ARTICLE

Effect of air-cooled blast furnace slag aggregates on the autogenous shrinkage of concrete

Autogenous shrinkage is one of the primary factors leading to cracking in concrete structures. To enhance the efficiency of solid waste resource utilization, this study utilizes air-cooled blast furnace slag aggregates (ACBFSAs) to prepare concrete. The impact of different combinations of coarse and fine aggregates (NS-LCR, NS-SCR, SS-LCR, and SS-SCR) on the autogenous shrinkage of concrete is investigated. The experimental results indicate that the shape of the ACBFSAs is more irregular, and the surface of the aggregates is rougher. The 112 d autogenous shrinkage of the NS-LCR group reaches −195.4 μm/m. Replacing natural aggregates with ACBFSAs effectively reduces the autogenous shrinkage of concrete, and the SS-SCR group even exhibits micro expansion (55.8 μm/m). Owing to the internal curing effect induced by ACBFSAs, the concretes obtain higher internal relative humidity and smaller autogenous shrinkage. Its multi-angular characteristics and rough surface greatly increase the bonding strength between aggregate and the matrix. This study can provide technical support for the resource utilization of ACBFSAs in concrete.

1 Introduction

Shrinkage is an important issue that affects the safety and durability of concrete structures [1, 2]. Shrinkage can cause the generation and propagation of microcracks within concrete, making it more susceptible to harmful substances such as chlorides and sulfates in

...

Aiguo Wang1, Yi Zheng1, Peng Liu2,*, Jun Zhao1, Kaiwei Liu1, Yueming Wang1 and Daosheng Sun1,*
1The Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Anhui Province, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230601, China
2College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, China
*Corresponding Authors: Peng Liu. Email: pengliu94@njtech.edu.cn; Daosheng Sun. Email: sundaosheng@163.com
Received: 14 October 2025; Accepted: 22 December 2025; Published: 13 February 2026

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Effect of air-cooled blast furnace slag aggregates on the autogenous shrinkage of concrete

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