Sulfate Resistance of Concrete using Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag for Recycling

Recently, ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) has been increasingly used as additive for concrete. Many researchers reported that concrete using GGBFS had a better resistance under severe environments, such as marine or sulfate-rich soils, than Portland type cement concrete. The aim, therefore, of this study is to evaluate on the effectiveness of concrete using GGBFS when the concrete exposes to sulfate-rich environment. The detailed items for experiments show 2 series consisted of sulfate immersion test with mortar and sulfate diffusion test with concrete. The sulfate immersion test was performed for 400 days and contained reduction of compressive strength, length change and XRD analysis. For sulfate diffusion test, sulfate ions diffusivity was calculated on tile consideration of electrochemical theory by the diffusion cell test. As the results of this study, it was found that the concrete using GGBFS as additive was superior to portland type cement concrete. Consequently, the use of concrete with GGBFS for recycling may expect the durable and economical benefits.