Behavior of self compacting concrete containing ladle furnace slag and steel fiber reinforcement

Self compacting concrete mixtures with the use of ladle furnace slag as filler and steel fibers as reinforcement were produced and tested in the laboratory. Different contents of ladle furnace slag filler, ranging from 60 to 120 kg/m3, and steel fibers, ranging from 0% to 0.7%, were used. The different mixtures were tested in the fresh state for fluidity, passing ability and resistance to segregation and in the hardened state for compressive strength, fracture toughness, freeze-thawing resistance and chloride penetration resistance. The test results showed that ladle furnace slag can be used as filler for self compacting concrete, as adequate consistency and workability was achieved, while compressive strength and durability were improved. Ladle furnace slag can also be combined with steel fibers, which considerably increase fracture toughness, in order to produce a high performance self compacting concrete using a low-cost industrial by-product such as ladle furnace slag.