Amaia Santamaria Leon

University of the Basque Country | UPV/EHU · Mining and Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science

It is generally acknowledged that it is an urgent task of the concrete industry to find new ways of introducing waste materials in their mixtures in order to increase its sustainability. Wind power industry can play an important role in this new challenge as a solution for the recycling of the old wind turbine structures that are reaching the end o...

In Europe one of the challenges is rehabilitating aging buildings while containing climate change. We have an opportunity to take advantage of by-products from key sectors of UE27 economy: steel and construction. In the present work, the approach is to incorporate black steelmaking slag (EAFS, scrap melting or first melting of the electric arc furn...

Hardened-property variations A B S T R A C T Analyzing and validating the behavior of sustainable concrete mixes under near-realistic conditions is essential to advance their use. In this research, full-scale high-workability concretes, 0.5 m 3 in volume, containing maximum amounts of sustainable raw materials and their response in cyclic wet-dry t...

Sustainable Development Goal number 12, 'Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns', establishes the objective of sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources by the year 2030 and substantial reductions of waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse. In this context, the recycling of waste from...

The use of recycled materials in concrete members has gained a significant attrac-tion in the last years. In this context, the possibility of including metallurgical slags in concrete hasbeen explored by several research works, among them it is worth citing the ones carried out in thelast 15 years by the research groups of the University of Padova,...

Industrial production of iron and steel within Spain has historically been situated in the north area of Spain. Although a major economic activity for the region, the industry also generates large volumes of waste that have hitherto been dumped in unsightly landfill sites. Over 25 years ago, a group of engineers and researchers from the same area s...

It is well known that the construction industry generates a huge amount of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, mainly emitted during the manufacture of cement and the exploitation of quarries for aggregate production. On the other hand, steelmaking industry landfills millions of tons of waste (slag) that can be reused as raw materials in innovative...

The construction industry in general is, through minor low-cost processing methods, converting several of its by-products into viable materials; furthermore, some siderurgic sector by-products are likewise of use. In this context, large-scale batches (mix volumes over 0.5 m 3) of good quality structural concrete are proposed, in which two kinds of...

Four high-workability (pumpable and self-compacting) concrete mix designs are presented that incorporate steelmaking slags with additions of both metallic and polymeric fibers. Electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) as aggregate, and ladle furnace slag (LFS) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) are...

The modulus of elasticity of a concrete depends on the elastic stiffness of both the cementitious matrix and the aggregate–ITZ system, which includes any slippage mechanisms under loading between the aggregate and the cementitious matrix within the interfacial transition zone (ITZ). A procedure is presented in this paper to estimate the elastic sti...

Any variation in temperature alters the dimensions of a concrete structure and provokes thermal stress. Moreover, the propagation of micro-cracking decreases the strength of concrete that is exposed to sub-zero temperatures (freezing), to heat phenomena (heating), or to cyclical thermal variations, especially when prepared using Recycled Concrete A...

Bizi garen mundua zaintzeko erronka dugu aurrean, horretarako garapen jasangarriaren helburuak bildu dira agenda 2030n. 12. Erronkari begira “Kontsumo eta ekoizpen iraunkorreko modalitateak bermatzea” hondakinen kudeaketa landu behar den prozedura da. Altzairugintza industria garrantzitsua da Euskal Herrian, ezin bestekoa ekonomiaren garapenerako....

Over recent years, Electric Arc Furnace Slag (EAFS), a by-product of the steel-making industry, has been used as a replacement of natural aggregates to produce high-performance concrete. In EAFS concrete, fibers are normally added to improve post-cracking behavior, thereby prolonging the durability and range of applications of the composite. Despit...

Hammer rebound index is an indirect measure that has traditionally been used to estimate the compressive strength of concrete through the use of statistical models. It is especially useful in the quality control performed during the construction of a concrete structure, as well as in rehabilitation works. The high content of fine aggregate and aggr...

