The Effect of Replacement of River Sharp Sand with Quarry Fines on the Split Tensile Strength of Concrete

Abstract

Sharp sand, the normal fine aggregate in concrete is getting scarce daily because of the increase in construction activities in the country. Moreover, the cost of sand is so enormous to be afforded by the common citizens. The need to find readily available and good substitutes for sand becomes imminent. Quarry fines, a waste product generated in the stone quarrying industries has been found to serve as a good substitute for sand in concrete. The proper utilization of this waste material in concrete will seriously reduce the problem of managing this waste while at the same time helping in the reduction of the cost of concrete produced. This study investigated the effects of replacement of river sharp sand with quarry fines on the split tensile strength of concrete. It was observed that the split tensile strength kept increasing as the curing days increased and attained a maximum value of 2.66N/mm2 at 75% sand replacement with quarry dust at 28 days age. At 100% quarry dust content, the 28th day split tensile strength reduced to 1.97N/mm2 indicating a 26% reduction in strength.