Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 933–938

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Construction and Building Materials

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Effect of copper slag as a fine aggregate on the properties

of cement mortars and concrete
Khalifa S. Al-Jabri *, Abdullah H. Al-Saidy, Ramzi Taha
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 33, Al Khodh, Post Code 123, Oman

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of using copper slag as a fine aggregate
Received 17 January 2010 on the properties of cement mortars and concrete. Various mortar and concrete mixtures were prepared
Received in revised form 26 April 2010 with different proportions of copper slag ranging from 0% (for the control mixture) to 100% as fine aggre-
Accepted 19 June 2010
gates replacement. Cement mortar mixtures were evaluated for compressive strength, whereas concrete
mixtures were evaluated for workability, density, compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural
strength and durability. The results obtained for cement mortars revealed that all mixtures with different
Keywords:
copper slag proportions yielded comparable or higher compressive strength than that of the control mix-
Concrete
Cement mortar
ture. Also, there was more than 70% improvement in the compressive strength of mortars with 50% cop-
Copper slag per slag substitution in comparison with the control mixture. The results obtained for concrete indicated
Waste material that there is a slight increase in density of nearly 5% as copper slag content increases, whereas the work-
Industrial by-products ability increased significantly as copper slag percentage increased compared with the control mixture. A
Strength substitution of up to 40–50% copper slag as a sand replacement yielded comparable strength to that of
Durability the control mixture. However, addition of more copper slag resulted in strength reduction due to the
increase in the free water content in the mix. Also, the results demonstrated that surface water absorp-
tion decreased as copper slag content increases up to 50% replacement. Beyond that, the absorption rate
increased rapidly and the percentage volume of the permeable voids was comparable to the control mix-
ture. Therefore, it is recommended that up to 40–50% (by weight of sand) of copper slag can be used as a
replacement for fine aggregates in order to obtain a concrete with good strength and durability
requirements.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Copper slag is an industrial by-product material produced from

It was well recognised for many years the beneficial utilisation
of some industrial by-products in improving the properties of fresh
and hardened concrete. By-products such as pulverised fuel ash,
silica fume and ground granulated blast furnace slag (ggbfs) are
added in different proportions to concrete mixes as either a partial
substitute to Portland cement or as admixtures. Concrete prepared
with such materials showed improvement in workability and
durability compared to normal concrete and has been used in the
construction of power and chemical plants and under-water struc-
tures. Use of some waste materials has been well documented in
design specifications. New by-products and waste materials are
being generated by various industries, dumping or disposal of
these materials causes environmental and health problems. There-
fore, recycling of waste materials a great potential in concrete
industry.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +968 2414 1333; fax: +968 2441 3416.
E-mail address: aljabri@squ.edu.om (K.S. Al-Jabri).
the process of manufacturing copper. It has been estimated that
approximately 24.6 million tons of slag are generated from the
world copper industry [1]. In the Sultanate of Oman, approxi-
mately 60,000 tons of copper slag are produced every year by
Oman Mining Company. Although copper slag is widely used in
the sand blasting industry and in the manufacturing of abrasive
tools, the remainder is disposed of without any further reuse or
reclamation. Copper slag possesses mechanical and chemical
characteristics that qualify the material to be used in concrete as
a partial replacement for Portland cement or as a substitute for
aggregates. For example, copper slag has a number of favourable
mechanical properties for aggregate use such as excellent sound-
ness characteristics, good abrasion resistance and good stability
[1]. Also, copper slag exhibits pozzolanic properties since it con-
tains a low CaO content and other oxides such as Al2O3, SiO2, and
Fe2O3. Use of copper slag in the concrete industry as a replacement
for cement and/or fine aggregates can has the benefits of reducing
the costs of disposal and helps protecting the environment.
Despite the fact that several studies [2–7] have been reported
on the effect of copper slag replacement on the properties of

