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Thakur, Ishwar Chandra, S. Kumar, and J. P. Singh. "Assessment of the

Properties of Cement and Mortar using GGBS." Int. J. Innov. Res. Sci. Eng.
Technol 5 (2016): 15224-15231.

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 ISSN(Online): 2319-8753
ISSN (Print): 2347-6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 5, Issue 8, August 2016

Assessment of the Properties of Cement &

Mortar using GGBS
Ishwar Chandra Thakur1, Prof. Sheo Kumar2, Prof. J.P.Singh3
M.Tech. Scholar, Structural Engineering, Civil Engg. Dept., BIT Sindri, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India1
Associate Professor, Civil Engg. Dept., BIT Sindri, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India2,3

ABSTRACT: Mortar is the material used in masonry construction to fill the gaps between the bricks and blocks used
in construction. Mortar is a mixture of fine aggregate, cement & water and applied as a paste which then sets hard. It is
very clear that among the all components, fine aggregate and water is largely available material in India at very low
cost. As cement is comparatively high cost it would be advisable to use other locally available industrial and
agricultural waste material to replace the cement partially. Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS), a non-
metallic and non-hazardous waste material from Iron Industry, is suitable for mortar mix and enhanced properties of
mortar like compressive strength, reduce the drying shrinkage, heat of hydration and retards the setting time of cement
etc. The main objective of this research work is to determine the optimum content of GGBS which can be suitably used
under the Indian conditions. To fulfill this objective various properties of concrete using GGBS have been studied.

KEYWORDS: GGBS, cement, fine aggregate and mortar

I. INTRODUCTION

The concrete industry is constantly looking for supplementary cementitious material with the objective of reducing the
solid waste disposal problem and cost of material. Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), Fly Ash (FA), Rice
husk ash (RHA), Quarry sand (QS) etc. are among the solid wastes generated by various industries. Substantial energy
and cost savings can result when these industrial by-products will be used as partial replacements for the energy-
intensive Portland cement. This investigation attempts to study the feasibility of using locally available GGBS as
partial replacements for cement. It is obtained from iron manufacturing industries.The main component of blast furnace
slag are CaO (30-50%), SiO2 (30-40%), Al2O3 (8 -24%) and MgO (1-18%) which is close to the chemical composition
of Portland cement.
Ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) is commonly used in combination with portland cement in concrete and
mortar for many applications [1,13,16]. Concrete and mortar made with GGBS has many advantages, including
improved strength, durability, workability economic and environmental benefits [1]. The drawback in the use of GGBS
concrete is that its strength development is considerably slower under the standard curing conditions than that of
portland cement concrete, although the ultimate strength is higher for the same water–cementitious
ratio[3,4,14,15,17,18]. The major factors affecting the early age strength development of concrete and masonry are:
 Concrete mixture composition, including factors such as water–binder ratio and the type of supplementary
cementitious materials like ggbs,
 type of formwork and size of structural element, and
 environmental conditions.
In order to investigate the effect of strength development of portland cement in combination with GGBS, mortars have
been prepared with varying percentage of GGBS ( 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% and 70%)
Therefore, the experimental program has been undertaken with the following objectives:
 To check the variation of consistency of cement at different percentage of GGBS.
 To observe the variation of initial setting & final setting time of cement at different percentage of GGBS.
 To observe the variation of soundness of cement at different percentage of GGBS.
 To observe the variation of compressive strength of mortar by incorporation of GGBS.

Copyright to IJIRSET DOI:10.15680/IJIRSET.2016.0508098 15224

 ISSN(Online): 2319-8753
ISSN (Print): 2347-6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 5, Issue 8, August 2016

II. JUSTIFICATION OF PROBLEM

This research was performed in order to generate specific experimental data on the potential use of GGBS as a cement
replacement in masonry and concrete works. Utilization of GGBS has the benefits of eliminating the costs of disposal,
lowering the cost of cement production and reduction of carbon dioxide gas. This will lead to a greener environment.

