Sci Eng Compos Mater 2015; aop

Turhan Bilir, Isa Yüksel, Ilker Bekir Topcu and Osman Gencel*

Effects of bottom ash and granulated blast furnace

slag as fine aggregate on abrasion resistance
of concrete
DOI 10.1515/secm-2015-0101
Received March 6, 2015; accepted June 20, 2015
1 Introduction
Concrete is the most common construction material thanks
to its advantages such as versatility, low cost, ease of pro-
Abstract: Abrasion resistance is one of the most important
duction, high mechanical strength and durability. Fine
durability properties of concrete. Especially, highway, air-
and coarse aggregates are the main components which
port and industrial floor pavements should be resistant
constitute the most of concrete volume (75%–85%). Thus,
to abrasion. Recently, many research studies have been
aggregates play an important role in modifying the prop-
carried out on the utilization of industrial by-products
erties of concrete [1]. Aggregates are generally obtained
in concrete. Granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) and
from natural sources and could result in destruction of
bottom ash (BA) are two of these by-products. BA is not
the environment when the annual concrete consumption
generally utilized in concrete and has a limited usage. It is
is estimated up to 55 billion m3 worldwide [2]. No natural
mostly dumped, leading to additional costs and environ-
resources have infinite reserves. In this situation, the
mental problems. On the other hand, both GBFS and BA
society must be transformed from the consumption-based
have potential for concrete production to provide sustain-
society to a sustainable society in order to save the natural
ability. They can substitute fine aggregate thanks to their
environment and avoid consumption of natural resources
positive effects on concrete durability. Therefore, the aim
[3, 4]. In this regard, one of the greatest challenges which
of this study was to investigate the abrasion resistance of
the concrete industry faces is to focus its objectives towards
concretes produced with GBFS and BA substituting fine
achieving sustainable development [5]. In this respect, the
aggregate. Three different concrete series were produced
sustainability concept in construction has recently come
by replacing fine aggregate with GBFS, BA and both of
into prominence and been applied to the concrete tech-
them by mixing them at equal ratios. The replacement
nology. Utilization of waste materials in concrete, present-
ratios of by-products were 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%
ing many advantages, has come into picture since civil
by volume. Compressive strength and Bohme abrasion
engineering area, construction industry and modern con-
tests were conducted on series. Results were compared to
crete technology are capable of absorbing large amount
each other. It can be said that abrasion resistance can be
of wastes and by-products in order to produce contribut-
improved by these by-products.
ing concrete products. This is an example of the industrial
ecology concept for sustainable future of the world. Thus,
Keywords: abrasion resistance; blast-furnace slag; bottom
it can be said that industrial wastes and by-products can
ash; concrete; durability.
be used as raw materials in other industries [6].
For example, recycled rubber can be utilized in con-
crete panel production, cementitious sheets for sealing
systems and other concrete products, such as concrete
*Corresponding author: Osman Gencel, Department of Civil floors, walls and roof tiles [7–11]. Waste marble is con-
Engineering, Bartin University, 74100 Bartin, Turkey, sidered in concrete, concrete interlocking paving block
e-mail: osmangencel@[Link] production and ceramic production [12–16]. Waste ferro-
Turhan Bilir: Department of Civil Engineering, Bülent Ecevit chromium slag is also recycled in concrete as aggregate
University, Zonguldak, Turkey
[4, 6]. Recycled concrete aggregate is also utilized in con-
Isa Yüksel: Department of Civil Engineering, Bursa Technical
University, Bursa, Turkey
crete production [17–20]. Copper slag is one of the other
Ilker Bekir Topcu: Department of Civil Engineering, Eskişehir wastes or by-product aggregates that have been used
Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, Turkey in concrete [21, 22]. As mentioned, awareness of their