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.06.090
934 K.S. Al-Jabri et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 933–938

concrete, further investigations are necessary in order to obtain a
comprehensive understanding that would provide an engineering
basis to allow the use of copper slag in concrete. The effect of
copper slag on the hydration of cement-based materials was inves-
tigated by Mobasher et al. [2] and Tixier et al. [3]. Up to 15% copper
slag, by weight of cement was used as a Portland cement replace-
ment together with up to 1.5% of hydrated lime as an activator for
pozzolanic reactions. Results indicated a significant increase in the
compressive strength for up to 90 days of hydration. Also, a de-
crease in capillary porosity and an increase in gel porosity were ob-
served. Moura et al. [4] reported that copper slag could be a
potential alternative to admixtures used in concrete and mortars.
The use of slag from copper smelting as a fine aggregate in concrete
was also investigated by Akihiko and Takashi [5]. From mortar
strength tests with a cement/slag/water ratio of 1/2/0.55, the ball
milled slag gave a higher strength. The effects of using several
types of slag on mortar and concrete reactions, reinforcing steel
corrosion, abrasion, workability and slump, shrinkage, and freezing
and thawing characteristics were examined. Copper slag was also
used by Ayano et al. [6] as a fine aggregate in concrete. They de-
scribed the strength, setting time and durability of concrete mix-
tures made with copper slag. Al-Jabri et al. [7] studied the effect
of copper slag (CS) and cement by-pass dust (CBPD) replacements
porating copper slag as a fine aggregate. Results indicated that the
strength of concrete, with less than 40% copper slag replacement,
was higher than or equal to that of the control specimen. The
microscopic view demonstrated that there were limited differ-
ences between the control concrete and the concrete with less than
40% copper slag content.
The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of
using copper slag as a partial and/or full replacement for sand in
mortars and normal concrete. The study consisted of the following
tasks:
1. Investigate the effect of copper slag replacement as a fine aggre-
gate on the compressive strength of cement mortars at different
curing periods.
2. Evaluate the effect of copper slag replacement on the workabil-
ity and density of concrete.
3. Conduct compressive, tensile and flexural strength testing on
concrete mixtures.
4. Assess the durability of concrete made with copper slag by con-
ducting initial surface absorption and total absorption tests.
2. Materials

on the strength of cement mortars. Experimental results indicated 2.1. Cement

that the mixture containing 5% CBPD + 95% cement yielded the
highest 90 days compressive strength of 42 MPa in comparison
with 40 MPa for the mixture containing 1.5% CBPD + 13.5
CS + 85% cement. The optimum CS and CBPD to be used was 5%.
In addition, it was determined that using CBPD as an activating
material would operate better than using lime. Also, all samples
met the 3 and 7 days compressive strength specifications require-
ments for cement mortars. The fundamental properties of concrete
using copper slag and class II fly ash as fine aggregates were inves-
tigated by Ishimaru et al. [8]. It was concluded that up to 20% (in
volume) of copper slag or class II fly ash as fine aggregates substi-
tution can be used in the production of concrete suitable for struc-
tures. In order to control the bleeding in concrete mixtures when
incorporating copper slag as fine aggregates, Ueno et al. [9] sug-
gested a grading distribution of fine aggregate based on particle
density. The study investigated the maximum size of slag fine
aggregate that does not significantly influence the amount of
bleeding and the required plastic viscosity of paste to control the
amount of bleeding by the variation of water-to-cement ratios.
Al-Jabri et al. [10] investigated the effect of CS and CBPD as partial
replacements for cement on concrete properties. In addition to the
control mixture, two different trial mixtures were prepared using
different proportions of CS and CBPD and three water-to-binder ra-
tios were studied: 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7. Results showed that 5% copper
slag substitution for Portland cement gave a similar strength per-
formance as the control mixture, especially at the low water-to-
binder ratios of 0.5 and 0.6, while higher copper slag (13.5%)
replacement yielded lower strength values. Results also demon-
strated that the use of CS and CBPD as partial replacements for
Portland cement has a negligible effect on the modulus of elasticity
The cement used in this study was ordinary Portland cement (OPC) produced by
Oman Cement Company. This cement is the most widely used one in the construc-
tion industry in Oman.
2.2. Coarse and fine aggregates
Coarse aggregates (i.e. 20 mm and 10 mm) and fine sand were taken from a
nearby crusher in Al-Khoudh Area. These are the aggregates typically used in nor-
mal concrete mixtures in Oman. The gradation test conducted on the fine sand
and copper slag showed that they met specifications requirements for concrete
sand (Fig. 1).
2.3. Copper slag
Copper slag used in this work was brought from Oman Mining Company, which
produces an annual average of 60,000 tons. In preparation of cement mortars, the
sand and copper slag particles used were those passing 850 lm and retained on
600 lm according to OS26-1981 [14]. The copper slag was ground in the laboratory
into a fine powder to the required size following the procedure described by Al-Jab-
ri et al. [7]. Sieve analysis test was conducted in accordance with BS 882 [15] on
three samples of copper slag in order to determine the particle size distribution
and to compare with the gradation requirements for concrete sand (Fig. 1). Both
sand and copper slag have comparable gradations, which satisfy grading limit,
Zone 1.
120
100
80
Grading limits
% Passing

