Foundry Sand Research Articles

Towards sustainable use of foundry by-products: Evaluating the compressive strength of green concrete containing waste foundry sand using hybrid biogeography-based optimization with artificial neural networks

Waste foundry sand (WFS) is known as the main waste material of foundry industries, and its disposal cost and environmental threats have become one of the major challenges in many countries. To promote the reuse of WFS, it can be utilized as a partial substitute for fine aggregates in concrete technology, which reduces disposal costs, adverse environmental effects, and the need to extract natural aggregates. The aim of this study is to predict the compressive strength of concrete containing WFS (CCWFS) using an innovative hybrid technique i.e. biogeography-based optimization (BBO) assisted by an artificial neural network (ANN) as an affordable alternative to minimize the reliance on experimental activities. To develop the proposed model, a comprehensive database (340 mix designs) including effective parameters on the compressive strength of CCWFS is compiled from the open literature. The architectural structure of the proposed model and its performance evaluation were analyzed by a variety of statistical indicators. The results indicated the potential for reliable performance of the proposed BBO-ANN model in predicting the compressive strength of CCWFS. Finally, to validate the proposed model, a comparison was made with results of five recent studies with different prediction models, in which our findings indicate that the proposed BBO-ANN model offers by far the best performance in predicting the compressive strength of CCWFS compared to the other ones. This study provides new insights into applying the hybrid predictive technique that can help future research to predict properties of green concrete containing waste materials more accurately.

Experimental investigation on utilization of used foundry sand in concrete as fine aggregate

In controlled laboratory experiments, the use of foundry sand as fine aggregate in concrete was investigated. Lab investigations were done. It was a component of a larger investigation. Different concrete mixtures required varying quantities of reclaimed foundry sand. This substituted for powdered aggregates. 0 % (combination of the control) to 10 %, 20 %, 30 %, and 40 %. The concentration of the control mixture was 0 %. The workability, compressive strength, and flexural strength of concrete mixtures were tested and analysed. 30 % recycled foundry sand increased the compressive strength of the control mixture by over 35 %. The result of comparing them was this conclusion. The majority of industrial detritus used to produce cement and concrete for construction has been included. Included are cement and concrete. Recently, many of these byproducts have been acknowledged. Used foundry sand, a byproduct of the foundry industry, may be substituted for fine aggregates in the construction industry. Recent research supports this conclusion. Constantly on the lookout for new waste-reduction strategies, construction companies are constantly innovating. This is as a result of the construction industry's ongoing pursuit of sustainable methods. As a partial replacement for concrete, this study utilised M20 grade concrete and ancient foundry sand in varying concentrations. Comparing the results of these experiments. The results were compared to a standard concrete mixture used as a control.

Insight into the perspectives of waste foundry sand as a partial or full replacement of fine aggregate in concrete

Insight into the perspectives of waste foundry sand as a partial or full replacement of fine aggregate in concrete

Investigation of properties of concrete incorporating wood ash as partial substitute of cement and waste foundry sand as a partial substitute of sand

Concrete is one of the most extensively used building materials in the world because of its versatility and resilience. The concrete industry is evolving, nevertheless, and can now serve a wider variety of customers. The building industry is fully aware of the importance of implementing environmentally friendly policies and practices that increase productivity, product quality, and energy efficiency. One of the major problems with environmental concerns and a lack of space for landfills is the practice of burying trash and food leftovers. The major goal of this study is to establish the maximum allowable replacement percentage of waste foundry sand and wood ash for sand and cement in concrete without compromising the material's durability or mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of concrete that included these two waste materials increased by 15 %, but those that included more than 10 % replacement had the opposite effect. Although the concrete suffered significant strength loss when immersed in the acid solution, it was proven to be resistant to chloride and sulphate attacks when fortified with 10 % wood ash and waste foundry sand.

