Study on concrete with manufactured sand

Abstract

Concrete is the most widely used and versatile material of construction all over the world. All these years, natural river sand is being used as fine aggregate, by the Sri Lankan concrete industry. However, the amount of river sand available is inadequate to cater the current demand. This paper is about the application of manufactured sand in concrete as a fine aggregate instead of natural river sand. This study was carried out to compare the compressive strength and durability properties of concrete made up of manufactured sand and river sand as fine aggregates. Also, the physical properties of river sand and manufactured sand were compared. Use of fly ash as a partial replacement material for cement in concrete was also investigated in this study. In total 72 cubes were casted in three sets for experimental purposes. 100% of river sand and 100% of manufactured sand were used in two sets of cubes. Ordinary Portland cement was replaced by 25% of fly ash with 100% of manufactured sand in the third set of cubes. Compressive strength was measured after 7, 28 and 56 days. Water absorption test, water permeability test and sorptivity test were used to investigate the durability properties of concrete. This experimental study shows that replacing manufactured sand instead of river sand in concrete improves the strength and durability properties of concrete.