III. PRODUCTION OF GGBS

During of the production of iron in a blastfurnace, iron ore and coke are heated to about 1500°C to 1600oC. Silicate and
aluminate impurities from ore and coke are combined with flux (either limestone or dolomite) which lowers the
viscosity of slag. Resulting in the formation of two products namely- molten iron and molten slag. The molten slag is
lighter and floats on the top of the molten iron. Molten iron is then tapped off, the remaining molten slag, which
consists of mainly silicious and aluminious residue. The resulting molten slag involves cooling through high-pressure
water jets. Slow cooling of slag results in the formation of unreactive crystalline material consisting of an assemblage
of Ca-Al-Mg silicates. To obtain a good slag reactivity or hydraulicity, the molten slag needs to be rapidly cooled or
quenched below 800 °C in order to prevent the crystallization of merwinite and melilite resulting in the formation of
granular particles of diameter not more than 5 mm. The resulting granular material comprises some 95% non-
crystalline calcium-alumino-silicates. Then the granulated slag, after drying, is ground to a very fine powder in the
rotating ball mill, which contains some 3.6 million high chromium steel balls. The obtained grounded material is
known as Ground Granulated Blastfurnace Slag (GGBS).

Figure 1: Blast furnace, source of GGBS Figure 2: Molten slag en route

IV. MATERIAL USED

1. Cement
Ordinary Portland Cement of 43 grade conforming to IS: 8112-1989 & manufactured by Reliance Cement were used in
the entire experimental works. To avoid the long storage time and to avoid the loss of strength, cement was procured
according to the phase wise requirement. The cement was stored in bags in air tight room to have minimum exposure to
the humidity. The various properties of cement were tested in accordance with IS: 4031(Part I to IV) - 1996. The results
of which is given below in table 1

Copyright to IJIRSET DOI:10.15680/IJIRSET.2016.0508098 15225

 ISSN(Online): 2319-8753
ISSN (Print): 2347-6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 5, Issue 8, August 2016

Table 1
Sl. No. Properties Results Standard Limits
1 Colour Gray --
2 Standard Consistency 25% --
3 Soundness(By Le-Chatelier method) 4mm <10mm
4 Initial setting time 110 minutes >30 min
5 Final setting time 290 minutes <600 min
6 Specific gravity 3.13 3.15
7 Fineness (By sieving on 90µm) 8.5 % <10%
8 Fineness (Blain’s air permeability) 302 m2/kg >225 m2/kg
9 Bulk density 1.48 gm/cm3
10 Compressive strength N/mm2 N/mm2
3days 23.33 >23
7days 34.33 >33
28 days 46.18 >43

2. GGBS

Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS) used in this project is the mixed slag of Tata Steel, Jamshedpur and
Electro Steel Chandankyari, Dhanbad which were collected from ACC Sindri Plant, Dhanbad, Jharkhand. The physical
tests on GGBS were performed in Concrete Laboratory at B.I.T. Sindri. The results of which is given below in table 2.

Table 2
Sl. No. Properties Results
1 Colour Off white
2 Specific gravity 2.95
3 Consistency 33%
4 Fineness (by sieving on 90µm) 0%
5 Fineness (Blain’s air permeability) 320 m2/kg
6 Bulk density 1.29 gm/cm3
7 Moisture content 0.1%

Chemical properties of Cement & GGBS:

Both cement and GGBS comprises mainly of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3,

MgO and other chemical compositions but having different
proportions. It was determined using X-Ray Fluorescence
machine (commonly known as XRF technology) under the
Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) installed
at ACC Plant Sindri, Dhanbad. The chemical composition of
cement and GGBS is given below in table 3.

