Natural Fine Research Articles

Utilization of Completely Recycled Fine Aggregate for Preparation of Lightweight Concrete Partition Panels

To reduce the cost of lightweight concrete (LWC) partition panels and to address recycling concrete waste, this work utilized completely recycled fine aggregate (CRFA) to replace the natural fine aggregate and ceramsite in the preparation of LWC and LWC partition panels. To this end, an autoclave-free curing process and an air-entraining agent were used to prepare the CRFA-LWC. The workability, compressive strength, drying shrinkage, and pore structure of the CRFA-LWC and the performance of the CRFA-LWC partition panels were then investigated. The results show that the optimal ratio of the CRFA to the cement is 2.2 for the lightweight concrete, and the optimal panel cross section is a rounded rectangular one. All the pores in the CRFA-LWC have a diameter of smaller than 0.17 mm, and the diameter of 89% of them is less than 0.05 mm. In order to satisfy the drying shrinkage requirements stipulated by Chinese code JC/T 169-2016, the CRFA-LWC should be cured for at least 10 days. The economic analysis concludes that the material cost of CRFA-LWC is 40% lower than that of the autoclaved ceramsite concrete. In addition, utilizing CRFA in lightweight concrete can ease the shortage of natural aggregate.

Engineering and Manufacturing Technology of Green Epoxy Resin Coatings Modified with Recycled Fine Aggregates

Nowadays, the recycled fine aggregate sourced from construction and demolition waste is not frequently used in manufacturing of epoxy resin coatings. Therefore, the main novelty of the article is to prepare green epoxy resin coatings modified with recycled fine aggregate in a replacement ratio of natural fine aggregate ranged from 20 to 100%. The microstructural properties of the aggregates and epoxy resin were analyzed using micro-computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy and nanoindentation. The macroscopic mechanical properties were examined using pull-off strength tests. The highest improvement of the mechanical properties was observed for epoxy resin coatings modified with 20% of natural fine aggregate and 80% of recycled fine aggregate. It has been found that even 100% of natural fine aggregate can be successfully replaced using the recycled fine aggregate with consequent improvement of the pull-off strength of analyzed epoxy resin coatings. In order to confirm the assumptions resulting from the conducted research, an original analytical and numerical failure model proved the superior behavior of modified coating was developed.

Strength Assesment of Asphaltic Concrete using Bitumen, Natural Fibre and Stone Dust: A Critical Review

In this review article, the usage of bitumen, sisal fiber and the sisal fiber for improving the strength parameters of concrete is discussed in detail. Numerous research studies related to the usage of bitumen, sisal fiber and stone dust are studied in detail to determine the results and outcome out of it. Previous research works showed that all, these materials were enhancing the strength and durability aspects of the concrete and depending upon the research studies certain outcomes has been drawn which are as follows. The studies related to the usage of the bitumen or asphalt in concrete so as to produce bituminous concrete or asphaltic concrete, the previous research works conclude that the maximum strength was attained at 5 percent usage of the bitumen and after further usage the general compressive strength of the concrete starts declining. The previous studies related to the usage of the sisal fiber showed that with the usage of the sisal fiber in the concrete, the strength aspects of concrete were improving and the maximum strength was obtained at 1.5 percent usage of the sisal fiber and after his the strength starts declining. Further the studies related to the usage of the stone dust showed that with the usage of stone dust as partial replacement of the natural fine aggregate the compressive strength of the concrete was improving and it was conclude that with the increase in the percentage of the stone dust, the compressive strength of the concrete was increasing.

Mechanical Properties of Tin Slag Mortar

The increased demand for cement mortar due to rapid infrastructural growth and development has led to an alarming depletion of fine aggregate. This has prompted the need for a more sustainable material as a total/partial replacement for natural fine aggregate. This study proposes the use of tin slag (TS) as a replacement for fine aggregate in concrete to bridge this sustainability gap. TS was used to replace fine aggregate at replacement levels of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% in cement mortar. Fresh and hardened properties of TS mortar were obtained. Flow tests showed that, as the TS quantity and the w/c ratio increased, the mortar flow increased. Similarly, the compressive strength increased as the TS replacement increased up to 50% replacement, after which a decline in strength was observed. However, with the TS replacement of fine aggregate up to 100%, a compressive strength of 6% above control was attained. The morphological features confirm that specimens with TS had a denser microstructure because of its shape characteristics (elongated, irregular, and rough), and, thus, plugged holes better than the control mortar. The natural sand’s contribution to strength was a result of better aggregate hardness as compared to TS. Hence, TS can be used as alternative for fine aggregate in sustainable construction.

