UPCYCLING OF GROUND GRANULATED BLAST FURNACE SLAG IN PRINTED CONCRETE

Abstract

In recent years, the cement industry has been a popular topic of research due to the negative impacts it has on the environment as a large greenhouse gas emitter. Cement production has led to high levels of chemical and physical emissions due to the nature of its processes. In order to move towards more sustainable construction methods, reducing the need for cement is a crucial step. The digitization of construction processes also offers more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives such as concrete 3D printing which also significantly improves productivity among other benefits. With these aims in mind, this research paper aims to investigate the suitability of partially replacing cement with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), an industrial by-product of iron, and its influence on mechanical properties including compression, shear, splitting and bending strength, and rheological properties including static yield stress (SYS), large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS), tack, extrudability and buildability of concrete in order to develop a 3D-printable concrete mix by conducting various tests. The results of this study showed that GGBS as partial cement replacement in concrete improved properties of concrete in both fresh and hardened states and that 30% was the optimum percentage of cement replacement.