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2 T. Bilir et al.: Effects of BA and GBFS as aggregate on abrasion resistance

significant impacts on natural resource consumptions and construction time and hard workmanship in construc-
pollutant emissions is increasing. There is a high emerg- tion. Therefore, using abrasion-resistant concrete types
ing demand for environmentally friendly construction produced with by-product aggregates such as GBFS and/
and building materials. In this respect, “green” concretes or BA could provide production easiness, time savings
have become one of major focuses in concrete science for and decreased additional costs.
environmental improvements [23].
Bottom ash (BA) remains a waste from combustion
of coal in thermal power plants. Its properties depend
on the type, source and fineness of coal burned. BA, in
2 Materials and methods
granular structure, is accumulated at the bottom of the
combustion chamber. About 100,000 tons of BA is gen- 2.1 Cement
erated per year at only Çatalağzı Thermal Power Plant
in Zonguldak Province, Turkey. Relatively a very few The cement used was Portland cement CEM I 42.5R (Set
detailed studies have been conducted on the use of BA Cement Factory, Ankara, Turkey). It complies with the
as a low-cost replacement material in the production of requirement of the European Standard EN 197-1 [32]. This
concrete. Some researchers have reported studies dealing type of cement was selected because of its common usage
with utilization of BA in concrete as cementitious sup- and availability in Turkish Concrete Industry. Therefore,
plementary material [24, 25] or as a partial replacement this type of cement can also be available easily to produce
of fine aggregate [26–29]. Iron-steel industry produces GBFS and BA concretes with other regular concrete com-
slags as by-products. Molten slag is produced during the ponents, such as available mineral, chemical admixture
manufacturing of pig iron. When it is cooled immediately, and ordinary natural aggregates, which are commonly
it forms a glassy amorphous material used as a cemen- used in Turkish Concrete Industry. In this way, these types
titious material called granulated blast-furnace slag of concretes can be used widely in order to gain such
(GBFS). If it is cooled slowly, it forms a crystalline struc- advantages which are mentioned in the previous section.
ture which is generally used as aggregates (blast-furnace The properties of cement are given in Table 1.
slag) [30]. However, GBFS is commonly used in cement
production in ground form rather than being utilized as
fine aggregate [31]. 2.2 Fly ash
Structures such as concrete highways, pedestrian
walk pavements, industrial floors and hydraulic struc- FA was F-type ash according to American Society for
tures are exposed to abrasive forces. Abrasion of the Testing Materials (ASTM) C 618 [33]. FA was obtained
concrete surface leads to the loss of surface quality. Only from Çatalağzı Thermal Power Plant, Zonguldak, Turkey.
a few papers have reported the abrasion resistances Its chemical composition is given in Table 2. The Blaine
of concrete containing BA and GBFS fine aggregates. fineness, which is defined as a measure of the particle
Recently, although fly ash (FA), BA and GBFS have been size or fineness of cement and supplementary cemen-
used in cement and concrete technologies as indicated titious ­materials, was 3820 cm2/g. The specific gravity
above, still their usages are limited as aggregate and
need further studies. Thus, in this study, the combined
effects of FA admixture, BA and GBFS fine aggregates Table 1: Properties of cement.
on compressive strengths and abrasion resistances are
investigated. Consequently, it can be said that abrasion- Composition (%) Physical properties
resistant concrete types are attempted to be designed SiO2 20.52 Specific gravity (g/cm3) 3.16
and developed in order to construct structures such as Al2O3 5.11 Specific surface (cm2/g) 3300
sport area floor, pedestrian or road pavements and so Fe2O3 2.84 Retaining on 32 μm (wt.%) 21
CaO 63.62 Retaining on 90 μm (wt.%) 0.8
on. Besides, because industrial floor concretes expose to
MgO 1.9 Retaining on 200 μm (wt.%) 0.1
extreme mechanical loads, the surfaces of these concrete SO3 3 Initial setting time (min) 190
types have to be smooth and hardened in order to avoid Final setting time (min) 225
surface losses because of abrasion. A coating cover layer C3S 53.13 Volume expansion (mm) 1
is obtained by proper finishing and using some surface C3A 8.74
hardening chemical admixtures to prevent abrasion Cl- 0.72
Loss on ignition 1.96
losses. These applications lead to additional costs, long

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 T. Bilir et al.: Effects of BA and GBFS as aggregate on abrasion resistance 3

Table 2: Chemical composition of fly ash [57].