Strength Assessment of Concrete using Rice Husk Ash, Polyvinyl Alcohol Fiber and Recycled Concrete Aggregate: A Critical Review

In this review study, the effect of three different materials such as rice husk ash, recycled concrete aggregate and Polyvinyl Alcohol fibre was reviewed in detail. Several past studies related to these material usage in strength enhancement of concrete was studied in detail. Rice husk ash is the ash which is mainly derived after burning the waste derived from the rice industry after the processing of rice. Recycled concrete aggregate is mainly the aggregate derived from the constructional waste. Polyvinyl Alcohol fibre is a special type of high strength fibre that is mainly used to improve the flexural strength and internal bonding of the concrete. Numerous studies were discussed in detail and depending upon the studies certain conclusion are drawn which are discussed further. Several studies related to the usage of rice husk ash conclude that the most optimum usage percentage of rice husk ash as partial replacement of ordinary Portland cement was at 10 percent usage. After 10 percent usage strength tends to decline. Results related o usage as partial replacement of natural fine aggregate that is sand showed that it can be used as partial replacement of natural coarse aggregate up to 20 percent and beyond that usage the strength was declining. The studies related to the usage of recycled concrete aggregate conclude that the most optimum percentage of usage of recycled concrete aggregate as partial replacement of natural coarse aggregate was 50 percent replacement and beyond this percentage the strength starts declining so therefore should not be used beyond that limit. Studies related to the usage of Polyvinyl Alcohol fibre revealed that the most optimum percentage of Polyvinyl Alcohol fibre was 1.5 percent and beyond this percentage both the compressive strength of concrete and flexural strength of concrete was declining. Test results concluded that Polyvinyl Alcohol fibre should be used up to 1.5 percent only.

An experimental study and sustainability assessment of plastic waste as a binding material for producing economical cement-less paver blocks

Recycling of plastic waste (PW) is one alternate approach to reduce the adverse impact on environment despite many control measures adopted around the world. Current study introduces various types of PW as a binding material to completely substitute cement to produce cement-less paver blocks. The constituent of paver block comprises of mixture of different types of PW in different proportion mixed with natural fine aggregate. PW in varying proportions of 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% were used to replace cement and investigated to ascertain achieving satisfactory physical and mechanical properties considering temperature effects. The compressive strength increases with increase in the proportion of plastic content. However, when exposed to very high temperature, its strength is reduced by 31.17%. According to the test results, the plastic paver block has a low water absorption potential. The average initial and final setting time of the binder was 19 and 24 minutes respectively. Abrasion test indicated low surface wear, displaying high durability with maximum of 2.56% wear. A trial foot path pavement was constructed using cement-less paver blocks and evaluation of its performance are discussed. The production of one cement-less paver block utilizes 1.8 kg PW. As per the economic assessment, an average unit cost of cement-less block is evaluated to be 35.39% less than concrete paver block. The findings indicate cost benefit of 29.39 to 32.15% when PW is utilised in construction. To evaluate the sustainability, an “Environmental Suitability Index” (ESI) is developed based on three parameters: embodied energy, life-cycle costs (LCC) and re-usability based on literature review. Three additional parameters: fire resistance, social impact and labour efficiency are introduced to further enhance the ESI in the current study.

Properties of concrete containing industrial waste as a fine aggregate: A review

This paper presents a discussion of work reported on properties of concrete prepared using industrial wastes as partial replacement of fine aggregate. Industrial wastes such as waste generated during mining and dressing of marble and granite; refining of zinc and lead waste i.e. jarosite, WFS (Waste Foundry Sand), broken glass waste, ISF (Imperial Smelting Furnace) slag, and Waelz slag as fine aggregate have been studied. The effect of these materials on compressive strength, flexural strength, water absorption, carbonation, sulphate resistance, chloride resistance and freeze thaw resistance were studied. The review of reported results indicated that the particle size distribution of industrial waste significantly influences the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. It was observed that replacement of natural fine aggregate with an industrial waste possessing particle size proximal to that of natural sand does not significantly alter the properties of concrete. Moreover, it was observed that waste materials that are finer than natural sand may have a negative effect on the properties of concrete. Majority of the waste materials indicated comparable to control compressive/flexural strength, resistance to water absorption, carbonation, sulphate attack, chloride ion permeability, and freeze-thaw properties of concrete containing waste materials as replacement of fine aggregate.

