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Effect of particlesize of blast furnace slag on properties of

portland cement
Jianping Zhu1*, Qifang Zhong1, Gaige Chen1, Dongxu Li2
1

School of materials science and engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China
College of materials science and engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing, China;
a
jianpingzhu@hpu.edu.cn, bzhongqifang2006@126.com, c297189879@qq.com ddongxuli@njut.edu.cn
2

Abstract
Fineness is one of the key factors in determining the hydration activity factor of slag. The present research
investigates the effect of particle size distribution (PSD) of slag on water requirement, setting time, and compressive
strength. For this purpose, a reference and 17 cement samples containing different blast furnace slag are made and the
properties are tested. When slags with proper PSD are prepared the cement properties can be better than the reference.
Keywords: Blast furnace Slag; Particle size distribution; Compressive strength; Cement

1. Introduction
Blast furnace slag is a by-product of the manufacture of pig iron from iron ore, limestone and coke.
Slag is rapidly cooled by quenching to obtain an almost completely amorphous material. Its chemical
composition mainly depends on that of the iron ore and potentially contains 2740% SiO2, 3050% CaO,
515% Al2O3, and 110% MgO[1]. Blast furnace slag has been used as a supplementary cementing
material for more than 100 years and there is a broad knowledge on its application. Most of the slag is
used for the production of blended cements and slag cements. Currently, there is high interest in the
application of this alternative material because the production of slag cement reduces the CO2 emissions
of [2,3].The hydration of blast furnace slag is slow when compared to Portland cement clinker, resulting
in lower early strength. There are many kind of method to active slag, such as to use Portland cement
clinker with a high content of water soluble alkali, addition of high amounts of calcium sulphate and
alkali activation [4]. This paper presents data on the performance of the cement made with different
amount and particle size of slag. These data were compared to those of the cement without slag. The
parameters investigated included the compressive strength of cement, water requirement of normal
consistency, and setting time property.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-391-3986926.

E-mail address: jianpingzhu@hpu.edu.cn.

1877-7058 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Chinese Materials Research Society
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2011.12.448

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2. Experiment
2.1. Raw materials.
Portland cement type P II 52.5R, according to Chinese Standard GB 175, was from Henan Jiaozuo
Jiangu Cement Plant(Jiaozuo, P.R. China). The properties of cement are described in Table 1. The blast
furnace slag properties are also given in Table 1, which was from the was from Qinyang Iron and Steel
Plant (Jiaozuo, P.R. China). The blast furnace slag was grinded and separated by using a series of
standard sieves (200, 300, and 400 mesh). The particles were divided into three part: between 200 and
300 mesh (SA), between 300 and 400 mesh (SB), and smaller than 400 mesh (SC). The particle size of
blast furnace slag was measured by using a Laser Particle Size Analyzer (Rise-2008) and the results were
listed in Fig.1.
Table 1 Chemical analysis of cement and FA
Chemical analysis
(%)

SiO2

Al2O3

Fe2O3

CaO

MgO

SO3

Na2O

LOI

Cement

19.0

4.13

5.84

64.9

0.9

1.29

0.27

1.36

Blast furnace Slag

36.1

11.7

1.2

40.1

7.3

1.9

0.47

0.6

2.2. Experiment procedure

The mixing ratios of samples are listed in Table 2. The water requirement of normal consistency and
setting time are tested according to GB/T1346-2001. The paste specimens are molded according to
GB175-1999, and are cured in a fog room at 20 for 24 h, then remolded and cured in water at 203
until the desired age. Then the bending strength and compressive strength at 3d and 28d are tested.
SA
SB
SC

cumulative frequency (%)

100

80

60

40

20

0
1

10

Particle size (um)

Fig. 1 Particle size curves of slag

100

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Table 2 Mixing ratio of samples (on weight)

No.