Alkaline Activation of Ferrous Foundry Sand: A Look at the Effect of Activator Concentration, Liquid-Solid Ratio and Curing Temperature

In this study, ferrous foundry slag was used as a precursor for the synthesis of a geopolymer. The effect of NaOH concentration, liquid solid ratio (L/S), and curing temperature on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the synthesized geopolymer was investigated. The optimum concentration was found to be 15 M as it yielded a geopolymer brick with the highest UCS of 8.2 MPa. It was observed that as the concentration of NaOH increases the dissolution of alumina, calcium and silica increases resulting in higher UCS. The SEM results showed zeolite formation in large quantities at 15 M which shows that the geopolymerization reaction was near completion and the calcium, alumina and silicates dissolved in large quantities leading to increased gelling of C-S-H and C-A-H over time filling more pores inside the geopolymer brick. The liquid to the solid ratio that gave the highest UCS of 8.2 MPa was 0.15. The optimum temperature was found to be 80 °C. This increased temperature favoured the dissolution of reactive species and contributed to higher UCS. The results reveal that ferrous foundry sand geopolymers have the potential to be used as a building and construction material.

Commercial and recycled carbon-based fillers and fibers for self-sensing cement-based composites: Comparison of mechanical strength, durability, and piezoresistive behavior

The possible use of industrial by-products as carbon-based fillers and/or fibers to produce Multifunctional Cement-based Composites (MCC) with piezoresistive behavior for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) was investigated. As fillers, Used Foundry Sand (UFS) and Gasification Char (GCH) were compared with commercial Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP). As fibers, 6 mm-long recycled carbon fibers (RCF) were compared with virgin ones. Mortars were tested in terms of mechanical strength, water absorption, microstructure, and piezoresistive behavior. UFS and GCH are more effective than GNP in decreasing the mortar electrical resistivity (−30%), total porosity (−11%), water absorption (−27%) and in increasing the compressive strength (+10%). The combination of UFS with RCF in mortars provides the best results in terms of fluidity, strength, water absorption, and piezoresistive parameters. Generally, a lower mortar resistivity, even if with lower piezoresistivity properties, allows the use of cheaper instrumentation for SHM, thanks to the lower full scale and the better correlation strength between the change in resistivity with strain.

Performance evaluation of fibre reinforced concrete specimens using industrial by-products

Increased industrialization and urbanization have resulted in overuse of Cement and Aggregates, which has an impact on the sustainability of the ecosystem. Concrete can be manufactured from industrial leftovers, which eliminates disposal concerns. Here an attempt has been made to partially replace cement with an optimum of 10% bagasse ash and river sand with an optimum of 20% waste foundry sand in concrete. Fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) is manufactured by mixing steel fibres with concrete which will increase the material's ductility and capacity to absorb energy. Fibre reinforced concrete is manufactured by maintaining an optimum percentage of bagasse ash and foundry sand and by varying the proportions (0%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1% and 1.2%) of steel fibre. Mechanical properties of the fibre reinforced concrete specimens using bagasse ash and foundry sand have been studied and compared with conventional specimens.

ANN model using MATLAB in CFS -concrete

This paper presents the ANN studies on concrete by using Cenosphere as a partial replacement of binder and filler addition with foundry sand. This study contains mechanical properties that includes ANN analysis in Cenosphere with Foundry Sand (CFS) Concrete. Cenosphere and waste foundry sand are extensively available in manufacturing industries. The resulting materials have adequate strength and greater durability characteristics. The various proportion of trial mixes are studied with Cenosphere namely 0% 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% with replacement of OPC 53 grade, and waste foundry sand with 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and,60% with partial replacement of sand added to the concrete. The strength and durability were tested for 7, 14, 28, 56 and 91 days. The waste foundry sand is used as alternate for fine aggregate and Cenosphere used as cement partial mixing for the dosages. Since Cenosphere is a very fine material of the colour of cement it can be used in replacing cement instead of PPC. Ash Cenospheres are hollow lightweight microspheres formed from fly ash generated during the burning of pulverised coal for power production. The particle size and characteristics are very similar to the pozzolanas with comparatively low density. It containsSiO2and Al2O3 in larger quantity and the content of components, such as SiO2, Fe2O3, MgO, CaO and K2O,which help for the enhancement of strength. The waste foundry sand is available in greater quantity and so it can be used for making concrete. The test results show good workability and mechanical behavior of concrete. This concrete increases 25 to 50 percentage of strength and have the best workability. It controls pores and crack in concrete. Micro cracks and pores are controlled better compared to conventional mixing concrete. This study includes the Artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the numerical experiments to review the effects of variable proportions on the concrete mix.