We live in a consumer society that generates excessive amounts of waste. Innovative techniques to reduce these volumes of waste are therefore important lines of research in engineering. The Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking industry in the Basque Country produces almost 1% of global electric-arc-steel production. Although driving the economy, it als...

This paper presents a value-based assessment method to assess the condition of a road bridge based on visual inspection. The method has been developed following MIVES, a multi-criteria model for decision making that evaluates alternatives through an index value. This method increases the objectivity and consistency in the assessment of bridges cond...

The feasibility of manufacturing fiber-reinforced concretes of high workability through additions of high volumes of electric arc furnace steel slag is evaluated in this paper, using sustainable binders with ground granulated blast furnace slag and ladle furnace slag as a supplementary cementitious material. An extensive experimental plan is develo...

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slag can be reused as aggregate in Portland cement concrete mixes. The addition of EAFS and other waste co-products (fly ash, blast furnace slag) will modify the binding properties and will, importantly, enhance the global sustainability of such concretes. These mix designs offer acceptable pumpability and self-compaction...

The environmental impact of the building sector is especially relevant during the construction phase. Both the materials and the construction methods that are currently in use must be reconsidered, in order to minimize the environmental impact of concrete-based structures. This research is therefore focused on achieving greener concrete-based build...

Plastic strain behavior in the transversal direction to the axis of loading has often been underestimated in concrete design and its strength performance. However, as this article demonstrates, it is fundamental to define the viability of using concrete of a certain composition in real applications. In this study, 15 Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC)...

The addition of by-products, such as recycled concrete aggregate and ground granulated blast furnace slag, modify the in-fresh flowability of ordinary self-compacting concrete both initially and over time. A detailed study is presented in this paper of 18 mixtures (SF3 slump-flow class) containing 100 % coarse recycled concrete aggregate, two types...

The iron and steelmaking industry is a key sector for global economic activity. It registers high levels of raw material and energy consumption and is responsible for approximately 5% of global CO2 emissions. Among many other wastes, it produces two slag types: reducing slag (white or basic slag from a ladle furnace or LFS) and oxidizing slag (blac...

The compressive strength of recycled concrete is acknowledged to be largely conditioned by the incorporation ratio of Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA), although that ratio needs to be carefully assessed to optimize the design of structural applications. In this study, Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) mixes containing 100 % coarse RCA and variable am...

Self-compacting structural mortars (SCSM) incorporating slags from electric steelmaking as aggregates are manufactured and tested in this study. Their design requires careful proportioning and grading of the aggregates to prevent the negative impacts of slag on mixture workability. In general, these mixes with 60% of the natural aggregates in volum...

The anchorage between deformed steel bars embedded in concrete blocks has been studied for many years in literature, thus leading to a well-established knowledge on this topic. However, literature is more limited when novel kind of concretes are used, e.g. recycled concretes or electric arc furnace (EAF) slag concretes. This study deals particularl...

A commercial masonry rendering mortar is tested in this study of the classical correlation between structure and mechanical properties. Porosity, capillary absorption of water and mortar shrinkage are all analyzed. Special emphasis is placed on the development of mortar strength, stiffness, and damping characteristics including sound muffling. All...

Electric Arc Furnace Slag (EAFS) can be efficiently reused as aggregate in the production of high-volume batches of hydraulic concrete mixes that show interesting properties in both the fresh and the hardened state. Mixtures containing EAFS aggregate in proportions of nearly 50% by volume are prepared for use as pumpable and self-compacting mixes w...

Dimensional stability of manufactured aggregates represents a matter of interest for many applications in civil engineering. Past results evidenced how steel slag might be affected by potential swelling, due to several concurring causes linked to the presence of free lime and periclase in their chemical composition. In this work, a detailed analysi...

The long-term behavior of fiber-reinforced hydraulic concretes for pavement applications is studied in this paper. These concretes are manufactured with Electric Arc Furnace Slag as aggregate and exposed to aggressive environments. Mechanical properties, porosity, capillary structure, and long-term variations in length are measured in compressive,...

