Comparing the compressive strength of concrete made with sand as fine aggregate and with chipping dust as fine aggregate

Thesis Abstract

Common river sand is expensive due to the excessive cost of transportation from natural sources. Also, large-scale depletion of these sources creates environmental problems. As environmental transportation and other constraints make the availability and use of river sand less attractive, a substitute or replacement product for concrete industry needs to be found. River sand is most commonly used fine aggregate in the production of concrete poses the problem of acute shortage in many areas. Whose continued use has started posing serious problems with respect to its availability, cost, and environmental impact. In such a situation the Quarry rock dust can be an economic alternative to the river sand. Quarry Rock Dust can be defined as residue, tailing or other non-voluble waste material after the extraction and processing of rocks to form fine particles less than 4.75mm. Usually, Quarry Rock Dust is used in large scale on the highways as a surface finishing material and also used for manufacturing of hollow blocks and lightweight concrete prefabricated Elements. Use of Quarry rock dust as a fine aggregate in concrete draws serious attention of researchers and investigators. This paper presents the feasibility of the usage of Quarry Rock Dust as hundred percent substitutes for Natural Sand in concrete.  Tests were conducted on cubes to study the strength of concrete made of Quarry Rock Dust and the results were compared with the Natural Sand Concrete. An attempt has also been made to durability studies on Quarry Rock Dust when compared with the Natural Sand concrete. It is found that the compressive, flexural strength and Durability Studies of concrete made of Quarry Rock Dust are nearly 10% more than the conventional concrete