F
Figure 3: XRF Machine

Copyright to IJIRSET DOI:10.15680/IJIRSET.2016.0508098 15226

 ISSN(Online): 2319-8753
ISSN (Print): 2347-6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 5, Issue 8, August 2016

Table 3
Sl. No. Chemical Composition Cement GGBS
1 CaO 63.20 35.27
2 SiO2 21.06 34.72
3 Al2O3 5.72 19.11
4 MgO 1.90 8.46
5 Fe2O3 4.38 0.5
6 SO3 2.04 0.18
7 Na2O 0.25 0.16
8 K2O 0.87 0.58
9 Cl 0.01 0.01
10 TiO2 0.40 0.65
11 P2O5 0.09 0.01
12 Mn2O3 0.07 0.14 (MnO)
13 Glass Content -- 95

Check for chemical composition of cement & GGBS:

.
 Lime Saturation Factor (LSF) of cement = = 0.90
. . .
As per IS: 8112-1989 the permissible value of LSF is between 0.66 to 1.02. The results shows that the value is within
the permissible limit.
 Ratio of alumina and iron oxide of cement = = 1.31
As per IS: 8112-1989 the permissible value of ratio AF should not be less than 0.66. The results shows that the value is
within the permissible limit.
 Hydraulic Index of GGBS = = 1.81
As per IS: 12089-1987 the value of Hydraulic Index should not be less than 1. The results shows that the value is
within the permissible limit.

3. Fine aggregate

The fine aggregate used in this project is natural sand of Barakar River. The various properties have been performed as
per the procedure laid down in IS: 2386 (Part I)-1963 and the result was checked as per IS: 383-1970.Various
properties of fine aggregate as obtained is given below in table 4.

Table 4
Sl. No. Test Result
1 Zone II
2 Free (surface) moisture 0.60%
3 Water Absorption 1.10%
4 Fineness Modulus 2.78
5 Specific gravity 2.62
6 Unit weight(Compact) 1.63gm/cc
7 Unit weight(Loose) 1.58gm/cc

V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Copyright to IJIRSET DOI:10.15680/IJIRSET.2016.0508098 15227

 ISSN(Online): 2319-8753
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International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

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(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 5, Issue 8, August 2016

The results obtained by incorporation of GGBS in OPC 43 gade is presented in the following paragraphs. Here we
performed the tests by varying the GGBS from 0 to 70% keeping the weight of cementitious material (cement &
GGBS) constant.

(1) Standard Consistency of (cement +GGBS)

The standard consistency of a cement with varying percentage of GGBS was performed with the help of Vicat
apparatus attached with plunger (as explained in IS: 5513- l996) in accordance with IS: 4031(Part IV) - 1996. The
result obtained is summerized in table 5 below and graph showing its variation is presented in figure 4.
Table 5
Cement % GGBS % Consistency (%) % variation over conventional
cement
Conventional Cement 25 0
90 10 25 0
80 20 26 +4.00
70 30 28 +12.00
60 40 28 +12.00
50 50 29 +16.00
40 60 30 +20.00
30 70 30 +20.00

Figure 4
Standard Consistency %

32
30
28
26 Consistency
24
22
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Replacement of OPC with GGBS
From the above fig., it is observed that the standard consistency of OPC increases by incorporation of GGBS. This is
because of the fineness of cement increases as the content of GGBS increases. Which means that an extra amount of
water required for having equal consistency of cement paste made up with finer cement. It is increases from 0 to 20%
when GGBS increases from 10 to 70%.

(2) IST & FST of (cement +GGBS)

Initial Setting Time and Final Setting Time of a cement with varying percentage of GGBS was performed with the help
of Vicat apparatus attached with needle (as explained in IS: 5513- l996) in accordance with IS: 4031(Part V) - 1996.
The result obtained is summerized in table 6 below and bar chart showing its variation is presented in figure 5.

Copyright to IJIRSET DOI:10.15680/IJIRSET.2016.0508098 15228

 ISSN(Online): 2319-8753
ISSN (Print): 2347-6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 5, Issue 8, August 2016

Table 6
Cement % GGBS % IST FST
Time in % variation over Time in % variation over
minutes conventional cement minutes conventional cement
Conventional Cement 110 0 290 0
90 10 135 +22.73 300 +3.44
80 20 155 +40.91 305 +5.17
70 30 180 +63.64 320 +10.34
60 40 230 +109.09 325 +12.07
50 50 255 +131.82 355 +22.41
40 60 280 +154.55 365 +25.86
30 70 320 +190.90 380 +31.03

From table 6, it is observed that IST & FST increases by the incorporation of GGBS in cement. Rate of increment of
IST is greater than that of FST. This increase in setting time indicates that the addition of GGBS retards the initial
hydration of cement. From above graph it is clear that, at 40% replacement level IST increases by 109.09% where as
FST increases by 12.07% only. The variation of which is shown in figure 5 below.