Performance Assessment of Ultra-High Durability Concrete Produced From Recycled Ultra-High Durability Concrete

The purpose of the work reported in this paper is to assess the performance of recycled ultra-high durability concrete (R-UHDC), produced using different fractions of recycled aggregate obtained from crushed ultra-high durability concrete (UHDC), as a substitute for the natural aggregate. Four different recycled ultra-high durability concrete (R-UHDC) mixes were designed and manufactured with a reference mix based on the natural aggregate and three mixes with the natural aggregate replaced using recycled UHDC according to two percentage replacement values (50 and 100%). The effect of environmental degradation of the recycled parent concrete was also addressed, using recycled aggregates subjected to accelerated carbonation (replacement percentage equal to 50%). The work has been conducted in the framework of the activities of the Horizon 2020 ReSHEALience Project in ultra-high durability concrete. One key objective of the project was to formulate the concept and experimentally validate the performance of ultra-high durability concrete for structures and infrastructures exposed to extremely aggressive scenarios. The ReSHEALience consortium has defined UHDC as a “strain-hardening (fiber-reinforced) cementitious material with functionalizing micro- and nano-scale constituents especially added to deliver high durability in the cracked state under extremely aggressive exposure conditions.” In this context, the research was conducted to investigate the potential of recycling the UHDC mixes, developed and validated in previous research and employing them as a partial or even total replacement of the natural fine aggregate in the production of new UHDC. This supports the cradle-to-cradle approach in life cycle engineering applications. The research confirmed the effective regeneration of new UHDC based on the recycled aggregate obtained from crushed UHDC, attaining the required rheological characteristics, mechanical properties (compressive strength, flexural strength, and toughness), and durability performance (chloride penetration resistance, chloride migration, water capillary suction, and resistivity). This work is intended as the first step toward the sustainability assessment of the end of life of UHDC materials and structures and the potential of recycled UHDC for new structures and retrofit structural applications.

Chloride diffusion and binding in concrete containing NO2 sequestered recycled concrete aggregates (NRCAs)

This study investigates the effect of NO2 sequestered recycled concrete aggregates (NRCA) on chloride ion diffusion and chloride binding capacity of concrete. Two types of NRCAs were used as a partial replacement for natural fine aggregate in fresh OPC mixtures at 20% and 40% replacement levels by volume. Control mixtures with conventional recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) were also evaluated for comparison purposes. The water-permeable porosity, rapid chloride permeability, long-term chloride diffusivity, and chloride binding capacity of the test concrete mixtures were evaluated. Results showed that the presence of NRCA reduced porosity as well as both short-term and long-term chloride ion permeability compared to conventional RCA containing concrete. Most importantly, the addition of NRCAs enhanced the chloride binding capacity of concrete. Thermogravimetric and X-ray diffraction analyses demonstrated increased formation of Friedel’s and Kuzel’s salts in concrete due to the incorporation of NRCA. Based on the test results, a mechanism is proposed for the enhanced chloride resistance in NRCA incorporated concrete.

Experimental Study on Geopolymer Rubberized concrete using natural Zeolite

On one hand, the utilization of rubber tires is ever-increasing, expected to further increase at a rapid rate, and with that the waste rubber. When the tires become old, worn out and irreparable, it is often dumped in landfills. For every one billion tires produced, an equal amount of tires being removed from the vehicles. This waste can be utilized in large quantities when employed in the construction industry. On the other hand, cement-based concrete utilization also increasing at a faster rate and with that the CO2 emissions. These two major issues i.e. waste rubber utilization and curbing of cement consumption can be effectively done by developing geopolymer concrete with the replacement of waste rubber chips and rubber powder in the place of natural aggregates. In the present study, the geopolymer concrete has been developed by using fly ash, GGBS, and zeolite as binder materials, sodium hydroxide, and sodium silicate as alkaline activators, rubber chips as a partial replacement to natural coarse aggregate, rubber powder as a partial replacement to natural fine aggregate. Rubberized geopolymer concretes have been developed by replacing fly ash with 5% zeolite, natural coarse aggregate with 2.5% waste rubber chips, and natural fine aggregate with 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by weight of waste rubber powder. The developed concrete is then assessed for its performance through mechanical properties, durability behaviour. The results showed the developed concrete has high impact resistance and good freeze-thaw resistance properties. This concrete is suitable for the members subjected to high-impact loads.

