International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
Study on Cement Concrete Incorporating Quarry Dust as a Partial
Substitute for Sand
P. Sachithanantham1 P. Dayakar2 Dr. K.V.B. Raju3
1
2
3
Asst. Professor, Department of Civil Engg, Bharath University, Chennai, Tamilnadu.
Head, Department of Civil Engg, Bharath University, Chennai, Tamilnadu.
Principal, Sakthi Mariamman Engineering College, Tandalam, Chennai, Tamilnadu.
Abstract
Quarry Dust is a by product from the granite industries in quarrying activities. In this
process 10% to 20% comes out as waste in the form of quarry dust. For any process industry
to be sustainable, it should cater human needs as well as protect the environment from the ill
effects of its products and by-products. The anthropogenic impact on the environment in the
last century has proven to be very negative due to the rapid development of industries. Hence
the preservation of global environment, waste management of sustainable development has
attracted the attention of environmentalists. The link between the industry and the
environment should be balanced. Production of cement concrete consumes enormous amounts
of natural resources and both fine aggregates and coarse aggregates causing substantial
environmental energy loses. This paper presents the findings from experimental work
conducted to evaluate the suitability of quarry dust as a partial substitute for sand in cement
concrete. Cement concrete mix to achieve 20Mpa at 28 days is designed using IS method.
Quarry dust is used in the mix as a partial substitute for sand, in quantities ranging from 0%,
10%, 20% and 30%. To determine the fresh concrete properties slump test, Vee Bee and
Compacting factor test are conducted. Compression test, split tension test and flexure test are
conducted on specimens to evaluate the hardened concrete properties. From the test results it
is concluded that quarry dust can be used as a viable replacement material to sand to produce
cement concrete.
INTRODUCTION
To produce cement concrete enormous amounts of natural resources like coarse
aggregates derived from natural granites, sand as fine aggregate taken from river beds are
used. This poses energy and environmental loses. The production of concrete also contributes
significantly to the emission of carbon dioxide a naturally occurring green house gas. In order
to address these environmental and economic issues adjustments and improvements to the
present concrete making methods are essential. This has encouraged researchers in the area of
concrete engineering and technology to identify and investigate supplementary by product
materials which can be used as substitutes for constituent materials in concrete production.
Aggregates contributing 60% to 70% of volume in concrete results in depletion of natural
resources like granite and river sand. To produce coarse aggregate natural granites are crushed
and sieved to the required size. In this process of crushing and sieving, fine particles less than
4.75mm contributing 10 to 20% of coarse aggregate comes out as quarry dust. Quarry dust
can be defined as residue, tailing or other non valuable solid waste material. This solid waste
produced from the quarries is either dumped or filled. On the other hand river sand is the
most commonly used fine aggregate in concrete. This valuable mineral which is acute
shortage in many places due to the extensive construction activities. Large scale depletion of
these sources creates environmental issues. To achieve economy as well as waste into wealth
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
a study is made in this paper to validate the partial substitute of sand by stone quarry dust, in
quantities ranging from 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% by weight of sand.
METHODOLOGY
Materials
Ordinary Portland cement of 43 grade is used. Locally available river sand and coarse
aggregate are used for concrete. Quarry dust from crushers located in Kandigai near Chennai
is used in this study as shown in fig. 1. Raw quarry dust is sieved through 4.75mm to remove
the over sized aggregates. Basic tests are conducted as per IS standards on the materials used
for concrete, such as specific gravity, fineness, consistency, and initial setting time for
cement, specific gravity and sieve analysis for fine aggregates and for the coarse aggregates
tests like impact value, crushing value and abrasion value (Los Angeles and Deval’s) are
conducted as per standards and results are tabulated in table 1. Mix proportion is arrived for a
characteristic compressive strength of 20 MPa for the conventional concrete using IS method.