SiO2 (%) Al2O3 (%) Fe2O3 (%) CaO (%) MgO (%) SO3 (%) K2O (%) Na2O (%) KK (%) Cl- (%)

58.69 25.10 5.80 1.49 2.22 0.12 4.04 0.59 1.28 0.013

was 2.02 g/cm3. Cement paste is highly crucial because it Table 3: Size distributions of aggregates.
is an agent to carry aggregates [4]. Thus, FA was used to
increase paste volume. FA reduces cement demand in con- Sieve size Passing (%)
(mm)
crete. As a by-product of coal power plants, FA increases NRS NCS
mechanical and durability properties such as freeze-thaw 8 100 99.57
resistance, sulfate resistance, alkali-silica reaction, chlo- 6.7 100 93.68
ride penetration and abrasion resistance when it is used 4.75 100 66.99
as a supplementary cementitious material in mortar and 4 66.47 66.47
concrete. In addition, shrinkage and permeability of hard- 3.35 60.12 0
2.36 32.05 0
ened concrete are decreased due to the filling of micropo-
1.7 21.52 0
res and voids. FA is common in concrete technology 1.18 11.78 0
because it also reduces chloride penetration and steel cor- 0.6 6.31 0
rosion in concrete [34–36]. However, if FA is not utilized, 0.3 4.14 0
it leads to environmental pollution and very high cost of 0.1 0.00 0
storage of FA.
The usage of industrial waste materials and/or by-
products in concrete in regard to both environmental 2.3.2 GBFS and BA fine aggregates
pollution and the positive effect on a country’s national
economy is beyond dispute [34]. In Turkey, the annual FA In this study, fine GBFS and BA aggregates (see Figure 1)
production is about 18 million tons, and it is more than were used. BA usually consists of high amounts of SiO2
the production of the rest of all industrial wastes and by- and Al2O3, but lower amounts of CaO. The GBFS consists
products [37]. In India, approximately 80 million tons of of high amounts SiO2, Al2O3 and CaO and low amounts of
FA is generated each year [38]. The current annual pro- MgO. They have rough and porous surfaces, leading to the
duction of FA worldwide is estimated to be approximately better bonding to cement paste and higher abrasion resist-
600 million tons [6, 39]. Pozzolanic activity indexes of the ances [26, 27]. BA was obtained from Çatalağzı Thermal
used FA at 7, 28 and 90 days were as 75%, 80% and 93%, Power Plant, Zonguldak, Turkey. GBFS was obtained from
respectively. Ereğli Iron-Steel Works Company-Factory, Zonguldak,
Turkey. Sieve analyses of BA and GBFS fine aggregates are
presented in Table 4. The physical properties of all aggre-
2.3 Aggregates gate types are shown in Table 5. Chemical composition of
GBFS is given in Table 6. Chemical composition of BA is
2.3.1 Natural coarse and fine aggregates presented in Table 7. The pozzolanic activity indexes of BA
at 7, 28 and 90 days were 77%, 86% and 97%, respectively.
Plain concrete was produced by using crushed aggre- Residual above 45 μm sieve was about 25.8%.
gate of the maximum 7 mm nominal size. Natural river
aggregates, which are locally available in Filyos river of
Zonguldak, were used. Natural river sand (NRS) with a 2.4 Superplasticizer
size range of 0–4 mm and natural coarse aggregate (NCS)
with a range of 4–7 mm were used. Sieve analyses of GBFS and BA increase water demand of concrete due to
NRS and NCS are presented in Table 3. Specific gravity, their high specific surface areas and pretty rough struc-
water absorption, and loose and dry unit weights were ture of their surfaces. Therefore, polycarboxylate-based
determined according to ASTM C 127 [40], ASTM C128 superplasticizer (SP) was added to the mixture at the ratio
[41] and ASTM C29 [42] standards. Mixing ratios of NRS of 0.7% of cement content by weight to provide desired
and NCS, in total aggregate volume, were 40% and 60%, workability. It has a specific gravity of 1.08, pH = 5.7 and
respectively. solid content of 40 wt.%.

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4 T. Bilir et al.: Effects of BA and GBFS as aggregate on abrasion resistance

Figure 1: BA (left) and GBFS (right) fine aggregates.