Influence of waste foundry sand on microstructural and mechanical behavior of self consolidated concrete filled steel columns

The impacts of leftover foundry sand on steel sections filled with high strength Self-Consolidated Concrete (SCC) were investigated and addressed in this study. 24 steel sections were examined under progressive axial pressure to establish the optimal proportion of leftover foundry sand, a byproduct. 24 samples were divided into 12 columns with eight circular cross sections of 50 mm in radius and 500 mm in length, and eight additional specimens with square sections of 500 mm in length and 100 mm on each side. Additional 12 columns with eight circular specimens measuring 50 mm in radius and 1000 mm in height and eight square specimens measuring 100 mm on each side and 1000 mm in length. The twelve sections can be divided into hollow steel sections and SCC filled sections. The predicted outcome from the studies show that the capability of carrying axial loads and ductility of the SCC-filled steel sections are affected by the use of leftover foundry sand. Additionally, the steel section parts serve as external reinforcement to promote lateral stability and decrease local buckling. The square sections use 25% less steel than the circular sections. By substituting leftover foundry sand for some of the cement, SCC mixes are made. In this project, steel sections filled with self-consolidated concrete were made using varying amounts of leftover foundry sand, including 0%, 4%, 8%, 12%, 16% and 20%. According to the analysis, steel columns with leftover foundry sand have a higher ultimate load than standard concrete, which results in a 12% reduction in construction costs. The work offers a remedy for efficient byproduct management that lessens environmental risk and creates an atmosphere that is eco-friendly.

Development of predictive models for sustainable concrete via genetic programming-based algorithms

Waste foundry sand (WFS), a by-product of the casting industry, is a potential material that may be employed as a substitute for fine aggregate in concrete. In the present study, gene expression programming (GEP) and multi-expression programming (MEP) are used to generate predictive models for the split tensile strength (STS) and elastic modulus (E) of waste foundry sand concrete (WFSC). Therefore, a comprehensive database was collected that contains 146 and 242 values of E and STS, respectively. Seven different variables were chosen as input for the development of the ML-based models. The reliability and accuracy of the proposed model were evaluated by using various statistical indicators. Given the performance assessment, both GEP and MEP accurately predict the E with a correlation of 0.994 and 0.996, respectively. However, GEP performance was much superior in predicting STS (R = 0.987) as compared to the MEP model (R = 0.892). The integrated statistical performance (ρ, OF) of both models approaches zero, indicating the excellent performance and generalization potential of the developed models. For the interpretation of machine learning (ML) models, Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) was used to know about the input variables' importance and influence on the output parameter. The SHAP analysis revealed that a higher ratio of FA/TA results in the enhancement of the elastic modulus, whereas CA/C higher ratio is favorably influencing the split tensile strength up to some extent, however, this trend changes when the ratio is further increased. These soft computing prediction techniques can incentivize the use of WFS in sustainable concrete, reducing waste disposal and promoting environment-friendly construction. Furthermore, it is recommended that the findings of this study be validated with more extensive data sets and that other ML techniques be investigated.

