UTILIZING WASTE FOUNDRY SAND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE CONCRETE REPRESENTS AN EVOLUTIONARY STEP IN CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

The construction sector is currently experiencing massive expansion and is implementing new methods for efficient and comfortable field labor. As a building material, concrete is important to this sector of the economy. Utilizing natural resources to make concrete comes at a considerable—almost prohibitively high—cost. These problems compel us to either replenish natural resources or find alternative solutions. As a byproduct of the metal casting industry, waste foundry sand currently causes a number of environmental problems. Utilizing this garbage as construction material could lessen the strain on the environment. In the metal industry, foundry sand is a premium, uniformly sized silica sand that is used to create molds for casting both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Metal casting requires sand that is finer than regular sand. Once it is no longer functional, it is taken out of the foundry and disposed of as "waste Foundry Sand." Concrete made with leftover foundry sand substituted partially for fine aggregate is strong, lightweight, and reasonably priced. Cement, water, additives, fine and coarse aggregate, and cement make up concrete. Each of these components strengthens the concrete in some way. Consequently, a partial or percentage replacement of material will have an impact on the various properties of concrete. It is possible to turn environmentally hazardous waste materials into inexpensive, green building materials. In this work, an experimental investigation is conducted to produce inexpensive and ecologically friendly concrete by varying the percentage of fine aggregate with foundry sand.