ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih proposes the use of metallurgical waste for road construction in Ukraine

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih recently received the results of testing a test section of a concrete road. Tests and measurements were carried out by a special laboratory of the HeidelbergBeton Ukraine company. Tests have shown that concrete made from metallurgical waste - slag is not inferior in strength to classical concrete based on granite crushed stone and sand.

In September 2018, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih built an experimental section of the road for research on the principle of a puff pastry on its territory. The underlying bottom layer is of coarse blast-furnace slag, the top one is of fine fraction. All layers were compacted and covered with waterproofing - a special film. Above the "pillow", a reinforcement frame made of unmeasured reinforcement was installed, which was poured with concrete. Three types of concrete were used for this experiment - classical, based on granite crushed stone and sand, and special ones, made on the basis of dump blast furnace and steel-making slag. The road section was divided into three zones, on each of which a certain type of concrete was poured in order to subsequently objectively assess the degree of impact from temperature changes and the load of heavy vehicles.

Laboratory tests were carried out in April 2019 in accordance with the state standard "Concrete - determination of strength by mechanical methods of non-destructive testing." The method of elastic rebound showed that concrete based on blast furnace slag corresponds to 103% of the standard strength of the used heavy concrete grade, and on the basis of steelmaking - 109%. In other words, slag-based concrete is not inferior to the classical one.

In the USA, China, Brazil, Japan and in many other countries of the world, slag has long been used in road construction. In Ukraine, a road base made of slag is 2.5–3 times cheaper than that of crushed granite, which is mined in quarries.

According to expert estimates, modern cement-concrete roads are already cheaper than asphalt ones. In addition, they are more resistant to wear and tear. If asphalt ones require repair after 4–7 years of operation, then concrete ones have a service life of 20 to 30 years. Over time, the concrete only becomes stronger, while the asphalt on the road, on the contrary, melts in the heat and collapses under the wheels of heavyweights. It is no coincidence that the World Bank recommends building cement-concrete roads in the first place. Developed countries have long appreciated their advantage. In the USA, about 60% of all roads in the country are concrete, in Europe - 40%, in Ukraine - less than 1%. Another argument in their favor appeared recently: from June Russia plans to stop supplying oil products, which may cause a problem with the availability of bitumen for the repair and construction of roads in Ukraine.

Earlier, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih came out with an initiative to amend the regulatory framework of Ukraine