Micro-analysis Tanah Ekspansif yang Diperbaiki Secara Kimiawi

Road construction on expansive soil faces many problems such as deflection, longitudinal cracks, circular cracks and spreading cracks in road construction due to the large nature of swelling and shrinkage. This study aims to identify changes in the mineralogy microstructure and chemical properties of the soil in chemically corrected expansive soils so that solutions for expansive soil improvement are obtained by utilizing local materials based on industrial waste, namely Fly ash and Waste Foundry Sand. The research method is in the form of laboratory experiments, namely Structure Electron Microscope and XRD tests on native soil and soil stabilized with Fly ash and Waste Foundry Sand to analyze mineral structure and chemical changes. The results of the analysis found that the effect of the two types of additives on expansive soils was descriptively significant. The addition of fly ash and WFS to the soil makes the pores and cracks filled with fly ash particles and some form of hydration. After the addition of Fly ash and WFS, ion exchange and pozzolanic reactions from fly ash occur to make the flake and flocculant structure of the soil cement into a crystal or block structure, thereby increasing the compactness and integrity of the soil sample.

Use of Foundry Sands in the Production of Ceramic and Geopolymers for Sustainable Construction Materials

The aim of this research was to evaluate the possibility of reusing waste foundry sands derived from the production of cast iron as a secondary raw material for the production of building materials obtained both by high-temperature (ceramic tiles and bricks) and room-temperature (binders such as geopolymers) consolidation. This approach can reduce the current demand for quarry sand and/or aluminosilicate precursors from the construction materials industries. Samples for porcelain stoneware and bricks were produced, replacing the standard sand contained in the mixtures with waste foundry sand in percentages of 10%, 50%, and 100% by weight. For geopolymers, the sand was used as a substitution for metakaolin (30, 50, 70 wt%) as an aluminosilicate precursor rather than as an aggregate to obtain geopolymer pastes. Ceramic samples obtained using waste foundry sand were characterized by tests for linear shrinkage, water absorption, and colorimetry. Geopolymers formulations, produced with a Si/Al ratio of 1.8 and Na/Al = 1, were characterized to evaluate their chemical stability through measurements of pH and ionic conductivity, integrity in water, compressive strength, and microstructural analysis. The results show that the addition of foundry sand up to 50% did not significantly affect the chemical-physical properties of the ceramic materials. However, for geopolymers, acceptable levels of chemical stability and mechanical strength were only achieved when using samples made with 30% foundry sand as a replacement for metakaolin.

Use of waste foundry sand, bentonite, and waste rubber as a landfill cap layer material

Use of waste foundry sand, bentonite, and waste rubber as a landfill cap layer material

Mechanical and environmental behavior of waste foundry sand stabilized with alkali-activated sugar cane bagasse ash-eggshell lime binder

This study evaluated the stabilization of waste foundry sand (WFS) with an alkali-activated binder (AAB) produced from sugar cane bagasse ash, hydrated eggshell lime, and sodium hydroxide. WFS-Portland cement (PC) mixtures entailed a control group. Strength, stiffness, accumulated loss of mass (ALM), microstructure, and leaching of metals were evaluated. WFS-AAB showed mechanical results similar or superior to WFS-PC, reaching 9.8 MPa after 28 days at 40 °C. Specimens with higher strengths showed higher initial stiffness, ALM around 7 %, and more homogeneous and compact matrices. N-ASH gel were identified in WFS-AAB. WFS-AAB mixtures encapsulated Cd, Cr, Mn, Pb, and Zn from wastes.

Valorization of Brazilian waste foundry sand from circular economy perspective

The manufacturing and processing industries play a vital role in the Brazilian economy. However, they also produce significant waste from natural resources, much of which is disposed of in industrial landfills. To promote sustainability, it is essential to extend the life cycle of industrial waste by incorporating it into new production cycles. In this study, we evaluated the solid industrial residue (foundry sand) with the CPQvA system, in which the environmental class is evaluated by the classification criterion, chemical and mineralogical potential is analyzed, quantity and viability are identified, and applications are suggested. Each CPQvA system criterion includes specific questions defining the criticality index (Ic). Through multicriteria valuation, decision-making confidence is increased. We evaluated four products as possible candidates for the valorization of foundry sand: asphalt mass (P1), concrete blocks for civil construction (P2), hexagonal concrete blocks for interlocking pavement (P3), and mortar (P4). After assessing the environmental impact and economic feasibility, applications P1, P2, and P3 were found to be the most favourable for valorizing foundry sand.

