Cement Water
Aggregate Aggregate
CI 0.01 00.01 435 575 1216 208.8
Loss on Ignition 1.75 0.00 1 1.32 2.79 0.48

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
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2] Sample Preparation At predetermined curing ages, different samples were

removed from the tanks and tested for various
The samples were prepared in accordance with the IS
properties. Compression testing was performed at
standard relevant to each test. Table 3.3 samples for
curing ages of, 7, 28and 56-days and Flexural strength
the tests. Cubes samples were used for compression
was tested at 28-days of curing.
testing and Rectangular moulds were used to prepare
Fig.3.2 displays some of the cubes and rectangular
samples for flexural testing, these are shown in fig. 3.1
beams are put in water tank for curing purpose.
The specimens were prepared by two methods. First
one is a tamping method and second one is a vibratory
method. The tamping method consisted of filling the
moulds in three layers, tamping each layer 25 times
following by tamping the side of the mould 10 times.
The vibratory method used, consists of use of a
vibratory table and filling the moulds in two equal
layers with each layer being vibrated for
approximately 5 seconds as per IS standard. After this
each sample was allowed to harden for a period of 24
± 1 hour, the samples were removed from the moulds
and placed into large curing tanks for curing.
“Figure 3.2 Curing tank with cubes and beams”

3.3 Testing Procedures

This paper entailed subjecting the designed concrete
mixes to a series of tests to evaluate the strength, and
other properties. For this experiment, it was important
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to monitor the strength development with time to
adequately evaluate the strength of each concrete mix.
For each test, 3 samples from each mix were tested at
each curing age, and the average values were used for
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analysis. The following sections present the

“Figure 3.1 Steel cubes and moulds used in current procedures used for the various tests.
experimental work” 1] Fresh Concrete Workability Test (Slump Test)
“Table 3.3Sizes and Types of Moulds Used testing in One of the initial concrete properties evaluated was
experimental work in laboratory the slump of the concrete. The slump directly relates
to the workability of a concrete mix. The slump test
Sample Sample Size was performed in general accordance with IS standard
Type of Test
Type (mm) 456-2000 Clause no. 7.Before the test, the cone, base,
Compression Test Cube 150 × 150 × 150 and funnel were moistened lightly with oil to reduce
friction between the apparatus and the fresh concrete.
Flexural Test Rectangular 500 × 100 × 100
The funnel was placed on top of the cone and the cone
was attached to the base with clamps. Once the
3] Curing Method apparatus had been prepared, the cone was filled in 3
layers with each layer tamped 25 times. Once the final
The strength of concrete is directly related to the
layer had been tamped, the concrete was levelled at
curing age. Curing time is the time required under
the top of the cone by using a trowel. The clamps were
certain conditions to gain strength. Concrete continues
released and the cone was slowly pulled upward. After
to gain strength, with time, depending on curing
the cone was removed, the concrete in the cone
conditions. The samples prepared were allowed to
settled, a ruler was used to measure the distance from
harden in the moulds for 24 ± 1 hour, and then
the bottom of the handle (the same as the top of the
removed from their moulds. The samples were then
cone when clamped) to the top of the concrete. The
placed into large curing tanks, containing tap water
distance was recorded as the slump of the concrete.
kept at a constant temperature of 23 ± 3°C (73 ± 3°F)
as per IS 456-2000 clause no.13.5 Curing.

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
ISSN: 2278-0181
Vol. 2 Issue 3, March - 2013

