Fractal Dimension of Steel Slag Foamed Concrete and Its Connection with Compressive Strength

Fractal Dimension of Steel Slag Foamed Concrete and Its Connection with Compressive Strength | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Fractal Dimension of Steel Slag Foamed Concrete and Its Connection with Compressive Strength Qianqian Chen, Feiyang Shao, Guosheng Xiang, Zhe Huang, Ruiqing Xu, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7242131/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study utilized physical foaming to prepare steel slag foamed concrete (SSFC) using steel slag (SS) and cement as the primary raw materials. The compressive strength and microstructure of SSFC with different SS substitutions were tested, and the changes in pore size distribution and fractal dimensions were investigated, along with their relationship to the strength of SSFC. The pore size distribution of SSFC conforms to a log-normal distribution, and its pore structure exhibits distinct fractal characteristics. With increasing SS proportion, both the average pore size and fractal dimension of SSFC initially decrease and then increase, reaching their minimum values when the SS proportion is 20%, at which point the pore structure is most uniform. However, the compressive strength exhibits a clear inverse correlation, peaking at a SS proportion of 20%. The analysis indicates that a smaller fractal dimension corresponds to a more uniform pore structure and denser matrix. A numerical connection between the strength of foamed concrete and the fractal dimension has been further established, theoretically elucidating the trend that strength decreases with an increase in fractal dimension, which is consistent with the macroscopic experimental results. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Materials science Micro-structure Pore structure Steel slag foamed concrete Compressive strength Fractal dimension Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 15 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 13 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 01 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 06 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 04 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 01 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 29 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7242131","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":496576599,"identity":"c8f9e399-f250-444b-bb63-590a5b65f5d6","order_by":0,"name":"Qianqian Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wanjiang Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qianqian","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":496576600,"identity":"ad57a26c-de37-4aa4-b7b1-c72e5f2edd6f","order_by":1,"name":"Feiyang Shao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Anhui University of 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The compressive strength and microstructure of SSFC with different SS substitutions were tested, and the changes in pore size distribution and fractal dimensions were investigated, along with their relationship to the strength of SSFC. The pore size distribution of SSFC conforms to a log-normal distribution, and its pore structure exhibits distinct fractal characteristics. With increasing SS proportion, both the average pore size and fractal dimension of SSFC initially decrease and then increase, reaching their minimum values when the SS proportion is 20%, at which point the pore structure is most uniform. However, the compressive strength exhibits a clear inverse correlation, peaking at a SS proportion of 20%. The analysis indicates that a smaller fractal dimension corresponds to a more uniform pore structure and denser matrix. A numerical connection between the strength of foamed concrete and the fractal dimension has been further established, theoretically elucidating the trend that strength decreases with an increase in fractal dimension, which is consistent with the macroscopic experimental results.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Fractal Dimension of Steel Slag Foamed Concrete and Its Connection with Compressive Strength","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-11 16:58:41","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7242131/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-09-15T19:12:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-09-13T08:21:28+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-09-01T11:07:41+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"310848706833369658832846385166167509779","date":"2025-08-25T14:42:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"179825009515307820466314504012663445250","date":"2025-08-25T06:43:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"52733368508997661416102626706692854596","date":"2025-08-25T03:33:35+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-06T11:41:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-06T09:32:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-08-04T08:03:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-08-01T14:50:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-07-29T10:19:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"1d8597e2-8362-40e9-a9ec-09f67491bfa6","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 11th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":52747789,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":52747790,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-24T16:04:02+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7242131","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-23934-8","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2025-11-17 15:58:42","publishedOnDateReadable":"November 17th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-11 16:58:41","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-025-23934-8","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-23934-8","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7242131","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7242131","identity":"rs-7242131","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}