Table 4: Size distributions of GBFS and BA. 2.5 Mix proportions

Sieve size Passing (%)
Mix design was obtained according to the absolute volume
(mm)
GBFS BA method. Cement content and water/cement ratios were
4 99.38 94.03 kept constant as 350 kg/m3 and 0.48, respectively. FA was
3.35 98.2 91.9 used at the constant ratio of 21% of cement content in all
2.36 92.16 86.23 mixture. When FA was added, the total water/binder ratio
1.7 77.1 76.97 was also kept as 0.58. Fine NRS aggregate was replaced
1.18 62.26 61.7
with by-product aggregates (GBFS and BA) at the ratios of
0.6 17.72 36.63
0.3 4.94 – 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% by volume. The dosage of
0.212 2.84 – SP was 0.7% of the cement content of concrete by weight.
0.1 0.8 6.57 It was assumed that approximately 1.5% air has been
0.075 0.44 3.8 trapped in fresh concrete. The concrete composition is
0.045 0.12 1.07
given in Table 8. Concrete series were coded as A, B and

Table 5: Properties of aggregates used.

Property Unit NRS NCS GBFS BA FA

Loose unit weight kg/m 3

1930 – 1052 620 870
Rodded unit weight kg/m3 1950 – 1236 660 1110
Specific gravity (g/cm3) 2.60 2.65 2.08 2.59 2.02
Water absorption % 11.3 1.73 10 12.1 –
Fine material ratio % 4 1.11 3 7 –
Organic material (NaOH solution) Color Light yellow – Light yellow – –

Table 6: Chemical composition of GBFS.

SiO2 (%) CaO (%) MgO (%) Al2O3 (%) Na2O (%) S (%) MnO (%) TiO2 (%) Fe (%) P2O3 (%)

35.09 37.79 5.50 17.54 0.30 0.66 0.83 0.68 0.70 0.37

Table 7: Chemical composition of BA [26].

SiO2 (%) CaO (%) MgO (%) Al2O3 (%) Na2O (%) K2O (%) Fe2O3 (%) SO3 (%) Cl- (%) Loss on ignition (%)

57.9 2 3.2 22.6 0.086 0.604 6.5 0.08 0.0064 1.67

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Table 8: Mixture proportions for 1 m3.

Code Mixes Cement Water FA NCS NRS GBFS BA SP

(by volume) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)

RF Control 350 167 35 1120 720 0 0 2.45

A1 10% GBFS 350 167 35 1120 648 72 0 2.45
A2 20% GBFS 350 167 35 1120 576 144 0 2.45
A3 30% GBFS 350 167 35 1120 504 216 0 2.45
A4 40% GBFS 350 167 35 1120 432 288 0 2.45
A5 50% GBFS 350 167 35 1120 360 360 0 2.45

B1 10% BA 350 167 35 1120 648 0 72 2.45

B2 20% BA 350 167 35 1120 576 0 144 2.45
B3 30% BA 350 167 35 1120 504 0 216 2.45
B4 40% BA 350 167 35 1120 432 0 288 2.45
B5 50% BA 350 167 35 1120 360 0 360 2.45

C1 5% GBFS+5% BA 350 167 35 1120 648 36 36 2.45

C2 10% GBFS+10% BA 350 167 35 1120 576 72 72 2.45
C3 15% GBFS+15% BA 350 167 35 1120 504 108 108 2.45
C4 20% GBFS+20% BA 350 167 35 1120 432 144 144 2.45
C5 25% GBFS+25% BA 350 167 35 1120 360 180 180 2.45