2] Compression Strength Test is operated by hydraulics and has dial gauge displays
for monitoring the rate of loading and the peak load on
One of the most important properties of concrete is the
the sample at the time of failure. The strain rate was
measurement of its ability to withstand compressive
manually controlled by turning a knob either
loads. This is referred to as a compressive strength and
clockwise or counter clockwise. Fig. 3.4 shows the
is expressed as load per unit area. One method for
machine used for this test.
determining the compressive strength of concrete is to
The flexural strength tests were performed in general
apply a load at a constant rate on a cube
accordance with IS standard 516 “Methods of Tests
(150×150×150 mm), until the sample fails. The
for Strength of Concrete” Third point loading entails
compression tests performed in this project were
subjecting a beam sample to a loading condition
completed in accordance with IS standard 516
which ensures that no shear stresses in the middle
“Methods of Tests for Strength of Concrete”. The
third of the sample between the two loading points.
apparatus used to determine the compressive strength
The sample experiences pure bending forces in this
of concretes in this experimental work was a universal
region
testing machine (UTM). This machine is operated by
hydraulics with a digital display monitoring the rate of
loading and the peak load at the time of failure of the
sample. The strain rate can be manually controlled by
turning a valve either clockwise or counter clockwise.
Fig. 3.3 shows the machine used for performing
compression test. For this study samples were tested
for compression testing at 7, 28, 56 days of curing.
The compressive strength of the concrete in terms of
pressure was then calculated using the Equation:
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P
fc = (1)
A
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Where,
fc = Compressive Strength of Concrete, (Kpa or psi) “Figure 3.4 Flexural Strength Testing Machine”
P = Maximum load applied (KN or lb), and
To perform this test, each beam was measured and
A = The cross-sectional area of sample (mm2 or in2)
marked at the points of loading to ensure even loading
on the sample. Lines were drawn at 2.5, 17.5, 32.5,
and 47.5 from one end, to help placement of the
sample in the proper position. The loading heads were
cleaned and lowered onto the starting position and all
gauges were zeroed. A static load was applied with a
constant rate until failure occurred. The peak load was
obtained from the digital display and recorded.
The flexural strength was then calculated using
Equation:

Pl
fcr = (2)
bd 2

“Figure 3.3 Compression Testing Machine” Where,

fcr= Flexural Strength of Concrete, (kpa or psi)
3] Flexural Strength Test P = Maximum load applied (KN or lb),
Another important strength property of concrete is the l= Length of the specimen between the supports in
flexural strength of a concrete. Samples were tested (mm or in),
for flexural strength at 28 days of curing. b = Width of the beam (mm or in), and
The testing machine apparatus used to measure the d = Depth of the beam (mm or in)
flexural strength of concrete in this experimental work

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Vol. 2 Issue 3, March - 2013

3.4 Specimen details used in experimental

work
The details of cubes and beams required in the
experimental work with replacement of fine aggregate
by copper slag are listed in Table 3.4
“Table 3.4 Specimen Details of the work in
laboratory”
Compressive Flexural
Description
strength test strength test
Specimen Cubes Beams
“Figure 4.1 Measurement of Slump of concrete mix”
150×150×150 100×100×50
Size
mm mm
No of
3 3
specimens
Days of
7, 28 and 56 28
testing
Total no of
specimens for 9 3
one series
Vol. of each
specimen 0.003375 0.015
(m3)
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Vol. of all
specimen
0.030375 0.045 “Figure 4.2 Compressive strength tests for Cube”
(m3) for one
series
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Total
specimens for 72 24
all series
Total vol. for
0.243 0.36
all series (m3)
Total vol. of
0.600 + 0.075 (Normal) = 0.678
concrete

4. Tests and Results

The different tests conducted in laboratories are
shown in fig. 4.1 to fig. 4.3 It consist mixing of
concrete in the laboratory by replacing Copper Slag as
fine aggregate with proportions (by weight) of Copper
Slag added to concrete mixtures were as follows: 0%
(for the control mix), 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%,
60%, 80%, and 100%. Concrete samples were
prepared and cured in the laboratory, and are tested, to
evaluate the concrete fresh and harden properties like
workability of concrete, compressive strength and
flexural strength requirements.

“Figure 4.3 Flexural strength tests for beam”

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 International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)
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Vol. 2 Issue 3, March - 2013

