Compaction and shear strength behavior of fresh and aged Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) steel slag

Abstract

Use of industrial by-products in geotechnical engineering projects, such as in the construction of highway embankments, is advantageous because large volumes of these materials can be utilized. Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steel slag is one of these industrial by-products. This paper provides a brief background on the characteristics of BOF steel slag and presents the results of a series of laboratory tests (grain-size analysis, maximum and minimum dry density, compaction, large-scale direct shear tests (LDS) and isotropically consolidated-drained triaxial compression (CID TX) performed on fresh and aged BOF steel slag generated from an Indiana steel plant. BOF steel slag samples from three different batches of production were tested, which allowed an evaluation of both aging processes and the effect of changes in gradation on the mechanical properties. The BOF steel slag tested in this study contained sand-size particles with varying percentages of gravel-and silt-size fractions. The moisture-density relationships for BOF steel slag were irregular with two peaks. Based on the LDS and CID TX test results, the BOF steel slag exhibited superior strength and stiffness characteristics than conventional geo-materials. The mechanical properties of fresh and aged BOF steel slag are discussed in the context of its use in geotechnical applications.