Characteristics of Mortars with Various Composition of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

Abstract

The characteristics of mortars made from ordinary Portland cement with various composition of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) were investigated in this research. Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) was chose as an alternative binder to partially replace high energy consuming Portland cement in concrete according to the composition of the slag itself. GGBS were blended with Portland cement from 20 to 80 weight percent. The samples were mechanically tested for water absorption and compressive strength after 7, 14 and 28 days. From research, the most suitable proportion is 60% OPC + 40% GGBS which gain the highest compressive strength and the lowest water absorption among OPC blended mortars. These mortars used water to hydrate and solidify with ratio water to binders 0.7 equally.