400 Figure 5
Time (minutes)

300
200 IST

100 FST

0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Replacement of OPC with GGBS
(3) Soundness of (cement +GGBS)
Soundness test is done to ensures that the cement after setting shall not undergo any appreciable change of volume.
This test was performed using Le-Chatelier apparatus as per IS: 4031(Part III) - 1996. The result obtained is
summerized in table 7 below and graph showing its variation is presented in figure 6.

Table 7
Cement % GGBS % Soundness (mm) % variation over conventional cement
Conventional cement 4 0
90 10 4 0
80 20 4 0
70 30 3.5 -12.50
60 40 3.5 -12.50
50 50 3 -25.00
40 60 2 -50.00
30 70 2 -50.00

From table 7, it it is observed that the soundness of partially replaced OPC with GGBS decreases slowly as the
percentage of GGBS increases. This is due to the decreasing proportion of free lime (or unreacted lime) after hydration
of cement mixed with GGBS. Therefore GGBS in cement produce more sound cement than conventional cement. The
variation of which is shown in figure 6 below.

Copyright to IJIRSET DOI:10.15680/IJIRSET.2016.0508098 15229

 ISSN(Online): 2319-8753
ISSN (Print): 2347-6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 5, Issue 8, August 2016

5 Figure 6
Soundness (mm)

4
3 Soundness
2
1
0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Replacement of OPC with GGBS

(4) Compressive Strength of (cement +GGBS) mortar

Compressive strength test of cement was determined by testing a cube of size 70.6mm in Universal Testing Machine at
uniform rate of loading starting from zero to 35 N/mm2/min as per IS: 4031(Part VI) - 1988. The cube made up with
mortar of standard sand and cement and water. The standard sand was prepared as per IS: 650 -1991. The result
obtained is summerized in table 8 and graph showing its variation is presented in figure 7.

Table 8
Cement GGBS 3 days 7 days 28 days
% Compressive % variations in Compressive % variations in Compressive % variations in
% Strength strength over Strength strength over Strength strength over
(N/mm2) conventional (N/mm2) conventional (N/mm2) conventional
cement cement cement
Conventional Cement 23.33 0 34.67 0 45.33 0
90 10 21.00 -9.98 34.00 -1.93 45.67 +0.75
80 20 20.33 -12.85 33.33 -3.87 46.00 +1.49
70 30 19.00 -18.56 31.67 -8.65 47.33 +4.41
60 40 17.33 -25.72 30.67 -11.53 47.67 +5.16
50 50 16.33 -30.00 29.67 -14.42 47.00 +3.68
40 60 14.33 -38.58 27.00 -22.12 45.67 +0.75
30 70 12.67 -45.69 24.00 -30.78 45.00 -0.73
From above table 8, it is observed that compressive strength of mortar of partially replaced OPC with GGBS decreases
at 3days and 7days while at 28 days it is increases giving the optimum at 40%. It indicates the slower rate of reaction of
matrix by incorporation of GGBS. At 40% replacement level the compressive strength is 5.16% higher than that of
conventional cement mortar. The variation of which is shown in figure 7 below.
Figure 7
Compressive strength

50
40
(N/mm2)

30 3 days
20 7 days
10 28 days
0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Replacement of OPC with GGBS

Copyright to IJIRSET DOI:10.15680/IJIRSET.2016.0508098 15230

 ISSN(Online): 2319-8753
ISSN (Print): 2347-6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 5, Issue 8, August 2016

