Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146

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Construction and Building Materials

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The soundness of steel slag with different free CaO and MgO contents
Qiang Wang ⇑, Dengquan Wang, Shiyu Zhuang
Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

h i g h l i g h t s

 The primary component that leads to the bad soundness of steel slag is free CaO.
 Steel slag with a 4.96% content of free CaO presents bad soundness.
 Steel slag with a 7.68% content of MgO does not present bad soundness.

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

Article history: In this study, five types of steel slags with different free CaO (f-CaO) and MgO contents were used as min-
Received 9 May 2017 eral admixtures to prepare concretes with W/B ratios of 0.5 and 0.35. The concretes were cured for
Received in revised form 13 June 2017 4 years. Compressive strength and permeability to chloride ion were tested to reveal the influence of f-
Accepted 15 June 2017
CaO and MgO on concrete soundness over 4 years. An accelerated autoclave test was also adopted to
investigate the influence of MgO on concrete soundness after 4 years. The results show that the primary
component that leads to the bad soundness of steel slag is f-CaO. Ca(OH)2 primarily with a bulk structure
Keywords:
is produced by the hydration of f-CaO, which is different from the Ca(OH)2 produced by cement
Steel slag
Soundness
hydration. Steel slag with a 4.96% content of CaO presents bad soundness and leads to the soundness-
f-CaO induced failure of concretes at both high and low water-to-binder (W/B) ratios. When the content of
MgO f-CaO is within 2.09%, the steel slag presents satisfactory soundness. The results of the autoclave test
show that when the content of MgO is within 7.68%, steel slag has no negative influences on the compres-
sive strength of concrete.
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Currently, in addition to applications in trace element removers

Steel slag, a by-product of steel production, is one of the pre-
dominant industrial residues in China. It is estimated that global
steel slag output in 2016 was approximately 160–240 million tons
and that China accounted for approximately half of this amount
[1]. The massively deposited steel slag leads to not only the occu-
pation of farmland but also to the pollution of soil and groundwa-
ter due to its leaching of certain potentially toxic elements. Bayless
et al. [2] reported high concentrations of Cr, Pb and Zn in ground-
water immediately below steel slag deposits. Roadcap and Kelly [3]
documented extreme pH values (>12) and high concentrations of
Fe, Ba, Cr and Mn in groundwater near steel slag deposits. Roadcap
et al. [4] reported significant concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni,
and Zn in ground water below steel slag deposits. Thus, high-
efficiency utilization of steel slag is an important research subject
for resource conservation and environment sustainability.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: w-qiang@tsinghua.edu.cn (Q. Wang).
[5], acid-neutralizing agents [6], and soil conditioners [7,8], steel
slag is used primarily as a filler in the construction industry
[9,10]. However, the mineral components of steel slag contain a
significant amount of C3S, C2S, C4AF, and C2F [11–13], which can
exhibit cementitious performance when mixed with water. There-
fore, steel slag can act as raw material for cement clinker produc-
tion and a potential mineral admixture for concrete. Economically,
the use of steel slag as raw material for cement clinker production
and mineral admixture for concrete should be given priority.
Tsakiridis et al. [14] studied the possibility of adding steel slag to
raw materials for cement clinker production and revealed that
adding 10.5% steel slag has almost no adverse effects on the quality
of the produced cement. Monshi and Asgarani [15] produced a type
of cement equivalent to Type I ordinary Portland cement by mixing
steel slag, iron slag and calcined lime. Additionally, increasing
attention has been paid to the utilization of steel slag as a mineral
admixture. Zhang et al. [16] and Li et al. [17] studied the mechan-
ical properties of blended cement containing a suitable content of
steel slag and found that the binder has sufficient strength.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.06.077
0950-0618/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Q. Wang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146 139