Table 1 Test on Cement, Fine aggregate and Coarse aggregate
Test
3.15
96.56%
33%
40 min
-
Fine
aggregate
2.65
2%
Zone II
-
Coarse
aggregate
2.70
23.6%
23.2%
-
-
25.9%
Cement
Specific Gravity
Fineness
Consistency
Initial Setting Time
Free Surface Moisture
Gradation
Aggregate Impact Value
Aggregate Crushing Values
Aggregate Abrasion Value
(Los Angeles)
Deval’s Abrasion Value
18.4%
Fig. 1 Raw quarry dust
Mix Design
Concrete used for the investigation is designed in accordance with IS 10262.
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
Test Data for Materials
Cement used
Specific gravity of Cement
Specific gravity of coarse aggregate
Specific gravity of Fine aggregate
Water absorption
Coarse aggregate
Fine aggregate
Free surface moisture
Coarse aggregate
Fine aggregate
Sieve analysis
Coarse aggregate
Fine aggregate
-
OPC – 43 grade
3.15
2.70
2.65
-
1%
Nil
-
Nil
2%
-
Confirms grading of IS 383 1973
Confirms zone - II
-
Table 2 Design Stipulations
Design Stipulations
Characteristic Compressive
Strength
Maximum size of aggregates
M20
20 MPa
Type of Exposure
20 mm (angular)
0.9 (Compacting
Factor)
Mild
Degree of Quality Control
Very Good
Degree of Workability
Table 3 Design Mix proportion
Cement
1
Fine Aggregate
1.4
Coarse Aggregate
2.85
w/c ratio
0.52
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
Workability
Tests to measure the workability of fresh concrete such as slump cone test, compacting
factor test and Vee-Bee Consistometer test are carried for conventional, quarry dust concrete
and the values are tabulated in table 4.
Table 4 Test on Fresh Concrete
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
Quarry Dust
(%)
0
10
20
30
Slump,
mm
14
12
9
7
Compacting
Factor
0.92
0.9
0.89
0.88
Vee-Bee time,
s
5
7
8
9
Compressive Strength
The compression test on conventional concrete, quarry dust concrete cubes of size
15cm x 15cm x 15 cm are conducted as shown in fig. 2 for both 7 days and 28 days and
values are tabulated in table 5.
Table 5 Compression test on Concrete cubes
Quarry Dust
(%)
0
10
20
30
Comp. Strength, MPa
(7 days)
21.94
23.10
17.29
16.50
Comp. Strength, MPa
(28 days)
26.7
29.52
24.32
21.72
Fig. 2 Compression test on Concrete cube
Flexural Strength
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
The flexural strength test on conventional concrete, quarry dust concrete beams of size
10cm x 10cm x 50 cm are conducted as shown in fig.3 for both 7 days and 28 days and values
are tabulated in table 6.
Table 6 Flexural test on Concrete beams
Quarry Dust
(%)
0
10
20
30
Flexural Strength, MPa
(7 days)
4.20
4.60
2.97
2.70
Flexural Strength, MPa
(28 days)
5.29
6.22
4.95
4.59
Fig. 3 Flexure test
Tensile Strength
The split tensile strength test on conventional concrete, quarry dust concrete cylinders
of size 150cm diameter and 30cm height are conducted for both 7 days and 28 days and
values are tabulated in table 7.
Table 7 Tension test on Concrete cylinder
Quarry Dust (%)
0
10
20
30
Tensile Strength, MPa
(7 days)
1.66
1.80
1.25
1.10
Tensile Strength, MPa
(28 days)
1.93
1.98
1.94
1.89
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Workability of Fresh Concrete
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
Effect of quarry dust on Slump of fresh concrete
From the table 4 curves are plotted between percentage of quarry dust with slump as
shown in fig. 4. It is observed that the slump of the fresh concrete decreases with the addition
of quarry dust.
Slump Test
16
14
Slump, mm
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Qurry Dust, %
Fig. 4 Relation between percentage of quarry dust and Slump
Effect of on quarry dust on compacting factor of fresh concrete
From the table 4 curves are plotted between percentage of quarry dust with
compacting factor as shown in fig. 5. It is observed that the compacting factor of the fresh
concrete decreases with the addition of quarry dust.