Behavior of concrete beams internally cured with clay brick waste

AbstractIn this research, the long-term potential cracking of normal concrete internally cured with clay brick waste as a sustainable approach was investigated. 10% and 15% volume of sand was substituted with corresponding quantity of pre-saturated clay brick waste to enhance the hydration of cement and improve properties of concrete. Four beams internally cured were compared with two control beams. The use of clay brick waste can improve the compressive and splitting tensile strength and also a significant reduction in cracks were observed. Depending on the recorded results, it is demonstrated that the exemplary percentages of clay brick waste to natural fine aggregate was found to be 15%, which developed greatest compressive and splitting tensile strength, and reduce the crack by means of flexural test.

Enhancement of mechanical properties of fly ash geopolymer containing fine recycled concrete aggregate with micro carbon fiber

In this study, the micro carbon fiber (CF) was used to enhance the mechanical properties of fly ash geopolymer containing fine recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). Natural river sand was replaced with RCA at 0, 50, and 100% by volume. The CF was used as additive material by incorporating into the mixture at 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3% by weight of fly ash. The results showed that the CF enhanced the mechanical properties of geopolymer containing RCA through the increased nucleation sites for geopolymerization reaction and the bridging effect of the fiber. For the mix with 100% RCA, the incorporation of 0.2% CF resulted geopolymer mortar with higher compressive and splitting tensile strengths. For the flexural strength and surface abrasion resistance, best results were obtained with the use of 50%RCA with significant improvement in both flexural strength and surface abrasion resistance. The incorporation of CF thus increases the use of recycled fine aggregate without resort to natural fine aggregate.

Effect of waste electronic plastic and silica fume on mechanical properties and thermal performance of concrete

Production of plastic and the resulting plastic waste is on the rise due to the rapid increase in population and urbanization. In this context, studies investigating the recycling and reuse of plastic waste in construction industry provides an avenue to reduce adverse environmental impacts of waste plastic and to save natural resources. This research work investigates the use of plastic fine aggregate (PFA) manufactured from electronic waste as a replacement of natural fine aggregate in concrete. Concrete mixes with 10%, 15%, and 20% replacement of natural sand with PFA are prepared and tested. Fresh properties are studied based on workability and density while mechanical properties are studied based on compressive strength, split tensile strength, stress–strain behavior, Poisson’s ratio, and lateral-to-axial strain ratio. The results revealed that manufactured PFA improves the workability of concrete but as expected, the compressive and tensile strength was reduced significantly. To improve the strength properties, silica fume (SF) is incorporated in the concrete mix as a replacement of cement with same replacement percentage as for PFA. Addition of silica fume minimized the effects of plastic aggregate on strength properties with compressive and tensile strength of concrete showing a reduction of only 4.7% and 1.1%, respectively, for maximum replacement of plastic aggregate and silica fume. Indoor and outdoor thermal performance tests showed that concrete with 20% replacement percentage of PFA and silica fume exhibits better thermal performance with an average reduction of 8% in the thermal conductivity. Results from thermogravimetric analysis showed an increased loss of mass at around 300 °C to 480 °C in addition to the usual weight loss that concrete exhibits from 600 to 800 °C. Overall results suggest that plastic aggregate can be utilized as a natural fine aggregate replacement to produce eco-friendly concrete with comparable strength properties and improved thermal properties.

USING FLY ASH AS A PARTIAL REPLACEMENT FOR FINE AGGREGATE IN CONCRETE AND ITS EFFECTS ON CONCRETE PROPERTIES UNDER DIFFERENT CURING TEMPERATURES

A shortage of natural fine aggregates has occurred worldwide, especially due to excessive consumption of them in construction activities. For this, the availability of sustainable alternative materials for natural fine aggregate is researched. Fly ash is identified as one such material that can partially replace fine aggregate in concrete. The current study demonstrates the feasibility of using fly ash as a partial fine aggregate replacing material in concrete and its effects on the compressive strength and some significant durability properties when cured under different curing temperatures. Fine aggregate and cement were partially replaced with Class F fly ash in different percentages. The curing methods (used in this study) were isothermal heat curing at 30ºC, 50ºC, and 70ºC, and one-day accelerated heat curing. The compressive strength test, carbonation depth test, rapid chloride penetration test, and surface resistivity test were performed for concrete mixtures with different fly ash replacement levels and curing temperatures. Test results reveal that the use of fly ash as a partial fine aggregate replacing material in concrete gives higher compressive strength than that of concrete with fly ash as a partial cement replacing material at both an early age and a later age. One-day accelerated curing is the most beneficial curing method, regarding the compressive strength at all the tested ages. Moreover, concrete with fine aggregate replacement gives better results for carbonation resistance, chloride penetration resistance, and surface resistivity when compared with the control mixture and mixtures with fly ash as a partial cement replacing material.