Kourounis et al. [18] found that cement containing 15% or 30% steel
slag met the strength requirements of class 42.5 of EN 197-1, while
cement containing 45% steel slag met the strength requirements of
class 32.5 of EN 197-1. They also concluded that cements contain-
ing steel slag demand less water and can improve the mortar
workability. Wang et al. [19] investigated the drying shrinkage,
permeability to chloride, and carbonation resistance of concrete
containing steel slag, and revealed that this concrete performs sim-
ilarly to plain cement concrete. Moreover, researchers have also
reported lower hydration heat [20,21] and longer setting time
[22,23].
Soundness of steel slag refers to its ability to retain its volume
after it has get hardened. The soundness of steel slag is a critical
problem when it is used as a mineral admixture for concrete:
steel slag contains some free CaO and minerals containing MgO
that might react at late ages, produce expansive internal stress,
and affect the volume stability [24,25]. The specific gravity of free
CaO is 3.34, while that of Ca(OH)2 produced by the reaction of
free CaO and water is 2.23 [26]. This difference is considered
one of the reasons for the volume increase. MgO usually exists
in the form of wustite, i.e., Fe (Mn, Mg, Ca)O, in steel slag [26],
and the hydration of MgO occurs in several years [22]. The hydra-
tion of MgO into Mg(OH)2 may also lead to the expansion of
concrete.
In this study, five steel slags with different f-CaO and MgO
contents were used as mineral admixtures in concrete and
paste. The samples were cured for 4 years under the conditions
of 20 ± 1 °C and 95% relative humidity. Compressive strength
and permeability to chloride ions were tested to reveal the
degree of influence that f-CaO and MgO have on the soundness
of the samples. The microstructures of concrete and hardened
paste were observed to elucidate the soundness failure
mechanism.
2. Experimental procedures
2.1. Materials
Portland cement with a grade of 42.5 and complying with the
Chinese National Standard GB175-2007 (equivalent to European
CEM I 42.5, ENV197-1:2000), crushed limestone 5–25 mm in size,
natural river sand with a fineness of 2.8, polycarboxylic superplas-
ticizer, and 5 different steel slags were used in this study. The
chemical composition of the cement was SiO2 21.86%, Al2O3
4.25%, Fe2O3 2.66%, CaO 63.59%, and MgO 2.19%. The properties
of the steel slags are shown in Table 1.
2.2. Test methods
The f-CaO contents of the steel slags were determined using the
ethylene glycol method according to the Chinese National Standard
176-2008 (equivalent to EN 196-2: 2005). The MgO contents of the
steel slags were determined by X-ray fluorescence.
Concrete samples sized 100  100  100 mm3 were prepared.
The concretes were cured under the conditions of 20 ± 1 °C and
95% relative humidity. The compressive strength of concrete at
the ages of 28, 90, 360, 540, 730, 1090, and 1460 days was tested
according to the Chinese National Standard 50081-2002 (equiva-
lent to EN 12390-3-2001). The chloride ion permeability of con-
crete at the age of 730 and 1460 days was tested according to
ASTM C1202. The micro-morphology of concrete at the age of
360 days was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Five steel slag pastes were prepared by mixing water with steel
slag at a mass ratio of 0.3. The mixed pastes were placed in small
glass bottles and cured at 20 °C for 4 years. The bottles were mon-
itored daily for the existence of cracks.

Table 1
Properties of the steel slags used.

Samples A B C D E
f-CaO content of the mineral compositions (%) 0.35 4.96 0.21 0.51 2.09
MgO content of the chemical compositions (%) 7.68 3.46 6.54 5.98 5.15
Specific surface areas (kg/m3) 453 461 472 442 516

Table 2
Mix proportions of the concretes with W/B of 0.50 and 0.35.

