International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Modern Education (IJMRME) ISSN (Online): 2454 - 6119 (www.rdmodernresearch.com) Volume II, Issue II, 2016 188 STUDY ON STRENGTH AND DURABILITY PROPERTIES OF STEEL SLAG BRICKS D. Vigneshkumar* & B. Soundara** * Post Graduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu ** Associate Professor, Department of Civil engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu Abstract: The present study focuses on utilizing steel slag a waste material from the manufacturing of steel into cost effective building bricks and hence recycle the waste without any environmental problem to the surrounding environment. The investigation was carried out to evaluate the strength, durability and structural properties of steel slag building bricks. The results were compared with those of conventional clay bricks. The strength and durability properties of cement composites containing waste steel slag, sand have been studied in detail and the optimum mix proportions were obtained. The steel slag bricks have been tested for their compressive strength, water absorption, and prism test. The performance of the steel slag bricks is better when compared with that of conventional clay bricks. Key Words: Steel Slag Bricks, Compressive Strength, Water Absorption, Prism Test & Cost Analysis 1. Introduction: The utilization of industrial waste or secondary materials in the production of cement and brick has been encouraged in the construction field. New by-products and waste materials are being generated by various industries. Dumping or disposal of waste materials causes environmental and health problems (1). Therefore, recycling of waste materials is a great potential in brick industry. For many years, by-products such as fly ash, silica fume and slag were considered as waste materials. The use of steel slag in the Brick industry can have the benefit of reducing the costs of disposal and help in protecting the environment (2). Despite the fact that several studies have been reported on the effect of steel slag replacement on the properties of brick, further investigations are necessary in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding that would provide an engineering base to allow the use of steel slag in brick. Steel slag is obtained from Agni steel slag Private Limited, Ingur, Tamil Nadu, India and its specific gravity in fine form was found to be 2.95. The chemical composition of slag is usually expressed in terms of simple oxides calculated from elemental analysis determined by x-ray fluorescence. This slag is currently being used for many purposes. It is a glassy granular material with high specific gravity particle sizes. The size of the particle is of the order of sand and can be used as a fine aggregate in brick. To reduce the accumulation of steel slag and also to provide an alternative material for sand and cement, an approach has been done to investigate the use of steel slag in brick for the partial replacement of sand and cement. 2. Collection of Materials: To attain these goals, materials were collected from various sources. Material collection is the basic and important step in any project. 2.1 Steel Slag: Steel slag is obtained from Agni steel slag Private Limited, Ingur, Tamil Nadu, India and its specific gravity in fine form was found to be 2.95. In the study, steel is the main constituent material.