Using ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash to improve the resistance of fine-grained concrete to sulfuric acid attack

This paper presents study using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and fly ash (FA) as partial replacement of cement to improve the resistance of fine-grained concrete (FGC) to sulfuric acid attack. Two series of FGC were prepared with W/B ratios of 0.36 and 0.32. In each series: 1 mixture of control FGC, 2 mixtures were investigated: FGC using 40% GGBFS as partial replacement of cement (GS40) and FGC using a combination of 35% GGBFS and 20% FA as partial replacement of cement (GS35FA20). The study results in water environment showed that the compressive strength and the flexural strength of FGC were highest with GS40, the lowest absorption with FGC using GS35FA20 at all experimental ages. The study results in acid environment showed that compressive strength, flexural strength of FGC were highest and the absorption was lowest with a replacement rate of GS35FA20 at 90 days. Control FGC has the lowest acid resistance when compared to FGC using GS40 and FGC using GS35FA20.