of concrete, especially at the small quantities substitution. Shi et al.

"zone 1"
[11] presented a comprehensive review on the use of copper slag in 60
cement, mortars and concrete. The paper was focused on the char-
acteristics of copper slag and its effects on the engineering proper- 40
ties of cement, mortars and concrete. Wu et al. [12] investigated
the mechanical properties of copper slag reinforced concrete under Sand
20
dynamic compression. Results showed that the dynamic compres- Copper Slag
sive strength of copper slag reinforced concrete generally im-
0
proved with the increase in amounts of copper slag used as a 0.075 0.15 0.3 0.6 1.18 2.36 5 10
sand replacement up to 20%, compared with the control concrete, Sieve size (mm)
beyond which the strength was reduced. Wu et al. [13] also inves-
tigated the mechanical properties of high strength concrete incor- Fig. 1. Gradation of sand and copper slag.
 K.S. Al-Jabri et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 933–938 935

3. Experimental study
3.1. Mix design
3.1.1. Cement mortars
To study the effect of copper slag substitution as a replacement for fine aggregates
on the strength of cement mortars, specimens were prepared with different percent-
ages of copper slag (by weight). The percentages of copper slag added were as follows:
0% (for the control mix), 20%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, and 100%. Fifteen cubes
(70 mm  70 mm  70 mm) were cast for each mixture and three samples each were
tested after 3, 7, 28, 56 and 90 days of curing. The main purpose for keeping the sam-
ples for longer curing periods of 56 and 90 days is to observe any detrimental effect
from the use of copper slag as fine aggregates on the compressive strength of concrete.
The quantities of materials (Table 1) used in each mortar cube were selected
according to OS26-1981 [14] using a water-to-cement ratio of 0.4. The specified
cube compressive strength values for cement mortars are 15 N/mm2 and
23 N/mm2 at 3 and 7 days, respectively based on OS26-1981 recommendations.
 Compressive strength test was conducted on cement mortar samples at 3, 7, 28,
56, and 90 day of curing in accordance with BS 1881: Part 116 [17] using a load-
ing rate of 1.25 kN/s;
 7 and 28 day cube compressive strength test was conducted in accordance with
BS 1881: Part 116 [17] using a loading rate of 2.5 kN/s;
 28 day cylinder tensile (splitting) strength test was done in accordance with
ASTM C496-96 [18] using a loading rate of 2 kN/s;
 28 day flexural strength test was conducted in accordance with ASTM C78-94
[19] using a simple beam with third point loading at a loading rate of 0.2 kN/s;
 the initial surface absorption test was conducted in accordance with BS 1881:
Part 208 [20]; and
 the permeable voids contents were determined as per ASTM C642-97 [21].
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Materials’ characterization