Samples Mix proportions (kg/m3) Note

Cement Steel slag Coarse aggregate Fine aggregate Water
C 400 0 777 1073 200 –
SA-40 240 160 777 1073 200 Steel slag A
SB-40 240 160 777 1073 200 Steel slag B
SC-40 240 160 777 1073 200 Steel slag C
SD-40 240 160 777 1073 200 Steel slag D
SE-40 240 160 777 1073 200 Steel slag E
SA-60 160 240 777 1073 200 Steel slag A
SB-60 160 240 777 1073 200 Steel slag B
SC-60 160 240 777 1073 200 Steel slag C
SD-60 160 240 777 1073 200 Steel slag D
SE-60 160 240 777 1073 200 Steel slag E
LC 400 0 802 1108 140 –
LSA-40 240 160 802 1108 140 Steel slag A
LSB-40 240 160 802 1108 140 Steel slag B
LSC-40 240 160 802 1108 140 Steel slag C
LSD-40 240 160 802 1108 140 Steel slag D
LSE-40 240 160 802 1108 140 Steel slag E
LSA-60 160 240 802 1108 140 Steel slag A
LSB-60 160 240 802 1108 140 Steel slag B
LSC-60 160 240 802 1108 140 Steel slag C
LSD-60 160 240 802 1108 140 Steel slag D
LSE-60 160 240 802 1108 140 Steel slag E
140 Q. Wang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146
The concrete was placed under autoclave conditions (216 °C
and 2 MPa) for 3 h at the age of 1460 days. The compressive
strength was tested before and after autoclaved curing.
Two cement replacements (40% and 60%) were adopted in this
study. Table 2 shows the mix proportions of the concretes with
water-to-binder (W/B) ratios of 0.50 and 0.35. Superplasticizer is
added to the concretes with W/B of 0.35. The dosage of superplas-
ticizer is 1.2% (superplasticizer/cementitious materials in mass) for
concretes containing 40% steel slag and 1.0% for concretes contain-
ing 60% steel slag.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Compressive strength of concrete
Figs. 1 and 2 show the influence of steel slags on the compres-
sive strength of concrete containing 40% and 60% steel slag, respec-
Fig. 1. Compressive strengths of the plain cement concrete and the concretes
containing 40% steel slag with a W/B ratio of 0.50.
Fig. 2. Compressive strengths of the plain cement concrete and the concretes
containing 60% steel slag with a W/B ratio of 0.50.
tively, with a W/B ratio of 0.5. The strengths of concretes
containing 40% steel slag A, C, D and E are 27.89%–39.44% lower
than that of plain cement concrete at the age of 28 days, while
the strengths of concrete containing 60% steel slag are 51.99%–
59.56% lower. This result indicates that the loss rate of compressive
strength for the corresponding steel slag replacement is lower at
28 days. Thus, the soundness problem of steel slags A, C, D and E
can be ignored at 28 days, primarily because of the low reaction
degree of expansive components in steel slags (free CaO and
MgO) at 28 days. At the age of 1460 days, the strengths of con-
cretes containing 40% steel slag A, C, D and E are 26.32%–32.55%
lower than that of plain cement concrete, while the strengths of
concretes containing 60% steel slag are 36.90%–47.00% lower. This
result indicates that the loss rate of compressive strength of steel
slag concrete decreases with age because the increase of steel
slag’s reaction degree can contribute to the strength of concrete
Fig. 3. The cracks on the surface of the concrete containing 60% steel slag B with a
W/B ratio of 0.50.
Fig. 4. Compressive strengths of the plain cement concrete and the concretes
containing 40% steel slag with a W/B ratio of 0.35.
 Q. Wang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146 141

at late ages. Moreover, the results reveal that steel slags A, C, D and
E provide satisfactory soundness and cause no loss to the strength
of concrete within 1460 days.
For steel slag B, the concrete with 40% content exhibits stable
strength development before 1090 days, but it is cracked between
1090 days and 1460 days, and its compressive strength falls to
0 MPa at 1460 days. When the content of steel slag B is 60%, the
concrete is cracked between 90 days and 360 days, and its com-
pressive strength falls to 0 MPa at 360 days. This result indicates
that steel slag B presents bad soundness, and that the increase of
slag content causes earlier and more severe damage to the
microstructure of concrete. Fig. 3 shows the surface of concrete
containing 60% steel slag B with the W/B of 0.50 at the age of
360 days. Many cracks are visible on the surface of the concrete
specimen, and the concrete has lost its rigidity.
Figs. 4 and 5 show the influence of steel slags on the compres-
sive strength of concrete containing 40% and 60% steel slag, respec-
tively, with a W/B ratio of 0.35 The strength results of concretes
containing steel slag A, C, D and E are similar to those with a W/
B ratio of 0.5: the concretes with 40% and 60% content can exhibit
stable strength development and remain intact. For steel slag B,
however, the concrete with 40% steel slag content exhibits stable
strength development before 730 days, but its strength starts to
decrease at 730 days, and the concrete is cracked between
1090 days and 1460 days. When the content of steel slag B is
60%, the strength of the concrete develops stably before 730 days,
but it starts to decrease at 730 days, and the concrete is cracked
between 730 days and 1090 days. This result indicates that the
concrete containing steel slag B still cracks due to volume expan-
sion even though the concrete strength is increased at the lower
W/B ratio. This phenomenon occurs because the microstructure
of the concrete is much denser at a lower W/B ratio, which can sig-
nificantly increase the internal expansion stress arising from the
hydration of expansive components in steel slag B. Consequently,
the expansion stress is greater than the resistance stress of con-
crete, and the concrete cracks.
In conclusion, steel slag B can result in microstructural failure
and strength loss of the concrete, although the ages of
soundness-induced failure vary because the concretes have differ-
ent water-to-binder ratios and steel slag contents. By contrast, the
concretes containing steel slag A, C, D and E remain intact at
1460 days.

