International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp 823-825

823

Durability studies of concrete made by using artificial sand with dust and natural sand
M. G. Shaikh
Associate professor, Department of Applied Mechanics, Govt. College of Engineering, Aurangabad - 431005 Maharashtra (India) Email:mohummadshaikh@gmail.com

S. A. Daimi
Post Graduate Student of M.E. (Structural Engineering), Department of Applied Mechanics, Govt. College of Engineering, Aurangabad - 431005 Email: daimi007@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: The huge quantity of concrete is consumed by construction industry all over the world. In India, the conventional concrete is produced by using natural sand obtained from riverbeds as fine aggregate. Dwindling sand resources poses the environmental problem and hence government restrictions on sand quarrying resulted in scarcity and significant increase in its cost. This paper presents comparison of natural sand and artificial sand with dust, by checking durability properties through the measurement of permeable voids, water absorption, acid attack and chloride permeability test as well as compressive strength test. Durability of concrete has always been important for obvious reasons. The promotional use of artificial sand will conserve the natural resources for the sustainable development of the concrete in construction industry. KEY WORDS: Durability of concrete, Permeable voids, Absorption, Acid attack, Chloride permeability. INTRODUCTION One major challenge facing the civil engineering community is to execute projects in harmony with nature using the concept of sustainable development involving the use of high performance, environment friendly materials produced at reasonable cost. In the context of concrete, which is the predominant building material, it is necessary to identify less expensive substitutes. According to Prakash Rao [1], replacement of natural sand to the artificial sand with dust, artificial sand can be used for making good concrete.It helps in conservation of natural sand. Mahendra [5] found that the sharp edges of the particles in artificial sand provide better bond with the cement than the rounded part of the natural sand. According to Mehta [2], the three fundamental elements for supporting an environment friendly concrete technology for sustainable development are the conservation of primary materials, the enhancement of the durability of concrete structures, and a holistic approach to the technology. Regarding the conservation of primary materials, reductions in the consumption of cement, aggregates and water, along with the use of waste materials and industrial by-products, are the principal actions to be taken in order to reduce the utilization of non-renewable resources and the negative impact on the environment. The main objective of the present investigation was to study the strength and durability performance of concretes made with natural sand and artificial sand with dust. The durability properties were investigated through micro-structure related properties of concrete, such as, permeability, water absorption, chloride diffusion, and also through chemical attack. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS Materials Ordinary Portland cement (Murli) conforming to the requirements of IS:1489 (43 grade) was used. Crushed granite with grain size of 12 mm and 20 mm for normally vibrated concrete and a good quality well graded river sand, and artificial sand with dust were used as coarse and fine aggregates, respectively. Mixing, demoulding and curing Thorough mixing and adequate curing are most essential for achieving a good concrete. In the laboratory, the concrete was mixed in a pan mixer of 100 litre capacity. The mixing time was kept to about 34 min for normal concrete. Generally, the demoulding was done 24 hr of casting. Potable water was used for curing all the concretes. All the concretes were kept in moist environment immediately after the initial set and before the demoulding. Properties of fresh concrete In the present study, the slump flow are used for noting the slump and passing ability of the concrete. TEST PROGRAM Compressive strength studies The compressive loading tests on concrete were carried out on a compression testing machine of capacity 2000 kN. For the compressive strength test, a loading rate of 2.5 kN/s was applied as per IS: 5161959[4]. The specimen used was 100 mm cube. The test was performed at 28, 90 and 180 days. The specimens were tested immediately after taking the cubes from curing tank in surface dry condition. Permeable voids and water absorption studies Usually water permeability characteristics are used for assessing durability characteristics. Permeability can be measured by conducting water permeability test as per standards, percentage of water absorption test and initial surface absorption test. In the present investigation, percentage of water absorption and percentage of permeable voids were determined as per the procedure given in ASTM 64282 [7]. The absorption and permeable voids were determined on two 100 mm cubes. Saturated surface dry cubes were kept in a hot air oven at

