Effect of granulometric correction of dune sand and pneumatic waste metal fibers on shrinkage of concrete in arid climates

Abstract

This paper reports result of a study conducted to investigate the effect of granulometric correction of dune sand and addition of pneumatic waste metal fibers on the drying shrinkage of dune sand concrete. Valorization of these materials provides both economic and environmental advantages.A correction of the granulometry of dune sand (DS) by river sand (RS) was undertaken with the proportions of 50% DS + 50% RS and 40% DS + 60% RS. Two types of fibers f1 (lf = 20, d = 0.28 mm) and f2 (lf = 30, d = 0.28 mm) with l/d ratios of respectively 71.43 and 107.14 were incorporated with volume fractions of 0.5% and 1%.For the sands obtained from mixing DS and RS, an improvement of fineness modulus of dune sand, and the sand equivalent of river sand were observed, compared respectively to 100% DS and 100% RS. The granulometric correction of dune sand and the addition of fibers reduced the drying shrinkage. The maximum of shrinkage reduction was obtained for the mixtures prepared with 40% DS and 60% RS. The fibers having the highest aspect ratio and a volume fraction of 1% presented a more significant effect on drying shrinkage. The more significant reduction of shrinkage was 40.53% compared to concrete without fibers. Weight loss was higher for the fiber reinforced sand concretes compared to plain sand concretes.