Role of nano silica in enhancing the properties of aerated concrete

Infrastructure development has witnessed the use of new construction materials in the Industry. One such material is the Lightweight concrete which can be classified as cellular concrete and lightweight aggregate concrete. This concrete can be customized as low strength concrete having density less than 800 kg/m3, medium strength concrete with density ranging from 800 to 1200 kg/m3 and structural concrete with density from 1200 to less than 2000 kg/m3. The objective of this study is to optimize a mix proportion for structural light weight concrete incorporating Nano materials for improved strength and durability. Nano silica is a pozzolanic material extracted by annealing rice husk ash. Addition of very small percentage of nano silica in concrete and mortar has shown good strength enhancement and improved durability properties due to increased reactivity, pozzolanic reaction forming additional hydration products and filler effect thereby reducing the porosity and improving the durability properties. This work is based on examining the role of nano silica in enhancing the properties of aerated concrete which is a form of cellular concrete. Also the product has been aimed at making a sustainable construction material using foundry sand from automobile industry which is a waste material and dumped in valuable lands causing land pollution. Aluminium powder is used as an aerating agent and foundry sand was used as sand replacement. Gypsum was used up to 5% in order to enable the strength gain in non-autoclaved aerated concrete. Nano silica was found to be effective up to 7.5% addition beyond which there was not much improvement in terms of strength and durability. The resulting concrete had a density of 1180 to 1620 kg/m3 which is very less compared to the conventional concrete. This a major advantage of this material which can reduce the dead load of the structure. The compressive strength and flexural strength achieved was 25.2 MPa and 1.4 MPa respectively. Durability tests were conducted by sorptivity and Rapid chloride penetration tests to understand the permeability of concrete. Also microstructure investigations with SEM and XRD were done to find the hydration products.

Influence of Metakaolin and glass powder on mechanical behaviour of concrete

Inclusion of industrial waste products in concrete for its enhancement of mechanical performance has gained significant attention in the construction sector. This has been a main area of research since decades to contribute a sustainable and durable infrastructure globally. Cement production poses an adverse impact on the environment due to the release of carbon dioxide during its manufacturing process has directed the research to focus more on sustainable concrete. The research on sustainability is predominantly in progress and abundant research has been done on incorporation of supplementary by-products such as copper slag, waste foundry sand, bagasse ash etc. in concrete as a replacement of cement to improve the interior core structure as well as the mechanical behaviour of concrete and the results were found to be highly considerable. The current work attempts to investigate the mechanical behaviour of concrete mixed with metakaolin and glass powder as mass substitutions for cement and sand respectively. Metakaolin (MK) rich in kaolinite, possesses pozzolanic characteristics which enhances the strength of concrete as validated by much of the previous authentic research. Glass powder being rich in silica could be the best replacement for sand to improve the internal reaction process that occurs for enhanced performance of concrete. Metakaolin has been used as a partial substitution for cement in varying proportions of 0%, 4%, 8%, 12% and 16% in combination with mass replacements of glass powder for sand in proportions of 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% and the specimens were investigated for compressive, flexural and split tensile strength. The test results obtained confirmed that the combined levels of metakaolin and glass powder exhibits significant improvement in strength over conventional concrete. A combined mix of 12% metakaolin with 10% glass powder has resulted in boosting the mechanical behaviour remarkably over other replacements levels.

Study on the performance of calcined spent waterglass foundry sand in alkali-activated foam concrete

The resource utilization of spent foundry sand (SFS) helps solve environmental problems and reduce construction costs. Using SFS as fine aggregate incorporated into concrete for practical application has recently become a research hotspot. However, researchers are rarely concerned about the application of SFS in alkali-activated foamed concrete (AAFC). AAFC is a lightweight concrete material with excellent thermal insulation and fire resistance while reducing CO2 emissions. In this paper, spent foundry waterglass sand (SwFS) calcined at 900 °C replaced fine aggregates (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100%) to prepare AAFC. This paper studied the performance of calcined SwFS in alkali-activated foam concrete. The experimental results show that the SwFS suffered calcined at 900 °C release SiO32− at slow speeds in AAFC and can be an auxiliary activator for AAFC. In addition, the compressive strength of AAFC with SwFS added to 900 °C increased by 15% ∼ 29% and 15% ∼ 25% at 3 d and 7 d, respectively, and decreased slightly at 28 d.