#020410417 Copyright 2011 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY. All rights reserved

824

M. G. Shaikh, S. A. Daimi RESULT AND DISCUSSION Compressive strength studies The results of compressive strength of cubes are obtained and are presented in Table 1. The variation of compressive strength with respect to type of concrete block made by using natural sand and artificial sand are observed. Result shows that the mixes with the artificial sand with dust as fine aggregate gives consistently higher strength than the mixes with natural sand. The sharp edges of the particles in artificial sand provide better bond with the cement than the rounded part of the natural sand. Table 1. Average Compressive Strength of Blocks Age of Concrete(days) 28 90 180 Natural sand Blocks(MPa) 27.5 28.5 30 Artificial sand Blocks(MPa) 29 31 32

105C till a constant weight was attained. The ratio of the difference between the mass of saturated surface dry specimen and the mass of the oven dried specimen at 105C to the volume of the specimen (1000 milli litre) gives the permeable voids in percentage. The oven dried cubes after attaining constant weight, were then immersed in water and the weight gain was measured at regular intervals until a constant weight was reached. The absorption at 30 min (initial surface absorption) and final absorption was determined. The final absorption in all cases was determined at 96 hrs. According to Dinakar [3], the absorption characteristics indirectly represent the volume of pores and their connectivity. Acid attack studies The chemical resistance of the concretes was studied through chemical attack by immersing concrete blocks in an acid solution. After 90 days period of curing, the specimens were removed from the curing tank and their surfaces were cleaned with a soft nylon brush to remove weak reaction products and loose materials from the specimen. The initial weights were measured and the specimens were identified with number .The specimens were immersed in 3% H2SO4 solution (fig.1) and the pH 4 was maintained constant throughout. The solution was replaced at regular intervals to maintain constant concentration throughout the test period. The mass of specimens were measured at regular intervals up to 90 days, and the mass losses were determined.

Permeable voids and water absorption The results of water absorption in 30 min (initial surface absorption) as well as the absorption after 96 h (final absorption) and the permeable voids for all the concrete are presented in Table 2. For the test blocks were removed from the curing tank, weights of the blocks were taken, then the blocks were put into dry oven at 105C till 24 hrs. After that, we observed that the weight loss during that period is upto 3%. Again the samples were put into the curing tank, after regular interval upto 96 hrs the water absorption reading were taken. Water absorption is mainly influenced by the paste phase primarily; it is dependent on the extent of interconnected capillary porosity in the paste. According to Dinakar [3], Concrete mixes with higher paste contents are bound to have higher absorption values than concretes with lower paste content (at consistent w/c)[3]. We observed after 24 hours curing that the increase in weight of both natural sand and artificial sand blocks are less than 3% that means both concretes are low absorber hence concretes are of good quality. Acid attack Concrete is susceptible to acid attack because of its alkaline nature. The components of the cement paste break down during contact with acids. Most pronounced is the dissolution of calcium hydroxide which occurs according to the reaction: [6] 2HX+Ca (OH) 2->CaX2+2H2O. The results of acid attack studies in terms of the weight loss after 90 days for all the concretes are reported in Table 2. Fattuhi [9] found that acid attack decreased with decrease in cement content. 24 cubes of natural sand and 24 cubes of artificial sand were kept into two different containers having 3% of sulphuric acid for 90 days. The weight loss during the regular interval with maintain of pH 4 was observed. A small difference between artificial sand and natural sand blocks weight loss (in percent) during these days was witnessed.

Fig 1. Blocks Inserted in Sulphuric Acid Solution Chloride permeability test The chloride permeability test was conducted to assess the concrete quality as per ASTM C 1202 [8]. For this test 10050 mm length specimens were used. A potential difference of 60V DC was maintained across the specimen. One of the surfaces was in contact in a sodium chloride solution (NaCl) and the other with a sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) fig.2. The total charge passing through in 6 hrs was measured, indicating the degree of resistance of the specimen to chloride ion penetration. In addition resistivity or conductivity can also be determined from the initial current reading, since the resistance of the disk can be calculated immediately from Ohms law: R=V/I where R is resistance, V is voltage, and I is current. The resistivity is determined from: Resistivity =RA/L where A is area of the disk, and L is thickness of the disk.