Investigating mechanical properties and durability of concrete containing recycled rubber ash and fibers

This article investigates the suitability of utilizing end of life rubber tyre particles in concrete as fine aggregate. Rubber ash and rubber fibers were used to develop two series of rubber ash concrete (series I) and hybrid concrete (series II) mixes. The natural fine aggregate was replaced by rubber ash (by volume of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) in series I; whereas in series II, the amount of rubber ash was kept constant at 10% and rubber fiber was introduced as replacement of fine aggregate (by volume of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%). The concrete mixes were evaluated for compressive strength, flexural strength, resistance to impact loading, fatigue loading, water penetration and shrinkage strain was evaluated. It was observed that inclusion of rubber ash resulted in the improvement of impact resistance of concrete. The results also show that up to 10% rubber ash and rubber fibers can be utilized as fine aggregate to develop feasible and durable rubberized concrete pavements, crash barriers and paver blocks.

Optimization of self-compacting composite composition using Taguchi-Grey relational analysis

This paper presents the results from the multi-performance optimization self-compacting concrete (SCC) mixtures containing fly ash and manufactured sand using Taguchi-Grey relational analysis which translates the performances of all the parametric variables into a comparability sequence. An orthogonal array of trial runs of experiments was developed using the Taguchi method and the results analyzed using grey relational analysis. For the design of experiments, five parameters at different levels were identified and used in the array development. The parameters considered are ordinary Portland cement content (OPC), the content of fly ash used as the replacement of OPC, the content of fine aggregate, the content of manufactured sand used as the replacement of fine aggregate and the content of superplasticizer. Based on the analysis from the trial runs, the optimum mixture was identified, and additional experiments were carried out to validate the composition of the optimized mixture. The findings from this study showed that the content of fly ash used as the replacement of OPC has the highest effect on the properties of the SCC mixtures. A good correlation between the predicted properties of the optimized mixtures and experimental results used as validation indicated that Taguchi-grey relational analysis can be used successfully to optimize the composition of SCC mixtures. The properties of the optimized mixtures also conform with the recommended limits by EFNARC. Thus, SCC mixtures exhibiting acceptable properties and made with fly ash as replacement of OPC and manufactured sand as replacement of the natural fine aggregate can be produced for various construction applications.

Near-Surface and Chloride Permeability of Concrete Using Pozzolanic Materials and Manufactured Sand as Partial Replacement of Fine Aggregate

The overuse level of cement and natural sand for civil industry has several undesirable social and ecological consequences. As an answer for this, industrial wastes called by-products (pozzolanic materials) like fly ash, GGBFS, silica fume and metakaolin can be used to interchange partially cement and natural fine aggregate by manufacturing sand (M-sand). Thus, the present research work reported in this article deals with the feasibility study of using manufactured sand as sand replacement and pozzolana as cement replacement materials in concrete. So this will solve two problems simultaneously, viz. the bulk utilization of pozzolanic materials and saving the natural quarries of sand. Thus, the research work presented here specifically dealt with the potential utility of manufactured sand as sand replacement and pozzolana as cement replacement material and its effect on the durability and microstructure properties. Thus, the main objective of this experimental investigation is to find out the durability properties of concrete produced by replacing natural sand by manufactured sand in varying percentages like 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% 70%, 80%, 90% and 100%, and 20% cement replacing with pozzolanic materials. In this experimentation, natural fine aggregate was partially replaced by M-sand in various percentages 0–100% with 10% interval, water–cement ratio of 0.45, and cement was partially substituted by 20% of pozzolanic materials. M30 concrete grade proportions were considered as per IS 10262:2009 guidelines. The durability properties like water absorption, sorptivity and chloride permeability results were checked for the different concrete mix proportions and compared with conventional concrete. From this research work, it can be concluded that for replacement of 60% natural fine aggregate by manufactured sand (M-sand) and 20% cement by silica fume yields minimum water absorption, sorptivity, chloride permeability and denser microstructure than conventional concrete.