3.2. Chloride permeability of concrete

Table 3 shows the charge passed and permeability to chloride

Fig. 5. Compressive strengths of the plain cement concrete and the concretes
containing 60% steel slag with a W/B ratio of 0.35.
ion of the concretes containing 40% and 60% steel slag with W/B
ratios of 0.5 and 0.35 at the ages of 730 days and 1460 days. At a
W/B ratio of 0.5, plain cement concrete exhibits low permeability
at 730 days and 1460 days. For steel slags A, C, D and E, the con-
cretes with 40% content exhibit moderate permeability, while the
concretes with 60% content exhibit high permeability at 730 days.
This result can be attributed to the low reaction degree of steel slag
and the resulting high porosity in the concrete containing steel

Table 3
Permeability to chloride ion of concrete containing steel slags with the W/B of 0.50 and 0.35 at the ages of 730 days and 1460 days.

Samples Ages: days

730 1460
Charge passed: Coulombs Permeability grade Charge passed: Coulombs Permeability grade
C 1281 Low 1068 Low
SA-40 2542 Moderate 2145 Moderate
SB-40 2087 Moderate Damaged (untested) Damaged (untested)
SC-40 2365 Moderate 2133 Moderate
SD-40 2394 Moderate 2014 Moderate
SE-40 2221 Moderate 2154 Moderate
SA-60 4431 High 3689 Moderate
SB-60 Damaged (untested) Damaged (untested) Damaged (untested) Damaged (untested)
SC-60 4161 High 3548 Moderate
SD-60 4287 High 3154 Moderate
SE-60 4529 High 4026 High
LC 546 Very low 618 Very low
LSA-40 795 Very low 632 Very low
LSB-40 841 Very low Damaged (untested) Damaged (untested)
LSC-40 762 Very low 751 Very low
LSD-40 687 Very low 648 Very low
LSE-40 754 Very low 602 Very low
LSA-60 1124 Low 1082 Low
LSB-60 1265 Low Damaged (untested) Damaged (untested)
LSC-60 1354 Low 1125 Low
LSD-60 1211 Low 1095 Low
LSE-60 1314 Low 1214 Low
142 Q. Wang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146
slag, which is also reflected in the compressive strength results.
Note that the permeability of the concretes containing steel slag
A, C, D and E changes when the age changes from 730 days to
1460 days. Concretes with 40% content exhibit the same perme-
ability (moderate) at the two ages, but the charge passed within
the concretes decreases. The charge passed of concretes with 60%
content all decrease significantly from 730 days to 1460 days. Con-
cretes containing steel slag A, C and D exhibit lower permeability
(moderate) at 1460 days than do concretes at 730 days (high per-
meability), but the concrete containing steel slag E exhibits the
same permeability (high) at the two ages. Therefore, for concretes
containing steel slag A, C, D and E, increased permeability induced
by the soundness is not found at a W/B ratio of 0.5. Permeability
tests were not conducted on concretes containing steel slag B at
certain ages because they had cracked. The test was conducted
only on the concrete with 40% content at the age of 730 days. This
concrete exhibited moderate permeability, similar to the concretes
containing other types of steel slag. This similarity indicates that
steel slag B had not yet caused damage to the microstructure of
the concrete at 730 days, which is consistent with the compressive
strength results.
Fig. 6. Morphology of the crystalline components in the hydration products of
concrete SB60 (irregular structure).
Fig. 7. EDX results of the crystalline components in Fig. 6.
At the W/B of 0.35, plain cement concrete and concretes con-
taining 40% steel slag A, C, D and E exhibit very low permeability,
and concretes containing 60% steel slag A, C, D and E exhibit low
permeability at the age of 730 days and 1460 days. This character-
istic indicates that for concretes containing steel slag A, C, D and E,
soundness-induced failure does not occur at low W/B ratios, which
is consistent with the compressive strength results. The concrete
containing steel slag exhibits better resistance to chloride ion per-
meability. This improvement probably occurs for two reasons: the
‘‘boundary effect” of reduced hydration products occurs because
the steel slag replacement becomes weaker, and the hydration
products of steel slag, particularly at late ages, can block already-
formed pores because of the relatively slow reaction rate of steel
slag. For steel slag B, concretes with 40% and 60% content exhibit
very low and low permeability at the age of 730 days, respectively,
identical to the case for concretes containing the other four steel
slags. This result indicates that steel slag B has not yet caused dam-
age to the microstructure of the concrete at 730 days. At the age of
1460 days, however, concretes containing steel slag B with a W/B
ratio of 0.35 have been cracked.
