Performance of Copper Slag Concrete Exposed to Elevated Temperature for Low Duration

Abstract

River sand is the standard form of fine aggregate used in the concrete production. In this present era of rapid urbanization, to meet the increasing demand of natural sand by the construction industry, massive scale depletion of the river bed is being carried out which is causing a considerable negative impact on our environment. Hence it is highly imperative to find sustainable fine aggregates to meet the global demand without disturbing our ecosystem. Copper slag is one such sustainable material which has a promising future to be used as an alternative to river sand. This paper presents a study on finding the optimum dosage of copper slag (CS) as partial replacement sand in preparation of concrete. Further, as part of durability study, the impact of elevated temperature of 2000 C, 4000 C and 6000 C for 4 hours exposure period on strength characteristics of copper slag blended concrete has been presented and been compared with that of normal concrete. The results indicate that copper slag concrete has excellent resistance to weight and strength loss at an elevated temperature of 2000 C, 4000 C compared to normal concrete however at 6000 C copper slag concrete shows similar trends like normal concrete. In the present experimental study, M20 & M30 concrete grades were used.