A study on use of granite powder and crusher dust as fine aggregate in cement mortar

Abstract

Granite powder is a by-product of cutting and grinding granite stones to a powdery form. Due to the scarcity of river sand, the need of the alternative material is the need of the hour. Based on the chemical and physical compositions, river sand as fine aggregate can be suitably replaced with alternative materials such as crusher dust and granite powder. The current study focusses of using granite powder (GP) and crusher dust (CD) as fine aggregate in cement mortars. 1:3 and 1:6 (cement: sand) volumetric mix proportions were considered in the study. Based on the particle size distribution of IS 2116 and IS 1542, the study considered the ratio of 30:70 (GP:CD) and 100CD as fine aggregate. The control mix only contains river sand (RS) as the fine aggregate in cement mortar. The properties were evaluated in terms of water/cement (W/C) ratio, compressive strength, drying shrinkage, tensile bond strength and adhesion strength. For a mix proportion of 1:3, the compressive strength of the control mix, 100CD, and 30:70 (GP:CD) was found to be 9.02 MPa, 10.71 MPa, and 8.02 MPa, respectively. The mix with the lowest drying shrinkage was the control mix. Based on the results of the current experimental investigation, it can be concluded that river sand can potentially be substituted with crusher dust and granite powder for masonry purposes.