Cement

Standard Sand

Water

SA

SB

SC

0.5

0.9

0.5

0.1

0.8

0.5

0.2

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.9

0.5

0.1

0.8

0.5

0.2

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.9

0.5

0.1

0.8

0.5

0.2

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.6

0.5

0.16

0.16

0.08

0.6

0.5

0.16

0.08

0.16

0.6

0.5

0.12

0.16

0.12

0.6

0.5

0.08

0.16

0.16

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Cement strength
The result of bending strength and the compressive strength is listed in Fig.1.and Fig.2
3d
28d
11
10

Bending strength(MPa)

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
A

Sample

Fig.2 Influence of blast furnace slag on bending strength at different ages

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It can be seen from the Fig.2 that the bending strength of all samples increases with hydration age. At
3d age, with the increase of blast furnace slag SA, SB, and SC the bending strength decreases. This is
because that at early age the activity of blast furnace slag is not stimulated abundantly. At 3d ageG is
smaller than HJ is smaller than K. This is because of different at particle size distribution. Because of
low content (10%) of smaller blast furnace slag, they can not fully fill the gap between particles. resulting
in their relatively low bending strength. However with the decrease of particle size of blast furnace slag
the bending strength of sample increases, indicating its higher activity. This is because that with the
decrease of particle size, the specific surface area and structure defect increases, resulting its faster
reaction speed. The tendency of bending strength of 28d is similar to that of 3d. However the difference
of bending strength of samples adding SC is wee, and all are higher than the blank sample A, indicating
the high activity of fine particle.
3d
28d

65
60

Compressive strength(MPa)

55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A

Sample

Fig.3 Influence of blast furnace slag on compressive strength at different ages

water requirement of normal consistency(%)

28.0

27.5

27.0

26.5

26.0

25.5

25.0

Sample

Fig.4 Influence of blast furnace slag on water requirement of normal consistency

It can be seen from the Fig.3 that the compressive strength of all samples increases with hydration age.

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At 3d age, with the increase of blast furnace slag SA, SB, and SC the compressive strength decreases.
And with the decrease of particle size of blast furnace slag the compressive strength of sample increases,
similar to bending strength. The tendency of compressive strength of 28d is similar to that of 3d when
adding SA. At 28d age ,G is lower than H, this is because that low content of smaller blast furnace slag It
can not fully fill the gap, resulting in relatively low compressive strength. JKLM group have the same
compressive strength essentially, and higher than the blank group. However the difference of bending
strength of samples adding SB is wee, especially SC, which shows higher strength than the blank sample
A, indicating the high activity of fine particle. The result of N, O, P, Q indicating that with the decrease of
particle size the activity increases. It also can be seen that the compressive strength of sample Q is close
to A.
3.2. Water requirement of normal consistency:

setting timemin

It can be seen from Fig.4 that the change of water requirement of normal consistency is small when
adding SA, SB, and decreased with the increase of dosage. However it increased evidently when adding
SC, because of its small particle size and larger specific surface area.
initial setting time
final setting time

340
320
300
280
260
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
A

Sample

Fig.5 Influence of blast furnace slag on setting time

3.3. Setting time
It can be seen from Fig.5 that the initial setting time and final setting time are prolonged with the
increase proportion of blast furnace slag, because of its low activity at early ages.
4. Conclusions
1. The bending and compressive strength increased with the decrease of particle size of blast furnace
slag, and the 28d strength of samples adding very fine slag particle can be higher than the blank one.
Reasonable particle size distribution of slag also can show high strength.

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2. Fine than 400 mesh particles increases the water requirement of normal consistency and prolong
the setting time .
3. Fine than 400 mesh particles of slag compact the microstructure of hydration samples.
Acknowledgements
This research is sponsored by National Major Project for Fundamental Research and Development
(2009CB623104-2), Foundation of Henan Educational Committee (2011B430015) and Doctor
Foundation of Henan Polytechnic University (B2009-97).
References
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Ahmed HS, Said K, Luc C, Anne D. Microstructure and durability of mortars modified with medium active blast furnace slag.
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