SCA ANNOUNCES 2024 SLAG CEMENT IN SUSTAINABLE CONCRETE AWARD WINNERS
- nickbrimley
- Apr 3
- 4 min read
Farmington Hills, Mich. (Apr. 3, 2025) – The Slag Cement Association (SCA) is proud to announce the winners of its 2024 Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Awards. The winning projects were unveiled and celebrated on April 2, 2025, during the spring ACI Concrete Convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
“It was a remarkable turnout for exceptional slag cement projects at this year’s Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Awards.” stated SCA Membership and Marketing Director Nick Brimley. “It has been inspiring to see SCA’s awards program grow as it continues to celebrate the incredible use of slag cement in concrete construction.”
Fourteen construction projects from across the United States and Canada were chosen to showcase the broad applications of slag cement and its impact on creating more durable and resilient concrete. These construction projects were awarded in six categories. The categories include infrastructure, high performance, architectural, durability, innovative applications, and lower carbon concrete. Two slag cement research projects were also honored in this year’s program.
The 2024 Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Construction Award Winners:
Infrastructure
Replacement Fuel Bulk Storage Facility, Niagara Falls, New York
Ohio DOT IR 70 and SR 29 Interchange and Roundabout, West Jefferson, Ohio
Expand Cargo Apron – Phase V, Middletown, Pennsylvania
High Performance
TSX Broadway and Palace Theater Redevelopment, New York City, New York
The Couture, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Architectural
River Sol, Bend, Oregon
760 Ralph McGill Parcel “B” Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia
Durability
MHC Kenworth, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Concrete Pavement Intersection for Middle Road and Hanover Street, Newbury, Massachusetts
Innovative Applications
Testing and Implementation of Low-Carbon ASTM C1157 Slag Cement Mix, New Carlisle, Indiana
Advanced Nuclear Material Research Center (ANMRC), Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
Lower Carbon Concrete
The Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance, Seattle, Washington
Crossroads North Building 11, Van Buren, Michigan
Use of Innovative Sustainable and Durable Materials in Concrete Pavements, Monticello, Minnesota
The 2024 Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Awards Research Award Winners:
Using Slag Replacement for Enhanced Performance of High-Limestone Cements
Christian Pavlidis, University of Toronto
Project Description: Blended cements and Supplementary Cementitious Materials play an important role in reducing clinker contents as part of the plan to achieve industry carbon reduction targets in North America. Research has shown evidence of a synergistic relationship between raw limestone and slag in cement for improved microstructural properties and improved durability. Currently, the CSA A3001 and ASTM C595 standards allow for the use of Types GUL (IL) and GULb (IT) cement with a maximum of 15% interground limestone, but higher levels of limestone maybe needed to allow, for example, LC3 and other proposed blended cement systems.
In this study, six concrete mixtures were cast with 5-25% limestone content and 0-50% slag replacement to determine if higher-limestone cements can provide equivalent performance to currently allowed Type GU and Type GUL cements with and without slag cement replacement. Results showed that in mixtures with 50% slag, cements with 25% limestone were most effective at mitigating ASR, reducing sulfate expansion, and limiting chloride ingress. These mixtures also gained comparable 7-day strengths to GU and GUL15 cements with 50% slag, reduced permeability, and showed similar performance in freezing and thawing and de-icer salt scaling tests.
Practical implementation of Internally Cured Slag Cement Concrete Using Superabsorbent Polymers
Chibueze Sylvester Ajuonuma, Purdue University
Project Description: This project investigated the practical implementation of internally cured slag cement concrete using superabsorbent polymers (SAP) to enhance hydration, mitigate shrinkage, and improve long-term performance. The focus is on addressing challenges associated with slag cement’s slower hydration and shrinkage tendencies, which can affect strength development and durability in conventional applications. The significance of the study lies in its potential to revolutionize slag cement usage by demonstrating its feasibility for high-performance and sustainable construction. SAP provides internal curing by releasing stored water gradually, ensuring sustained hydration and mitigating autogenous shrinkage.
The project involved evaluation of the performance of six concrete mixture with Type 1L cement, 30% wt. slag cement replacement, 0.2% SAP, and colloidal nanosilica (4 oz/cwt). Comprehensive characterization was conducted to evaluate workability, air content, strength (compressive – 7, 28, 56, 90, 365 days) and flexural (at 4 days-driven by opening to traffic requirements), durability (rate of water absorption, drying shrinkage, scaling resistance, chloride penetration depth, and resistivity), and hydration kinetics. The study highlights that incorporating superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) into slag concrete improves its workability, sustains hydration, and enhances durability. This study aims to evaluate the performance of these innovative concrete mixes in real-world applications and underscores the practical benefits of internally cured slag cement concrete, offering a durable and eco-friendly alternative to conventional cementitious materials for modern infrastructure.
SCA Research Award Honorable Mention:
Developing a Low-Cement, Non-Proprietary Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) for Bridge Deck Overlays
Saeed Bozorgmehr Nia, Iowa State University
Project Description: This research addresses a critical need in infrastructure by creating a non-proprietary Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) mixture with significantly reduced cement content. While proprietary UHPC products like Ductal and Ceentek dominate the market, their undisclosed mix designs and high cement content pose environmental and technical challenges. Our research develops an open-recipe UHPC formulation with local materials and reduced cement content without silica fume (which is now expensive and causes particulate matter), without compromising strength and durability compared to proprietary products.
More information on the winning construction and research projects can be found at www.slagcement.org/awards.