The durability of structural concrete mixes prepared with electric steelmaking aggregates is tested for use in normal and aggressive environments. Samples of “pumpable” and “self-compacting” concrete mixes are shown to have good physical characteristics, mechanical properties and dimensional stability. The mixes were subjected to severe freezing-th...

This paper deals with the bond between steel reinforcement and recycled aggregate concrete, including Electric arc furnace (EAF) slag as full replacement of natural coarse aggregates. Pull-out tests were carried out according to RILEM standard on specimens made with six concrete mixtures, characterized by different w/c ratios and types of aggregate...

Reinforced concrete structures came to Spain in the late-nineteenth century, somewhat after the development of this new construction material elsewhere in Europe. Their introduction was pioneered in industrialized areas, especially Northern Spain, under systems first patented in other European countries. Local constructors built structures under pa...

Electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) has for many years simply been dumped in landfill sites; over the past few decades many researchers have investigated its reuse in cement mortar and concrete. By doing so, a waste product may be converted into a useful material with added value as a substitute for natural resources, the consumption of which is also...

The use of electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) , a by-product of the steelmaking industry, as an aggregate in concrete has been demonstrated to be a good practice in its manufacture. Furthermore, the incorporation of fibers in concrete provides a more ductile behavior, increasing their tenacity and load capacity, improving the flexotraction strength a...

Electric arc-furnace slag (EAFS) is an industrial by-product that can be employed in hydraulic mixes used in the field of construction and civil engineering. The design and preparation of self-compacting mixes with this aggregate is a challenge, due to the loss of workability that always accompanies its use in concrete. Only through careful design...

The electric steelmaking industry is of great importance to the economy of the Basque Country (Spain). In all, 600,000 tons of electric arc-furnace (EAF) slag are produced every year; a by-product that this research group believes can be transformed into a useful resource. One of the uses of this material is as an aggregate in hydraulic mixes. Many...

In this research, the possibility of making concrete reinforced with fibers and manufactured with recycled aggregates from carbon steel production was explored. Electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) was used as coarse and medium aggregate, and part of the sand sizes. Metallic and synthetic fibers were added in different amounts. Initially, the propertie...

Natural soils are very widely used materials in civil engineering for laying beds and earthen foundations to support constructions. These platforms or embankments must satisfy two initial and very necessary conditions that should endure over several centuries: they should be of sufficient bearing capacity and should have volumetric stability in int...

The implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has realigned educational programs. There is therefore a need to adapt to the new student profiles. Knowledge is imparted over shorter periods of time and using innovative educational methodology. The teaching of structural topics in engineering faculties has to adapt to these new teac...

Ladle furnace (white or basic) slag is a significant by-product of the steelmaking industry; nowadays the manufacturing process yields two types of basic slag that are either low or high in alumina. The present research focuses mainly on the composition of the high-alumina slag and the reactivity of its compounds such as calcium aluminates, free ca...

Ladle Furnace Slag (LFS) may be used in substitution of fine aggregate (2-0.063 mm), and filler (<0.063 mm) in bituminous mixtures, considering its suitable particle size and hydraulic properties. From among the range of bituminous mixtures, this research is conducted on Porous Asphalt mixes (PA). Their high void ratio means they can absorb any eve...

The main objective of this work is to produce structural slag mortars of good mechanical strength and workability, while reducing the consumption of Portland clinker, the production of which is a growing source of environmental concern. In this context, the study looks at the preparation of these mortars with steelmaking slags (electric arc furnace...

Since the late-nineteenth century, the use of reinforced-concrete as a structural material has proliferated and is now commonplace in the modern built environment. Some of the structures from that century are even considered cultural heritage. In the early stages of its technical development, concrete was seen as practically immutable over time; ho...

Electric arc furnace oxidizing slag (EAFS) is a by-product of the steelmaking industry, generated after the melting and the preliminary acid refining of liquid steel. It is a stony material that is easy to crush for use as aggregate in concrete mixes. This study examines the long-term aging reactions of EAFS and its volumetric stability, to gain fu...