From the compressive strength and chloride ion permeability
tests, it can be concluded that steel slags A, C, D and E provide sat-
isfactory soundness and cause no damage to the macroscopic prop-
erties of concrete. Steel slag B, however, results in bad soundness
and the soundness-induced failure of the concrete, which is stron-
ger for concrete with a high steel slag replacement. Additionally,
the soundness-induced failure of concrete containing steel slag B
occurs even at a low W/B ratio.
3.3. Morphologies of the microstructure of concrete
The morphologies of the microstructure of the concrete con-
taining 60% steel slag B at the age of 360 days were observed. There
are certain large crystalline components with an irregular or bulk
structure in the hydration products of the concrete SB60
(Figs. 6 and 8). The Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX)
results (Figs. 7 and 9) show that the primary elements of the large
crystalline components are Ca and O, and the fitting results reveal
that the Ca/O atomic ratio is approximately 0.5, indicating that the
huge crystalline components are Ca(OH)2. The crystalline Ca(OH)2
produced by the hydration of C2S and C3S normally has a regular
layered or flake structure [27,28]. The large crystalline Ca(OH)2 in
Figs. 6 and 8, whose morphology is different from that of Ca
(OH)2 produced by the hydration of C2S and C3S, is concluded to
 Q. Wang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146
Fig. 8. Morphology of the crystalline components in the hydration products of
concrete SB60 (bulk structure).
be produced by the reaction of free CaO, which is a prominent
cause of the increased expansive internal stress.
Fig. 10 indicates that many ettringites exist in the hydration
products of concrete SB60. The expansive pressure caused by the
formation of ettringite can cause expansion and cracking of con-
crete. In general, many ettringites are not commonly found in
dense structures due to restricted space. However, as cracks form
due to the bad soundness of steel slag in the concrete, more space
becomes available for the ettringite to grow. This increase further
promotes crack propagation. It indicates that the crack propagation
and the growth of ettringite can be seen as an interactive process.
Therefore, the influence of excessive growth of ettringite on the
damage of the concrete should not be neglected.
3.4. Morphologies of steel slag paste
Five steel slag pastes were prepared by mixing water with
steel slag at a mass ratio of 0.3. The mixed pastes were placed
Fig. 9. EDX results of the crystalline components in Fig. 8.
143
Fig. 10. Ettringite in the hydration products of concrete SB60.
in small glass bottles and cured at 20 °C for 4 years. The glass bot-
tle containing steel slag paste B had cracked at the age of 60 days,
while the other four glass bottles were intact at the age of
4 years. Fig. 11 shows the SEM image of a visible crack in the
steel slag hardened paste B that was placed in the cracked glass
bottle. Magnified SEM micrographs were taken along the crack,
and the bulk crystalline product was observed in the crack. The
typical EDX results (Fig. 12) show that the primary elements of
the huge crystalline product are Ca and O, and the fitting results
show that the Ca/O atomic ratio is approximately 0.5. These
results indicate that the large crystalline product is Ca(OH)2. Thus,
free CaO reacts with water to form bulk Ca(OH)2, which produces
expansive internal stress and causes cracking in the hardened
paste or concrete.
3.5. Autoclave test of concrete
The results above show that steel slag B presents bad sound-
ness, while steel slags A, C, D and E present qualified soundness.
144 Q. Wang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146

Fig. 11. Crack in hardened steel slag B paste and bulk crystalline product along the crack (a–g).

Table 1 shows that the free CaO (4.96%) content of steel slag B is
the highest among the five steel slags; the MgO (3.46%) content
is the lowest. Analyses of the morphologies of the concrete and
hardened paste have confirmed that the bad soundness of steel
slag B originates from the expansive component of free CaO.
After being over-burned, the activity of MgO is relatively low,
and the hydration reactions of MgO that cause expansion proceed
at a relatively slow rate [22,29]. As a result, no damage to concrete
caused by MgO can be observed at the age of 1460 days. Steel slag
A, in which the MgO content is up to 7.68%, and steel slag E, whose
 Q. Wang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146 145

Fig. 12. Typical EDX results of the crystalline products in Fig. 11.