3.1.2. Concrete mixtures
Concrete mixtures with different proportions of copper slag used as a partial or
full substitute for fine aggregates were prepared in order to investigate the effect of
copper slag substitution on the strength and durability of normal concrete. Eight
concrete mixtures were prepared with different proportions of copper slag. The pro-
portions (by weight) of copper slag added to concrete mixtures were as follows: 0%
(for the control mix), 10%, 20%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, and 100%. The control mixture
(with 0% copper slag and 100% sand) was designed to have a target 28 day compres-
sive strength of 45 N/mm2, using a water-to-binder ratio of 0.5. Batch quantities are
shown in Table 2.
To determine the unconfined compressive strength of concrete, six cubes
(150 mm  150 mm  150 mm) were cast for each mixture, and three samples
were tested after 7 and 28 days of curing. Three 150 mm diameter by 300 mm
height cylinders were prepared for each mixture to determine the tensile strength
of concrete. They were tested after 28 days of curing. Also, to determine the flexural
strength (modulus of rupture) for each mixture, three 100 mm  100 mm 
500 mm prisms were cast and tested after 28 days of curing.
To evaluate the durability of concrete mixtures, three 150 mm  150 mm 
150 mm cubes were prepared to determine surface absorption after 28 days of cur-
ing. Also, three specimens 10 cm  10 cm  4 cm with an average weight of 1 kg
were cut from the prisms to determine percentage of voids in concrete.
3.2. Sample preparation
Tests were conducted to determine the chemical composition,
specific gravity and water absorption of copper slag and sand
[22]. Results presented in Table 3 show that copper slag has a
low CaO content compared with ordinary Portland cement, which
indicates that copper slag on its own can not be used as a cemen-
titious material. But copper slag has high concentrations of silica,
alumina and iron oxides, which suggests that copper slag could
have the potential to produce high quality pozzolans.
Results from specific gravity and water absorption tests (Table
3) revealed that copper slag has a specific gravity of 3.4 which is
higher than that of sand (2.77), whereas the water absorption val-
ues for copper slag and sand were about 0.2% and 1.4%, respec-
tively. This suggests that concrete produced with large copper
slag substitution would have larger density values than concrete
produced with sand alone. On the other hand, due to its low water
absorption it is expected that the free water content in concrete
mixtures will increase as copper slag content increases. This will
lead to an increase in the workability of concrete mixtures contain-
ing high copper slag percentages

Cement mortar samples were compacted in three layers using a vibrating table.
After 24 h, specimens were removed from the moulds and cured in a water tank for
later testing at 3, 7, 28, 56 and 90 days.
Concrete specimens were prepared and compacted as required by ASTM C192-
98 [16]. The required amounts of coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, cement, water,
and copper were weighed in separate buckets. The materials were mixed in accor-
dance with ASTM C192-98. The slump of the fresh concrete was determined to en-
sure that it would be within the designed value. After 24 h, specimens were
removed from the moulds and cured in a water tank for 7 and 28 days of curing.
3.3. Testing procedure
4.2. Effect of copper slag replacement on the strength of cement
mortars
The measured compressive strength values for different mix-
ture proportions are presented in Table 4. The test results indicate
that all specimens yielded a higher compressive strength than
specifications requirements of 15 and 23 MPa for cement mortars
after 3 and 7 days, respectively. For all mixtures, as the curing per-
iod increases the compressive strength will increase and the gain

After curing, the following tests were carried out on the concrete specimens:
Table 3
Chemical composition and physical properties of ordinary Portland cement (OPC),
Table 1
copper slag (CS) and sand.
Batch quantities per cube for cement
mortars. Component OPC (%) CS (%) Sand
Material Weight (g) SiO2 20.85 33.05 –
Al2O3 4.78 2.79 –
Cement 185
Fe2O3 3.51 53.45 –
Sand 555
CaO 63.06 6.06 –
Water 74
MgO 2.32 1.56 –
SO3 2.48 1.89 –
K2O 0.55 0.61 –
Table 2 Na2O 0.24 0.28 –
Batch quantities (kg/m3) for concrete mixtures (w/ TiO2 0.25 0 –
b = 0.5). Mn2O3 0.05 0.06 –
CI 0.01 0.01 –
Component Weight (kg) Loss on ignition 1.75 0 –
IR 0.21 0 –
Water 207
CuO 0 0.46 –
Cement 416
Al2O3 + SiO2 + Fe2O3 29.14 89.29 –
Fine aggregate 721
10 mm aggregate 338 Specific gravity 3.15 3.4 2.77
20 mm aggregate 790 Absorption (%) – 0.17 1.36
936 K.S. Al-Jabri et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 933–938

