Among all building materials, slag crushed stone stands out for its minimal cost. It is difficult to find a substance that would be even cheaper than this material. As a result, the total cost of all work will be much lower, which will allow us to compete more effectively in the market.
Slag crushed stone - what is it
This material is a by-product of steel production. Without going into details, there are two main options for the "extraction" of this substance. In the first case, rock dumps remaining after metal processing are used. These are just piles of stones of different sizes, which are sorted into fractions (sizes of individual parts) and then immediately ready for use. This approach is the cheapest. The second option consists in a special pouring of slag on a specific surface, its cooling and subsequent crushing using specialized equipment. So it turns out a little more expensive, but the substance comes out better.
Features and Features
The characteristics of slag crushed stone can vary within wide limits. They almost completely depend on what the original raw materials were, as well as on those technologies that were used to produce steel. Nevertheless, there are a number of features that allow us to characterize this substance more accurately.
- The density of slag crushed stone is higher than that of granite (from 2950 kg / m 3 against 2650 kg / m 3 ).
- Water absorption is also higher (for granite - 0.2%, for slag - from 0.4 to 7.3%).
- Frost resistance is much lower (15 cycles against 300 for granite).
Separately, it must be said about the ultimate compressive strength. If for standard granite material this indicator is 120 MPa, then for slag gravel it can vary in a very wide range, starting from 62 MPa (for porous slag) and ending at 140 MPa (for a copper-smelting analog). The same can be said of the crushability index. In granite crushed stone, this characteristic is 11%, and slag indicators also differ. Porous - 44%, smelting - 6%.
Application
Like any other kind of crushed stone, this material is used in a variety of fields.
- Asphalt production.
- Production of concrete with increased resistance to fire.
- Creating blocks and slabs for industrial buildings.
- Paving of a roadbed.
- Production of tiles, cinder block and concrete.
- Production of mineral wool.
- The most beautiful particles can be used in landscape design.
In most cases, it can successfully replace natural analogues and will cost much cheaper. Nevertheless, due to the characteristic features, especially due to the low frost resistance, in some cases the use of this substance is impossible. That is why slag gravel has still not been able to completely displace granite, because in Russia there are too many places where low temperature is considered the absolute norm and industrial buildings are usually built there. Speaking of cost, you should also consider the varieties of this rubble. For example, the cheapest and, frankly, useless porous material is available literally for a penny. And its copper-smelting analogue, which is really almost as good as granite (and in some ways superior), will cost only a little cheaper than natural materials.
Summary
The main conclusion from the foregoing is that slag rubble must be selected based on current needs, as its properties are too different. That is, you need to take just such a material that has all the required characteristics. In one case, it may be the simplest, porous slag crushed stone, and in the other, only its copper-smelting analogue is suitable exclusively.