C with respect to the by-product fine aggregate types and The compressive strength tests were carried out in accord-
replacement ratios. GBFS and BA were also mutually com- ance with ASTM C39 [44] at 28 and 90 days.
bined at equal ratios while replacing fine aggregate at In the abrasion test, while a disk is rotating around
the ratios of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% by volume. a vertical axis, an abrasive powder abrades the speci-
Besides, these combined by-product series were coded as men. Cubic specimens with the sizes 70 × 70 × 70±1.5 mm
C series and their properties were also investigated. (50.4 cm2 cross-sectional area) were used for determi-
nation of abrasion resistance in 28 days according to
Turkish standard TS 699 [45]. TS 699 is considered as an
2.6 Method alternative to ASTM C779 [46]. According to TS 699, the
abrasion system has a steel disk with the diameter of 750
The concrete mixtures were prepared in a laboratory mm, a counter, and a lever, applying a rotating speed of
mixer with a capacity of 60 dm3. The mixing procedure 30 cycles/min. The testing device is shown in Figure 2. In
was as follows. The materials were placed in the mixer order to obtain abrasion, 20±0.5 g abrasive powder, corun-
in the following sequence: first, coarse aggregates and dum (crystalline Al2O3), was spread on the disk, and the
fine aggregates were placed, and then cement was added. specimens were then positioned to its place on the disk;
After that, this dry mixture was initially mixed for 1 min 5 kg load was applied to each specimen, and the disk was
and 90% of water was added. After 1.5 min of mixing of
this wet mixture, the rest of the water mixed with the SP
was added to the mixture. Then, for each concrete series,
three 70 mm cubes were cast in order to conduct compres-
sive strength tests. After casting, the concrete specimens
were covered with wet burlap and polyethylene sheets,
and kept in the laboratory at room temperature for 24 h.
After demolding, the concrete specimens were immersed
into lime saturated water until the testing day. Curing was
done in accordance with ASTM C511 [43]. It is well recog-
nized that adequate curing of concrete is very important,
not only to reach the desired compressive strength but also
to produce durable concrete. After the curing process, all
the specimens were stored under laboratory conditions at
20°C and 65% relative humidity for 24 h, and then tested. Figure 2: Abrasion test apparatus (Bohme method).

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6 T. Bilir et al.: Effects of BA and GBFS as aggregate on abrasion resistance

rotated for four periods – a period was equal to 22 cycles. of them have a better abrasion resistance. In all series,
After each period, the concrete cubic sample was rotated volume losses due to the abrasion are under the upper
around its vertical axis at an angle of 90°. This procedure limit value, 13 cm3/50 cm2, given as the conformity crite-
was repeated for each of the four edges of the same surface ria in TS 699. Yüksel and Bilir reported that interlocking
of the concrete specimen. In this manner, all four edges paving blocks and curbs with GBFS are resistant to the
of the same surface of the concrete cubic specimen faced abrasion [26]. In their study, an increase in the replace-
the abrasion powder. In other words, the same concrete ment ratios of GBFS fine aggregate in paving blocks and
surface was subjected to abrasion from all its four edges. curbs decreases their compressive strengths. As known,
Abrasion resistances were calculated after 88 traversals water reducer admixtures when used in concrete increase
over the same track. Then, volume loss was considered both compressive strength and abrasion resistance of con-
as a measure on the 50 cm2 surface area due to abrasion crete [47]. In this study, SP used decreases water demand
and compared with the limit values specified in TS 699. of BA resulting in high abrasion resistance. Additionally,
All specimens of each series were exposed to this Bohme FA can contribute to the increase in the abrasion resist-
abrasion test. ance of concrete as mentioned in previous studies [48–50].
GBFS and BA fine aggregates are pozzolans that contain
higher contents of SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3. Additionally,
lime-based (CaO) natural aggregates are known to be less
3 Results and discussion resistant to abrasion. In this manner, such pozzolan by-
product aggregates generally increase the abrasion resist-
Figure 3 shows the abrasion resistances of concrete ance. Thus, it can be said that these by-product aggregates
series. When the GBFS ratio increases in the mixtures of increased the abrasion resistance for lower replacement
series A, the abrasion loss decreases. It can be said that ratios. Then, the porosities of all series increased with
GBFS increases abrasion resistance. However, although a the increase in the replacement ratio due to the porous
marginal effect was expected before the test, it was not surfaces and gradations of these by-product aggregates.
observed. The reason may be the decrease in compres- The compressive strength results verify this statement.
sive strength with the increase in the replacement ratio of As the replacement ratio increases, the concrete poros-
GBFS. Concretes containing GBFS still endure the abrasive ity increases and the compressive strength decreases as
effect. After the 20% replacement ratio of BA is deployed, below. On the other hand, FA also contributes to both
the abrasion resistance is close to that of A series. When higher compressive strength and higher abrasion resist-
the combined effect of GBFS and BA is considered, it can ance results. FA leads to the lower porosity in concrete
be said that the abrasion resistance increases. Specimens due to its pozzolanic reaction and increases the positive
C1 and C2 are highly resistive to abrasion. The others also effects of GBFS and/or BA aggregates on both compressive
present a better performance compared to the results of strength and abrasion resistance of concrete.
A series. When GBFS and BA are combined mutually and The compressive strength of A series is presented
used as fine aggregate, concrete with less porosity can in Figure 4. As seen from this figure, GBFS addition
be achieved. This is why concretes with a combination decreases the compressive strength at 28 and 90 days.