4.1 Fresh Concrete Workability (Slump Test) of size 150 x 150 x 150 mm, were prepared and tested
at 7, 28, and 56-days of curing in water under
A slump of 25mm generally provides good controlled laboratory conditions. 3 samples were
workability of concrete. Throughout the project, no tested at each curing age. Tables 4.2 show the average
more extra amount of water needed to get the slump. compressive strengths of the concretes tested. Fig. 4.2
Moisture content and absorption of the ingredients and 4.3 graphically display the compressive strength
were taken into account for calculating the amount of of concrete composites tested. Table 4.3 shows the
water needed. Table 4.1 shows the measured slump total strength gained by concrete with content of
and the amount of water needed to obtain the slump different proportions of copper slag.
during the project. The water-to-cement ratio was kept
at approximately 0.48. From the slump test results it
was concluded that the amount of water to obtain the “Table 4.2 Compressive strengths test result”
targeted slump in the concrete composites was the
equivalent conventional concrete. Also, as the amount Compressive strength (Mpa)
MIX
of Copper Slag increased, the amount of slump 7 days 28 days 56 days
increased.
Normal M-30 26.97 38.27 38.27
“Table 4.1 Workability Test (Slump Test)” CS 10 % 30.73 40.97 39.10
CS 20 % 36.33 48.13 49.37
MIX w/c ratio Slump (mm) CS 30 % 33.27 40.83 45.47
Normal M-30 0.48 25 CS 40 % 28.43 38.80 44.43
CS 10 % 0.48 25 CS 50 % 28.87 39.43 44.90
CS 20 % 0.48 26 CS 60 % 29.53 43.33 45.17
CS 30 % 0.48 28 CS 80 % 28.01 35.17 38.43
CS 40 % 0.48 30 CS 100 % 22.30 32.07 35.70
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CS 50 % 0.48 30
CS 60 % 0.48 32 “Table 4.3 Compressive strengths test result”
CS 80 % 0.48 33
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CS 100 % 0.48 35
Strength Strength
Note - CS = Copper Slag 7 28
Gained Gained at
MIX Days days
at 7 days 28 days
4.2 Hardened Concrete Properties
Once water is added to a concrete mixture, pozzolonic
Normal 26.97 100.00 38.27 100.00
reactions begin to take place that give strength to the
concrete. These reactions continue for a long time CS-20% 36.33 134.73 48.13 129.01
however, the rate of reactions slows down as curing CS-40% 28.43 105.44 38.80 116.11
time increases. Several tests were performed on CS-60% 29.53 109.52 43.33 118.03
hardened concrete samples to evaluate the effects of CS-80% 28.01 103.83 35.17 100.44
using Copper Slag on hardened properties of the
concrete composites. The tests performed on hardened CS-100 22.30 082.69 32.07 093.29
concrete samples included: hardened concrete
compression test and Flexural test. The results From the test results, it can be seen that the
obtained from these tests are presented in the compressive strength of Copper Slag concrete mixes
following sections. with 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 80% fine
aggregate replacement with Copper Slag, were higher
than the control mix at all ages. It is evident from
4.2.1 Compressive Strength Table 4.3 and Fig.4.6, that compressive strength of all
Compression tests were performed on samples made mixes continued to increase with the increase in age.
during at various curing ages. As discussed earlier, a From Fig. 4.6, it can be seen that there is increase in
targeted compressive strength was used for this strength with the increase in Copper Slag percentages;
investigation. Results from compression strength tests However, from Table 4.3 the highest compressive
performed are presented in this section. Cube samples strength was achieved by 20% replacement of copper
slag, which was found about 36.33 Mpa compared

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with 26.97 Mpa for the control mixture. This means specific gravity of the Copper Slag and the natural
that there is an increase in the strength of almost 34% sand, it increased density of concrete. Fig.4.5
compared to the control mix at 7 days. However, graphically presents the density graph.
mixtures with 100% replacement of copper slag gave
the lowest compressive strength 22.30 Mpa which is “Table 4.5 Densities of Concrete at 28 days
almost 17% lower than the strength of the control mix.
Mix Proportions Density (Kg/m3)
4.2.2 Flexural Strength
Normal – M30 2592.59
Samples of size 500 x 100 x 100mm, were prepared
and tested for flexural strength at 28-days of curing. CS – 10 % 2631.11
At least 3 samples were tested at each curing age. The CS – 20 % 2657.78
average flexural strengths of the concrete composites
measured during this phase of the experiment are CS – 30 % 2696.30
presented in Table 4.4 and graphically in Fig.4.4
CS – 40 % 2708.15
“Table 4.4 Flexural Strengths of Concrete at 28 days CS – 50 % 2720.00
CS – 60 % 2728.89
Mix Proportions Flexural Strength (Mpa)
CS – 80 % 2743.70
Normal – M30 4.19
CS – 100% 2755.56
CS – 10 % 4.32
CS – 20 % 4.81
5
CS – 30 % 4.35 Flexural Strength
Flexural Strength (N/mm2)