Compacting Factor Test
0.925
Compacting Factor
0.92
0.915
0.91
0.905
0.9
0.895
0.89
0.885
0.88
0.875
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Qurry Dust, %
Fig. 5 Relation between percentage of quarry dust and Compacting Factor
Effect of quarry dust on Vee-Bee time of fresh concrete
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
From the table 4 curves are plotted between percentage of quarry dust Vee – Bee time
as shown in fig. 6. It is observed that the Vee – Bee time of the fresh concrete increases with
the addition of quarry dust.
Vee Bee Time
10
9
8
Vee Bee, s
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Qurry Dust, %
Fig. 6 Relation between percentage of quarry dust and Vee-Bee time
Properties of Hardened Concrete
Compressive Strength
From the table 5 curves are plotted between percentage of quarry dust with
compressive strength as shown in fig. 7. It is observed that the 7 days compressive strength of
quarry dust concrete increases to the maximum value for an optimum dosage of 10%. It is also
observed that the 28 days compressive strength of quarry dust concrete increases to the
maximum value for an optimum dosage of 10%.
Compressive Strength
Compressive Strength,MPa
35
30
25
7 Days
28 Days
20
15
10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Qurry Dust, %
Fig. 7 Relation between percentage of quarry dust and Compressive Strength
Flexural Strength
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
From the table 6 curves are plotted between percentage of quarry dust on flexural
strength as shown in fig. 8. It is observed that the 7 days flexural strength of quarry dust
increases to the maximum value for a dosage of 10%. It is also observed that the 28 days
flexural strength of quarry dust increases to the maximum value for a dosage of 10%.
Flexural Strength
Flexural Strength, MPa
7
6
5
4
7 Days
28 Days
3
2
1
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Qurry Dust, %
Fig. 8 Relation between percentage of quarry dust and Flexural Strength
Tensile Strength
From the table 7 curves are plotted between percentage of quarry dust on tensile
strength as shown in fig. 9. It is observed that there is an increment in tensile stress for an
optimum dosage of 10% for both 7 days and 28 days compared with conventional concrete.
Tensile Strength
Tensile Strength, MPa
2.5
2
1.5
7 Days
28 Days
1
0.5
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Qurry Dust, %
Fig 8 Relation between percentage of quarry dust and Tensile Strength
CONCLUSIONS
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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 3 Issue 1 No1 – January 2012
The observations of the research indicate that the inclusion of quarry dust as partial
substitute of sand results in decrease in workability of fresh concrete, which can be
compensated by mix design and by the use of superplasticers. The compressive strength of
quarry dust concrete increases on the addition of quarry dust to a maximum of 12%. The
flexural and tensile strength are enhanced on the partial substitution of quarry dust. It is
concluded that the mechanical properties of concrete increases with the addition of quarry
dust as partial substitute of fine aggregate upto an optimum dosage of 10%. . Hence it is also
concluded that the quarry dust can be effectively utilized by partially replacing river sand in
concrete to sustain the environment.
REFERENCES
1. S.N.Raman, T.Ngo, P.Mendis, H.B. Mahmud, “ High strength rice husk ash concrete
incorporating quarry dust as a partial substitute for sand”, Jr. Construction and Building
Materials, 2011, Vol.25, pp 3123-3130.
2. D.W.S.Ho, A.M.M.Sheinn, C.C.Ng, C.T. Tam, “ The use of quarry dust for SCC
applications”, Jr. Cement and Concrete Research, 2002, Vol.32, pp 505-511.
3. IS: 2386(Part I- IV) - 1963, “Methods of Test for Aggregates for Concrete”, Indian
Standards Institution, 1963.
4. IS: 383-1970, Coarse and fine aggregate from natural sources for concrete, Indian
Standards Institution, 1970.
5. IS: 10262-1982, Recommended guidelines for concrete mix design, Indian Standards
Institution, 1982.
6. IS: 516 – 1959 (Reaffirmed 1999) Edition 1.2 (1991-07) Methods of tests for strength of
Concrete, Bureau of Indian Standards, 2002.
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