Effect of Fine Aggregate Properties on Cement Mortar Strength

Abstract

The river sand is widely used as a fine aggregate in the construction industries. River sand demand has risen leading to a massive depletion of the natural resource relative to any other natural resource. Researchers has proposed various alternatives to sand, that also have their own merits and demerits. Several research intend to find and characterize substitute materials to replace river sand. This creates technical hitches to field engineers on make a choice on using a specific substitute for fine aggregate or not. The aim of this work was to evaluate the relationship between the basic properties of different fine aggregates, such as specific gravity, fineness modulus and bulking, and then relate them to the compressive strength, water absorption and sorptivity. This would facilitate the engineer in choosing the fine aggregate based on its basic properties. It was found that the compressive strength, water absorption and other properties were agreeable when the specific gravity was high. Similarly, bulking plays a key role in reducing voids in the mortar and is preferable to sand with the least bulking volume. Increased properties of specific gravity and fineness modulus with reduced percentage of water absorption and bulking volume would give a better performance.