VI. CONCLUSION

On the basis of results obtained in this study, the following conclusion has been made:
 Standard consistency of OPC increases by incorporation of GGBS. This is because of the fineness of cement
increases as the content of GGBS increases. This means that an extra amount of water required for having
equal consistency of cement paste made up with finer cement. It is increases from 0 to 20% when GGBS
increases from 10 to 70%.
 IST & FST increases by the incorporation of GGBS in cement. Rate of increment of IST is greater than that of
FST. This increase in setting time indicates that the addition of GGBS retards the initial hydration of cement.
Particularly, at 40% replacement level IST increases by 109.09% where as FST increases by 12.07% only.
 Soundness of partially replaced OPC with GGBS decreases slowly as the percentage of GGBS increases. This
is due to the decreasing proportion of free lime (or unreacted lime) after hydration of cement mixed with
GGBS. Therefore GGBS in cement produce more sound cement than conventional cement.
 Compressive strength of partially replaced OPC with GGBS decreases at 3days and 7days while at 28 days it
is increases giving the optimum at 40%. It indicates the slower rate of reaction of matrix by incorporation of
GGBS. At 40% replacement level the compressive strength is 5.16% higher than that of conventional cement
mortar.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author is thankful to Dr. V. Pandey, the Head of Civil Engineering Department, for their valuable suggestion and
encouragement at various stages of the project work. We are also thankful to Mr. Manoj Kumar Giri, Manager and
Quality Head, ACC Plant Sindri for their guidance and co-operation to conduct various tests at their modern technology
laboratory.

REFERENCES

[1] ACI Committee 233 Report, Slag Cement in Concrete and Mortar, ACI 233R-03, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich, 2003.
[2] ASTM C989-94a, Standard specification for ground granulated blast furnace slag for use in concrete and mortars.
[3] D.M. Roy, G.M. Idorn, Hydration, structure and properties of blast furnace slag cements, mortars and concrete, ACI Journal 79 (6) (1982) 444–
457.
[4] Duos, C., and Eggers, J., “Evaluation of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag in Concrete (Grade120),” Rpt. No. FHWA/LA-99/336,
Louisiana Trans. Res. Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Oct. 1999, 45 p.
[5] IS 456-2000: Plain and Reinforced Concrete
[6] IS 383-1970(Reaffirmed 2002): Specification for Coarse and Fine Aggregate from natural sources for concrete
[7] IS 650-1991(Reaffirmed 2008): Standard sand for testing of cement-Specification
[8] IS 2386 (Part I to VIII)-1963: Methods of test for aggregate for concrete
[9] IS 4031 (Part I to XIII )-1988: Method of physical tests for hydraulic cement
[10] IS 4032 – 1985(Reaffirmed 2005): Method of chemical analysis of hydraulic cement
[11] IS 5513-1996(Reaffirmed 2005): Vicat Apparatus- Specification
[12] IS 12089-1987(Reaffirmed 2004): Specification for granulated slag for the manufacture of Portland Slag Cement.
[13] J. Bijen, Blast Furnace Slag Cement for Durable Marine Structures, Stichting BetonPrisma, Netherlands, 1996.
[14] J.I. Escalante, L.Y. Go´mez, K.K. Johal, G. Mendoza, H. Mancha, J. Me´ndez, Reactivity of blast-furnace slag in portland cement blends
hydrated under different conditions, Cem. Concr. Res. 31 (2001) 1403– 1409.
[15] J.I. Escalante-Garcia, J.H. Sharp, The microstructure and mechanical properties of blended cements hydrated at various temperatures, Cem.
Concr. Res. 31 (2001) 695– 702.
[16] Neville, A. M., Properties of Concrete, 4th Ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., pp.665-666
[17] Peter W.C. Leung, and Wong, H.D. (2010). "Final Report on Durability and Strength Development of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
Concrete". Geotechnical Engineering Office, Civil Engineering and Development Department, The Government of Hong Kong.
[18] Shariq, M., Prasad, J., and Ahuja, A.K. (2008). “Strength Development of Cement Mortar and Concrete Incorporating GGBFS”. Asian Journal
of Civil Engineering (Building and Housing), 9 (1), 61-74.

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