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp 823-825

Durability studies of concrete made by using artificial sand with dust and natural sand Chloride permeability Accelerated chloride permeability test was conducted on cylinder made by natural sand and artificial sand. The results are presented in Table 2 .The total charge passing in 6 hrs a measure of the chloride permeability is presented. The chloride ion penetrability limits suggested by ASTM C1202 were compared with the results. Usually chlorides penetrate in concrete by diffusion along water paths or open pores. Some of these chlorides can react with the cement compounds, mainly tricalcium-aluminates

825

(C3A), forming stable chloro complexes [3]. The excess of chloride is free and leads to the initiation of the corrosion process. During this test we provided 60 V DC supply and noted down the readings at every 30 min upto the 6 hrs of experiment. Total charge passing was found 2000 to 4000 that means chloride permeability is moderate. Thus both artificial sand and natural sand are moderate to the chloride permeability.

Table 2. Durability Studies of Concrete Investigated Concrete used 30 min absorption % 1.2 1.1 Final absorption (96h) % 3.75 4.12 permeable voids(%) 9.8 9.2 Weight loss in acid attack (90 days) 14.20 16.8 Chloride Permeability test Initial Current Resistivity at Total (mA) 60 V( m) Charge (coulomb) 102 92.31 2569 100 94.2 2826

Natural Sand Artificial Sand

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was conducted in the Department of Applied Mechanics, Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad as research project. REFERENCES [1] Prakash Rao and Giridhar Kumar, Investigation on Concrete with Stone Crusher Dust as Fine Aggregate,The Indian Concrete Journal, Vol 78, No 7, August 2004, pp 45. [2] Mehta P K, Editor. Concrete technology for sustainable development in the twenty-first century. New Delhi: Cement Manufactures Association; 1999. p. 122. [3] P. Dinakar, K. G. Babu, Manu SanthamDurability properties of high volume fly ash concrete,Cement and Concrete Composites 2008, pp.880-86. [4] Methods of Test for Strength of Concrete. IS:5161959, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi. Mahendra R. Chitlange and Prakash S. Pajgade, [5] Strength aprasial of artificial sand as fine aggregate in sfrc, ARPN Journal of Engineering, Vol. 5, October 2010. [6] M .T. Bassuoni, M.L. Nehdi, Resistance of selfconsolidating concrete to sulfuric acid attack with consecutive pH reduction, Cement and Concrete Research, 2008, pp.10701084. [7] ASTM C 642, Standard test method for specific gravity, absorption and voids in hardened concrete, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 4.02, 1994. [8] ASTM C 1202, Standard test method for electrical indication of concretes ability to resist chloride ion penetration, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 3.02, 1994 [9] Fattuhi N T, Hughes B P, The performance of cement paste and concrete subjected to sulphuric acid attack , Cement and Concrete Research, 1988 pp.54553.

Fig 2.Chloride Permeability Test Setup CONCLUSION

1. It was found that the mixes with the artificial sand with dust as fine aggregate gives consistently higher strength than the mixes with natural sand. The sharp edges of the particles in artificial sand provide better bond with the cement than the rounded part of the natural sand. It was found that the weight loss of of artificial sand block is considerably same with respect to natural sand blocks at 20, 40, 60 and 90 days, immersed in sulphuric acid solution during the experimental period and maintain pH 4 across it. Both concrete made using artificial sand and natural sand are moderate to chloride permeability. In water absorption test we observed after 24 hours curing, the increase in weight of both natural sand and artificial sand blocks are less than 3% that means both concrete are low absorber hence concretes are good quality. The test result obtained from well planed and carefully performed experimental program encourage the full replacement of natural sand by artificial sand with dust considering the technical, environmental and commercial factor.

2.

3. 4.

5.

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp 823-825