Table 4 observations from other studies [8,9], where it has been reported
Average compressive strength of cement mortars at different curing ages. that concrete with fine slag aggregates have a tendency to exhibit
Mix No. Mix type Compressive strength (MPa) a larger amount of bleeding because of their high density and/or
3 days 7 days 28 days 56 days 90 days much water content for a given slump of concrete.
Also, the density of concrete (Table 5) slightly increased as cop-
1 Control (100% S) 22 23.3 24.6 25.3 27
2 20% CS + 80% S 22.1 29 31 34.7 36
per slag content increases. Density of concrete was increased by al-
3 40% CS + 60% S 22.1 30.6 39.8 40 42 most 5% (for Mixture #8), which is attributed to the high specific
4 50% CS + 50% S 20.3 30 42.7 44.5 50.3 gravity of copper slag.
5 60% CS + 40% S 23 28 39.2 42 47.8
6 80% CS + 20% S 23.1 26.8 35 40.1 44.8
4.4. Effect of copper slag replacement on the strength of normal
7 100% CS + 0% S 20.8 23.3 26.1 32 35.5
concrete
S: sand; CS: copper slag.
The effect of copper slag substitution as a fine aggregate on the
strength of concrete is given in Table 5, which presents the average
of strength is more rapid in the early curing days (i.e. 3, 7 and 7- and 28 day cube compressive strength, the average 28 day ten-
28 days). sile strength and the average 28 day flexural strength of concrete.
Table 4 also indicates that all mixtures yielded comparable or The unconfined compressive strength values of concrete mixtures
higher compressive strength than the control mixture (100% sand) with different proportions of copper slag cured at 7 and 28 days
for all curing ages. Furthermore, as copper slag content increases are also plotted in Fig. 2. The test results indicate that for mixtures
the compressive strength of cement mortars increases up to 50% prepared using up to 60% copper slag replacement, the compres-
substitution of copper slag. Beyond that, the compressive de- sive strength of concrete is comparable to the strength of the con-
creased with an increase in copper slag content. However, Mixture trol mix with 100% sand. However, for mixtures with 80% and 100%
#7 with 100% copper slag gave a higher strength than the control copper slag (i.e. Mixtures #7 and #8), the compressive strength de-
mixture. Mixture #4 with 50% copper slag yielded the highest aver- creased rapidly below the strength of the control mixture. Mixture
age 28 day compressive strength of 42.7 N/mm2, almost 74% high- #4 with 40% copper slag content yielded the highest 28 day com-
er than the compressive strength of the control mix. For longer pressive strength of 47.1 N/mm2 compared with 45 N/mm2 for
curing periods (i.e. 56 and 90 days), most of the samples showed the control mixture, whereas the lowest compressive strength of
no detrimental effect (i.e. a strength reversal) when using copper 34.8 N/mm2 was obtained for Mixture #7 with 80% copper slag.
slag. Although all mixtures yielded a higher compressive strength Here, the compressive strength yielded by Mixture #7 is almost
than the control mixture, it can be said that the replacement of 22% lower than that of the control mix. This reduction in compres-
50% copper slag as a sand replacement will give the highest com- sive strength for concrete mixtures with high copper slag contents
pressive strength with more than 70% improvement in mortar’s is due to the increase in the free water content that results from
strength. the low water absorption characteristics of copper slag in compar-
ison with sand. This causes a considerable increase in the workabil-
4.3. Effect of copper slag replacement on the density and workability of ity of concrete and, thus, reduces concrete strength as shown in
normal concrete Table 5. Also, Fig. 2 shows that the compressive strengths for dif-
ferent concrete mixtures at 7 and 28 days of curing were consistent
Table 5 presents slump values as measurement for the work- where 80% of 28 day concrete strength was achieved after 7 days of
ability of fresh concrete, and concrete density for all mixtures with curing.
different proportions of copper slag. The test results indicate that Wu et al. [12,13] observed that, after examining the microstruc-
there is a substantial increase in the workability of concrete as cop- ture of concrete specimens with different copper slag contents,
per slag content increases. The measured slump for the control that the strength improvement with 40% substitution was mainly
mixture with 100% sand was 65.5 mm, while the measured slump attributed to the physical properties of copper slag. Copper slag
for the concrete mixture with 100% copper slag substitution (Mix- has a better compressibility than sand, which can partially relieve
ture #8) was 200 mm. This significant increase in the workability the stress concentration, if the sand is still as the dominant fine
was due to the low water absorption characteristics of copper slag aggregate holding the concrete matrix together. Also, the angular
compared with sand, where more free water remains in the con- sharp edges of copper slag particles can improve the cohesion of
crete matrix after hydration. However, segregation and bleeding the concrete matrix. It is known that the sand has good abrasion
were observed in concrete mixtures with high copper slag contents properties because of its rough surface, which can improve the
(Mixtures #7 and #8). This observation is in line with similar cohesion between cement paste and coarse aggregate. However,