Figure 3: Abrasion losses of concrete series. Figure 4: Compressive strength of series A.

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Compressive strength decreases are up to 19.4% at 28 days The compressive strength of C series is presented in
for the 50% replacement ratio of GBFS when compared Figure 6. As seen from this figure, GBFS+BA replacement
to that of control, A series. It is 15.1% at 90 days. Differ- decreases the compressive strength at 28 and 90 days.
ences between 28 and 90 days are given on the bars in Compressive strength decreases are up to 18.6% at 28 days
Figure 4. It is clearly seen that compressive strength losses for the 50% replacement ratio of GBFS+BA replacement
vary between 15.9% and 23.3% depending on the GBFS by volume (25% BA+25% GBFS fine aggregate package)
replacement ratio. The reason can be said as porous struc- when compared to that of control, A series. It is 22.6% at
ture and low compressive strength of GBFS fine aggregate 90 days. Differences between 28 and 90 days are given
compared to fine NRS. This was also reported in previous on the bars in Figure 6. It is clearly seen that compressive
studies [26, 27, 51–54]. On the other hand, compared to the strength losses vary between 15.9% and 17.9% depending
previous results in which GBFS replaced natural sand by on GBFS+BA replacement. When finer BA is mixed with
weight, GBFS replacing fine aggregate by volume seems to GBFS at equal ratios by volume, it may lead to a denser
be causing lower compressive strength losses and a more and a better graded fine aggregate package [27, 54]. In this
relative dense structure. manner, the compressive strength losses, with respect to
The compressive strength of B series is presented the by-product replacement ratio, are lower than B series
in Figure 5. As seen from this figure, BA replacement but similar to A series.
decreases the compressive strength at 28 and 90 days. Such strength decreases compared to the ordinary
Compressive strength decreases are up to 24.7% at 28 days concrete have been reported many times when waste or by-
for the 50% replacement ratio of BA fine aggregate when product aggregates, which have lower strengths and porous
compared to that of control, A series. It is 27.6% at 90 days. microstructures, are used in mortar and concrete produc-
Differences between 28 and 90 days are given on the bars in tion [51–56]. However, it can also be seen from the obtained
Figure 5. It is clearly seen that compressive strength losses compressive strength test results that all series including
vary between 15.9% and 25.7% depending on BA replace- control series (A series) have compressive strengths above
ment. BA fine aggregate has similar effects to GBFS fine 45 MPa. Consequently, when compared to the previous
aggregate on the compressive strength of concrete [26, 27, studies [51–56], it can be said that GBFS, BA and GBFS+BA
51, 54]. According to the sieve analyses of both by-product fine aggregate replacements by volume up to the ratios
aggregates in previous studies, the maximum aggregate of 50% lead to higher compressive strengths, lower pore
size of BA fine aggregate is about 2 mm, which means that volume and lower permeability than do replacements by
it is finer than GBFS fine aggregate [26, 54]. Therefore, it weight [51–56]. In addition to this, the structural concrete
is capable to decrease the porosity of concrete. On the can also be produced by replacing natural fine aggregate
other hand, it may decrease the workability and change with these by-products. As mentioned previously, using
the gradation of the fine aggregate package compared wastes have many advantages in the means of sustainable
to GBFS and may decrease compressive strength as seen development, concrete production costs, environmental
from Figures 4 and 5. Consequently, both these effects issues, energy and natural resource conservation. It seems
lead to similar compressive strength losses in B series and that the structural concrete can be designed and produced
A series. by replacing fine aggregate with these by-products even

Figure 5: Compressive strength of series B. Figure 6: Compressive strength of series C.

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8 T. Bilir et al.: Effects of BA and GBFS as aggregate on abrasion resistance

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