Partial replacement of sand with marble waste and scoria for normal strength concrete production

Abstract

Sand is used more than any other natural resources except water and air, However, it’s extracted at a rate far greater than it’s renewal. The availability of sand in the growing demand of the construction industry will be a challenge due to a wide range of variability, cost, and, quality problems. This study aims to investigate normal strength concrete by partially replacing sand with marble waste and scoria. Experimental investigations were conducted to study the chemical, physical, mechanical and fresh property of concrete containing marble waste and scoria. Marble: scoria ratios of 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2 was used and then the combined fraction of both marble waste and scoria in concrete was increased from 33 to 67 and 100%. Chemical analyses of the marble waste show that it is mainly composed of CaO and SiO2, whereas scoria is composed of SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, and MgO. Concrete containing marble waste and scoria as a sand replacement shows better compressive strength than the conventional concrete but the workability and compressive strength decrease with an increase in the content of marble waste and scoria. Cost analyses indicate that concrete containing marble waste and scoria can save up to 4.5% of the total cost of concrete with weight reduction up to 5% and the optimum replacement level is 22.5% marble waste and 44.5% scoria.