Table 5
Strength of concrete at 7 and 28 days of curing.

Mix No. Mix type Density (kg/m3) Slump (mm) Strength (MPa)
(Fcu)a (Fcu)b (Ft)b (Fcr)b
1 Control (100% S) 2524 65.5 36.2 45.0 3 7.7
2 10% CS + 90% S 2515 80 38.8 46.0 3.5 7.2
3 20% CS + 80% S 2540 80 40.2 47.0 3.7 7.2
4 40% CS + 60% S 2550 110 38.7 47.1 3.8 6.5
5 50% CS + 50% S 2560 130 38.1 47.0 4.1 7.3
6 60% CS + 40% S 2601 165 37.7 46.0 3.6 6.3
7 80% CS + 20% S 2597 190 27.8 34.8 3.6 7.2
8 100% CS + 0% S 2653 200 29 35.1 3.4 5.9

Fcu = cube compressive strength, Ft = tensile strength, Fcr = flexural strength, S = sand, CS = copper slag.
a
Cured at 7 days.
b
Cured at 28 days.
 K.S. Al-Jabri et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 933–938 937

50 test measures the surface water absorption of concrete [20], while

7-day the second test measures the percentage of volume of permeable
45
Compressive Strength (N/mm )

voids in concrete [21]. The results from the initial surface absorp-
2

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0 replacement showed the largest surface water absorption. Fig. 4
1 2 3 4 5 6
Mix No.
Fig. 2. Cube compressive strength of concrete at 7 and 28 days of curing.
the abrasion properties of sand is weakened with time after years
of weathering causing sand particles to have rounded edges, which
are detrimental to the interlocking properties of composite materi-
als. The angular sharp edges of copper slag particles have the abil-
ity to compensate to some extent the adverse effects of sand and,
thus, further improve the cohesion of concrete. On the other hand,
the glassy surface texture of copper slag particles has a negative ef-
fect on the cohesion. Also, the low absorption properties of copper
slag can leave excess water in concrete, which can cause excessive
bleeding at higher copper slag content. This results in the forma-
tion of internal voids and capillary channels in the concrete, caus-
ing a reduction in its quality. Therefore, the strength of concrete
with lower copper slag contents can be improved by the positive
28-day
tion test are shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 indicates that all mix-
tures showed a similar trend of decreasing surface water
absorption with time. The decrease was generally rapid during
the first 30 min, which later decreased afterwards up to 120 min.
All mixtures yielded flow rate values within the specified limits,
which were between 0.05 ml/m2 s and 3.6 ml/m2 s in the first
10 min [20].
Also, Fig. 3 demonstrated that Mixture #4 with 40% copper slag
replacement showed the lowest surface water absorption for the
entire testing time, while Mixture #8 with 100% copper slag
7 8
shows that there is a general decrease in the surface water absorp-
tion with an increase in copper slag content up to 40% copper slag
substitution. Beyond that, absorption increases as copper slag con-
tent increases. This is primarily due to the increase in the free
water content leading to more voids created in the hardened con-
crete. However, at 120 min, up to 50% replacement of copper slag
gave comparable surface water absorption values to the control
mixture with 100% sand.
Fig. 5 shows volume of water permeable void contents for dif-
ferent concrete mixtures at 28 day curing. The results show that
the percentage of permeable voids slightly decreased with an in-
0.8
100%S+0%CS
0.7
80%S+20%CS
0.6 60%S+40%CS
Flow(ml/m2.s)