Effect of alkali activator concentration on waste brick powder-based ecofriendly mortar cured at ambient temperature

The main goal of this research was to investigate the effect of alkali activator concentrations and fine aggregate types on the performance of waste brick powder (WBP)-based alkali-activated mortar. Ground granulated blast furnace slag was used to modify the properties of WBP. Na2SiO3 and NaOH were used as the alkali activator solutions, with Na2O content varying between 2 and 10% and the SiO2/Na2O ratio varying between 0.25 and 2. Waste ceramic sand (WCS) and recycled concrete fine aggregate (RFA) were used as the alternative fine aggregate materials to replace natural fine aggregate (NFA). The mortar mixtures were successfully developed at significantly lower alkali activators concentrations (starting from 4% Na2O and SiO2/Na2O ratio of 0.5) than previously reported in the literature. The compressive strengths of the mortar were measured between 8 and 46 MPa. The partial replacement of NFA by WCS enhanced the compressive strength of mortar. Scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis were used to study the microstructural properties of mortar. Higher compressive strength and an increasingly compact microstructure were observed as Na2O content increases from 4 to 10% and as the SiO2/Na2O ratio rise from 0.5 to 1.5.

Influence of ultra-lightweight foamed glass aggregate on the strength aspects of lightweight concrete

Foamed glass aggregate is a special type of ultra-lightweight aggregate which can be easily used to enhance the properties of concrete. Foamed glass aggregate is completely prepared from waste glass available from various sources where the waste glass from industries is dumped at regular intervals. Here in this present study foamed glass was used as part as well as a full replacement of natural fine Aggregate to modify and enhance the properties of the normal concrete to prepare lightweight concrete. This study was taken into more advanced aspect by taking different sizes of the foamed glass aggregate to predict the optimum size as well as the optimum replacement percentage of the foamed glass aggregate. The foamed glass was replaced from 0% to 100% at an interval of 20% each. Overall three sizes of foamed glass were taken into consideration for the study. Different types of tests such as compressive strength test, Flexural strength test, water absorption test, and at last scanning electron microscopy was performed over the prepared specimen to compare the properties of the lightweight concrete and the normal concrete. All these aspects improve the strength as well as durable properties of concrete to a new extent. The concept of lightweight concrete, as well as the ultra-lightweight concrete, is not very much implemented in modern aspects but it one must not forget its importance as lighter will the concrete lighter will be the dead load of the structure. Although the use of this concept is implemented over lightweight structures only but with the size variation in the study it can also be used for the medium weight structures. Foamed glass aggregate usage also took the load of the waste glass from the earth and it is needed environmental point of view .

Cross-Calibration of an α-Source Used for Luminescence Dating by Applying Different Samples and Procedures

AbstractIn terms of fine-grain luminescence dating applications, the efficiency of α-radiation in producing luminescence is an important issue when determining environmental dose rates. Efficiency is usually assessed by measuring the ratio of luminescence intensities induced by known α and β laboratory doses. Consequently, most thermoluminescence (TL)/optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) readers besides the standard90Sr/90Y β-source can also be equipped with a241Am α-source. A crucial point is, however, the calibration of these sources. The calibration of β-sources is routinely performed using standard quartz samples previously irradiated by a known γ-dose, though, in the case of α-sources, the procedure is less standardised, partly because there are no calibration materials with a known α-efficiency value.In this study, we aimed to cross-calibrate the built-in α-source of a RISØ TL/OSL DA-20 luminescence reader by testing and comparing five procedures, applying different samples (quartz and polymineral), different protocols multiple aliquot regeneration (MAR) and single aliquot regeneration (SAR) and different calibration sources. Throughout the tests, the performance of the fine-grain RISØ calibration quartz was also assessed.Regardless of the applied procedure, the calculated α-dose rates with one exception gave similar results. On the one hand, the applied polymineral sample due to potential fading, fairly high residuals after bleaching and relatively low infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) sensitivity proved to be the least optimal choice for cross-calibration. On the other hand, the tested natural fine grain quartz gave almost identical results when using different types of bleaching and different calibration α-sources. The mean dose rate determined for the source was 0.080 ± 0.004 Gy/s.The cross-calibration by using the RISØ fine grain quartz yielded somewhat higher but at the apparent uncertainty of luminescence dating still not significantly different dose rate for the source under calibration. Tests showed that the calibration quartz saturates at a relatively low α-dose, and the shape of α- and β-dose-response curves also depart from each other quite early, suggesting that cross-calibration with this material seems to be reliable only at low doses. For the first time, thea-value of the fine-grain calibration quartz was also determined using the freshly calibrated α-source, and the measurement yielded a 0.054 ± 0.003 value. We propose that after further validation of this result, the RISØ calibration quartz can ease the dose rate assessment of uncalibrated α-sources in the future.