Physico-Chemical and Mechanical Characterization of Ferrochrome Slag Aggregates for Utilization as a Road Material

Abstract

Scarcity of quality conventional materials and jeopardized environment are the prime factors that have been compelling toward the progression of alternate materials to sustain the ever-increasing infrastructure development. The use of locally available industrial wastes as a substitute for natural construction materials can alleviate the demand for such natural materials consumption. In this paper, efforts are made to characterize ferrochrome slag aggregates (FeCr) for assessing its suitability as a replacement to natural aggregates and propose relevant applications linking with characteristics. Mechanical and geoenvironmental properties are established using conventional testing methods as well as advanced macro-level characterization techniques in order to assess the environmental soundness of ferrochrome aggregates. The results in compliance with the relevant road standards demonstrate that the ferrochrome aggregates possess superior properties, rendering them as useful resource materials. Overall, the results highlight that ferrochrome aggregates are environmentally safe to be used as an alternative to natural aggregates, in particular, in road applications. � 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.