4.8
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CS – 40 % 4.40
4.6
CS – 50 % 4.50
4.4
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CS – 60 % 4.28
4.2
CS – 80 % 4.22 4
CS – 100% 4.20 3.8
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 80% 100%
The flexural strength test results of concrete in Fig.
4.4 shows the flexural strength developed with age has Replacement of FA by Copper slag by %
variation of flexural strength with various percentages “Figure 4.4 Flexural strength results of beams”
of Copper Slag. It is evident from Table 4.4. Flexural
strength continued to increase with the increase in 2800
Copper slag percentages at 28 days, and there is
Density of concrete (Kg/m3)

Density
significant increase in strength with that of strength of 2750
control mix. Maximum flexural strength is obtained at
20% replacement of copper slag, for 100% 2700
replacement results are almost similar to nominal mix.
2650
4.2.3 Density 2600
The density of hardened concrete at saturated-surface 2550
dried condition was measured at the age of 28 days.
From the results in Table 4.5, it can be seen that the 2500
density of hardened concrete increased with the 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 80% 100%
increase of the Copper Slag as sand content. This is
due to the higher specific gravity of the Copper Slag, Replacement of FA by Copper slag by %
which was 4.0 compared to 2·72 of the natural sand.
However, compared with the large difference in the “Figure 4.5 Density of concrete at 28 days”

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7 days 28 days 56 days

Compressive strenth in N/mm2

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 80% 100%
Replacement of FA by Copper slag in % by weight

“Figure 4.6 Comparative results of compressive

strength of concrete at 7, 28 and 56 days” 6. References
[1] Al-Jabri K.S., Taha R.A., Al-Hashmi A., Al Harthy
5. Conclusions A.S.,“Effect of copper slag and cement by-pass dust
1) As the percentage of Copper Slag in concrete addition on mechanical properties of concrete”,
Construction and Building Materials,2006, Volume no. 20,
mix increases, the workability of concrete
pp.322–331.
increases. This is because copper slag is
unable to absorb the water in large [2] Alp, H. Deveci, H. Sungun, ”Utilization of flotation
proportion. wastes of copper slag as raw material in cement production”,
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2) Maximum Compressive strength of concrete Journal of Hazardous Materials,2008, Volume no. 159,
for a replacement of fine aggregate by 20% pp.390–395.
of copper slag increased by 34% at 7 days [3] Brindha D., Baskaran.T, Nagan.S, “Assessment of
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and increased by 29% at 28 days. Similar Corrosion and Durability Characteristics of Copper Slag
increase is observed at 56 days strength. Admixed Concrete”, International journal of civil and
3) Replacement of copper slag up to 80% will structural engineering,2010, Volume 1, No 2, pp.192 - 211
increase the strength of design mix, but [4] Khalifa S. Al-Jabri , Makoto Hisada , Abdullah H. Al-
beyond 80% replacement the strength started Saidy , S.K. Al-Oraimi, “Performance of high strength
to reduce. The strength at 100 % replacement concrete made with copper slag as a fine aggregate”,
is reduced by 7% at 28 days. Construction and Building Materials, 2009 , Volume no. 23,
4) It is observed that, the flexural strength of pp.2132–2140.
concrete at 28 days is higher than design mix [5] Khalifa S. Al-Jabri, Abdullah H. Al-Saidy, Ramzi Taha,
(Without replacement) for 20% replacement “Effect of copper slag as a fine aggregate on the properties
of fine aggregate by Copper slag, the flexural of cement mortars and concrete”, Construction and Building
strength of concrete is increased by 14%. Materials, 2011, Volume no.25, pp.933–938.
This also indicates flexural strength is more [6] M. Najimi, J. Sobhani, A.R. Pourkhorshidi,, “Durability
for all percentage replacements than design of copper slag contained concrete exposed to sulfate attack”,
mix. Construction and Building Materials, 2011, Volume no.25,
5) Compressive strength and Flexural strength pp. 1895–1905
was increased due to the high toughness
[7] Meenakshi Sudarvizhi. S, Ilangovan. R, “Performance of
property of Copper slag. Copper slag and ferrous slag as partial replacement of sand
6) As the percentage of Copper slag in design in Concrete”, International journal of civil and structural
mix as replacement increases, the density of engineering, 2011, Volume 1, pp.918 – 927
harden concrete observed to be increased.
[8] Wei Wua, Weide Zhang a, Guowei Maa,, “Optimum
The density was increased by 7% when
content of copper slag as a fine aggregate in high strength
replacement of Fine aggregate by 100% concrete”, Materials and Design, 2010, Volume no. 31, pp.
copper slag. This is because weight of 2878–2883
concrete increases with copper slag.

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