Machine learning approach for predicting concrete compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength with waste foundry sand

The scarcity of landfilling and the growing expense of disposal, recycling, and reusing industrial byproducts have become attractive alternatives to removal. There are several sorts of industrial waste and byproducts; one is waste foundry sand (WFS). Using such materials in concrete not only saves costs but also helps reduce disposal concerns, including a lower impact on natural resources, a lower CO2 impact, and enhanced mechanical and durability attributes. Concrete compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths are essential in constructing concrete structures. To identify the issue above, this research aims to develop systematic multiscale models to forecast the substantial compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of concrete replacement with WFS for usage in the building sector with no theoretical constraints. Experimental data (137 tested) from various academic research investigations were statically examined and modeled for that objective. Artificial neural networks (ANN), gaussian processes (GP), support vector machines (SVM), and the M5P model techniques were applied for the measures. The most important aspects influencing the strength of concrete in the process model are water/cement ratio (w/c) ratio, fine aggregates, cement, coarse aggregates, WFS (%), sand, WFS (mix with others), curing days, and water. Using various modeling techniques, the compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of concrete containing WFS can be predicted in terms of (w/c), fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, cement, sand, WFS (%), and curing time using the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean square error. Among the methodologies tested and based on the training data set, the models based on ANN, GP, SVM, and M5P model appear to be the most efficient. The findings of this study indicate that the ANN-based model outperforms other applied models, provided training and testing datasets are used. Based on the results of the models and statistical assessments such as coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), and root means square error (RMSE), the models SVM, ANN, GP, and M5P model, respectively, predicted the compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of concrete with WFS very well with a high value of R2 and low values of MAE and RMSE. The sensitivity investigation concludes that the curing time is the most important parameter for predicting the CS of concrete with the replacement of WFS using this data set.

Experimental and numerical study for the bending behaviour of UHPC beams with waste foundry sand

Waste foundry sand (WFS) is a waste material inevitably generated during the casting process, the resourceful recycling of which has received much attention in recent years. WFS has been tried for various concrete preparations without involving ultra-high performance concrete. In this study, the bending behaviour of ultra-high performance concrete beams with WFS as an aggregate replacement (i.e., FUHPC) was investigated. Firstly, the bending tests for 6 FUHPC beams with the variable of WFS substitution rate (0%, 10%, 20% and 30%) and water-binder ratio (0.16, 0.18 and 0.20) were carried out, and the effects of the two were discussed based on the failure mode, load–deflection response and load–strain response of the beams. Then, finite element simulation was used to further explore the bending behaviour of FUHPC beams. Finally, the applicability of the equation in the code for calculating the bending capacity of FUHPC beams was evaluated. The results showed that the bending performance of FUHPC beams first improved and then decreased as the WFS substitution rate and water-binder ratio increased. The best bending performance of FUHPC beams was achieved when the two were 20% and 0.18, respectively. In this case, the cracking load, yield load and ultimate load of FUHPC beam were 1.26, 1.23 and 1.12 times higher than those of the beam without WFS, respectively, and the ultimate strain was also elevated. When the WFS substitution rate was too large (30%), the damage of FUHPC beams showed certain brittle characteristic. The plastic damage of FUHPC beams was mainly concentrated in the pure bending section. Tensile reinforcement strength, reinforcement rate and especially the beam height have obvious positive effects on the bending performance of FUHPC beams. The theoretical equation of bending capacity suggested by the code CECS 38:2004 is applicable for FUHPC beams.