Fig. 13. Compressive strengths of concrete with a W/B ratio of 0.50 before and after Fig. 14. Compressive strengths of concrete with a W/B ratio of 0.35 before and after
autoclave curing. autoclave curing.

MgO and CaO contents are 5.15% and 2.09%, respectively, both pre-
sent satisfactory soundness. To further investigate the soundness
of steel slags A, C, D and E at a longer age, an autoclave test was
adopted to accelerate the reaction of MgO. This method is currently
the standard test method for the evaluation of potential expansion
failure due to the delayed hydration of MgO. Changes in concrete
strength before and after autoclave curing were observed to evalu-
ate damage caused by the hydration of MgO.
Fig. 13 shows the strength of plain cement concrete and con-
cretes containing steel slag A, C, D and E with a W/B ratio of 0.5
before and after autoclaved curing. Fig. 14 shows the results at a
W/B ratio of 0.35. Note that the autoclave test was not conducted
on concrete containing steel slag B because it had cracked. The
results show that the compressive strength of all the concretes,
including the plain cement concrete, decreases after autoclaved
curing. This decrease occurs because the microstructure becomes
weaker during autoclave curing due to expansive stresses on the
pores when low-reactivity components (e.g., inert MgO) partly
hydrate to form expansive products [30–32]. Moreover, the high
temperature of autoclave curing (216 °C) can change the packing
of C-S-H at the nanoscale with decreased bound water and
increased apparent density and thus make the structure much
coarser and more porous [33–35].
The focus here is on the relationship between the strength loss
rates of concretes containing steel slag after autoclave curing and
the loss rate of plain cement concrete. At a W/B ratio of 0.5, the
compressive strengths of concretes containing 40% and 60% steel
slag after autoclave curing are 14.6%–20.6% and 12.7%–20.2%
lower, respectively, than those of concretes before autoclave cur-
ing. This result is close to or even smaller than the strength loss
146 Q. Wang et al. / Construction and Building Materials 151 (2017) 138–146
rate of plain cement concrete (20.6%). Similar to the results at a W/
B ratio of 0.5, the strength loss rates of concretes containing 40%
and 60% steel slag after autoclave curing are close to or even smal-
ler than that of plain cement concrete at a W/B ratio of 0.35. This
similarity indicates that relative to plain cement concrete, no seri-
ous strength loss occurs for concretes containing steel slag under
autoclave curing. In conclusion, at a W/B ratio of 0.5 and 0.35, steel
slags with a 5.15%–7.68% MgO content will not lead to soundness-
induced failure of concrete in autoclaved curing.
MgO in steel slag primarily exists in the RO phase (CaO-FeO-
MnO-MgO solid solution) due to the high basicity condition in
molten steel slag and the similar radii of Mg++, Fe++, and Mb++
[26]. The reactivity of the RO phase is relatively low [11,13]. It
has been reported that the MgO-bearing RO phase represents poor
soundness only when the MgO content is over 70% in the RO phase.
The influence of MgO on the soundness of steel slag is relatively
complex due to its different contents and existent forms in steel
slag, and further studies are needed to draw scientific conclusions.
The results of this study show that when the MgO content is within
7.68%, steel slag presents satisfactory soundness, and soundness-
induced failure of concrete will not occur within 1460 days, even
under autoclaved curing.
4. Conclusions
(1) Over a time span of 4 years, f-CaO is the primary component
that leads to the bad soundness of steel slag. The morphol-
ogy of Ca(OH)2 produced by f-CaO, which is primarily a bulk
structure, is substantially different from that of Ca(OH)2 pro-
duced by C3S and C2S.
(2) When the content of f-CaO is 4.96%, the steel slag presents
bad soundness, which leads to the soundness-induced fail-
ure of concrete, although the failure is delayed at low W/B
ratios.
(3) When the content of f-CaO is within 2.09%, steel slag pre-
sents satisfactory soundness over 4 years.
(4) When the MgO content (partly in the form of RO phase or
unreactive minerals) is within 7.68%, steel slag causes no
damage to the concrete after autoclave curing based on the
autoclave test at the age of 4 years.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Tsinghua University Initiative
Scientific Research Program [grant number 20161080079]; the
National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number
51108245].
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