An experimental study on the mechanical properties of concrete replacing sand with quarry dust and waste foundry sand

Abstract

Concrete is the most widely used composite material today. The constituents of concrete are coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, binding material and water. Rapid increase in construction activities leads to shortage of conventional construction materials. It is conventional that sand is being used as fine aggregate in concrete. The river deposits are the most common source of fine aggregate. Now-a-days the natural river sand has become scarce and very costly. Cost of construction can be effectively reduced if quarry dust is available near the site. The Quarry dust may be used in the place of river sand fully or partly. Foundry sand is high quality silica sand with uniform physical characteristics. It is a by-product of ferrous and non-ferrous metal casting industries, where sand has been used for centuries as a material because of its thermal conductivity. It is a by-product from the production of both ferrous and non-ferrous metal castings. In modern foundry practice, sand is typically recycled and reused through many production cycles. The foundry sand is normally of a higher quality than the typical bank run or natural sands used in fill construction sites. The sands form the outer shape of the mould cavity. In this study, an attempt has been made to find the suitability of quarry dust and foundry sand as fine aggregate. To test the hardened properties of concrete by compression test, split tensile test & flexural test for 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days and 28 days. M20 grade of concrete is designed using IS 10262:2009 provision.