durability of concretes containing ground granulated blast furnace ggbs against sulfate attack

 ground granulated blast furnace ggbs (ggbs), a by-product of the steel manufacturing industry, being used as an effective partial cement replacement material, has already been proven to improve several performance characteristics of concrete. the reactivity of ggbs has been found to depend on the properties of ggbs, which varies with the source of ggbs, type of raw material used, method and the rate of cooling. in this paper cement replacement levels of 35%, 42.5% and 50% were selected to study the effects of ggbs on compressive strength and sulfate resistance in concretes. two tests were used to determine the resistance of ggbs concrete to sulfate attack. these tests involved immersion in 5% sodium sulfate solutions. furthermore, compressive strength of concrete mixtures that keep in water and sodium sulfate were determined at ages up to 180 and 270 days respectively. also mass change of concrete mixtures were determined. the experimental results show that at later ages ggbs concrete that keeps in water got closer compressive strength to control concrete. after 270 days of exposure to the sodium sulfate solutions, in mixtures containing 50% ggbs replacement by portland cement had rather growth compare to 35% ggbs replacement by ordinary portland cement (opc).