50%S+50%CS
effect of copper slag, whereas if copper slag content exceeds 40%, 0.5
40%S+60%CS
the strength of concrete can be decreased substantially with a 0.4 20%S+80%CS
reduction in cohesion governed by copper slag. 0%S+100%CS
Also it is worth mentioning that there was more than 70% 0.3
improvement in the compressive strength of mortars (Table 4) 0.2
with 50% copper slag replacement, whereas there is a slight in-
0.1
crease of 4.4% in the compressive strength of concrete (Table 5)
with 50% copper slag replacement. This difference in the strength 0
0 30 60 90 120 150
improvement between cement mortars and concrete may be
attributed to the bonding between the particles within the cement Time(Minutes)
paste. Furthermore, coarse aggregates are introduced in concrete
Fig. 3. Surface water absorption of concrete versus time for different concrete
mixtures, which could contribute to the different behaviour ob- mixtures.
served for the same mixture in mortars and concrete. The in-
creased porosity in concrete weakens the bond between the
concrete components, which is one of determining factors for the 0.8
strength of concrete.
0.7 10 min 30 min 120 min
The 28 day tensile strength of concrete is also given in Table 5.
The results show that the average tensile strength was within the
0.6
permissible values in accordance with the design specifications.
For design purposes, the tensile strength can be empirically taken
Flow (ml/m2.s)

p 0.5
as 0.45 Fcu [23]. The 28 day average flexural strength (modulus of
rupture) values for concrete are presented in Table 4. The results
0.4
indicate that the flexural strength values for all concrete mixtures
were slightly higher than the permissible design values. The flex-
p 0.3
ural strength of concrete is normally taken as 0.75 Fcu [23]. The
experimental average flexural strength of concrete was 6.9 N/ 0.2
mm2,compared with 5 N/mm2 calculated from the empirical
relationship. 0.1

0
4.5. Effect of copper slag replacement on the durability of normal 0 20 40 50 60 80 100
concrete
Copper slag content (%)
Two tests were conducted to assess the durability of concrete Fig. 4. Effect of copper slag addition on the surface water absorption for different
made with copper slag as a fine aggregate substitution. The first concrete mixtures.
938 K.S. Al-Jabri et al. / Construction and Building Materials 25 (2011) 933–938
Volume of Permeable Voids (%)
20
18
16
14
12
10
8 [3] Tixier R, Devaguptapu R, Mobasher B. The effect of copper slag on the
6 hydration and mechanical properties of cementitious mixtures. Cem Concr Res
4
2 admixtures of electrical steel slag and copper slag concerning mechanical
0 properties. Am Concr Inst 1999;186:81–100.
0 20 40 50 60
Copper slag content (%)
Fig. 5. Water permeable void contents for different concrete mixtures at 28 day
curing.
crease in copper slag content up to 40% replacement. Beyond that,
the volume of voids increases to become comparable to the control
mixture. Thus, it is recommended that the replacement of 40–50%
copper slag (by weight) as a partial replacement for fine aggregates
will produce a concrete with good durability requirements.
5. Conclusions
The following conclusions are drawn regarding the use of cop-
per slag as a fine aggregate in cement mortars and concrete:
 For cement mortars, all mixtures with different copper slag pro-
portions yielded comparable or higher compressive strength
than the strength of the control mixture. There was more than
70% improvement in the compressive strength of mortars with
50% copper slag substitution in comparison with the control
mixture.
 There is almost 5% increase in the concrete density, when cop-
per slag was used as a sand replacement, whereas the workabil-
ity increased substantially with an increase in copper slag
content. This was attributed to the low water absorption and
glassy surface of copper slag.
 The compressive, tensile and flexural strength of concrete were
comparable to the control mix using up to 50% copper slag sub-
stitution for sand, but they decreased with a further increase in
copper slag contents.
 The surface water absorption of concrete was reduced with up
to 40% copper slag replacement for sand.
 The volume of permeable voids decreased with the replacement
of up to 50% copper slag.
 Copper slag, in the range of 40–50%, could potentially replace
sand in concrete mixtures.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to Sultan
Qaboos University for the financial support provided to perform
throughout this project.
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