Study On Concrete With stone Dust As Fine Aggregate-

Stone crusher dust, which is available abundantly from crusher units at a low cost in many areas, provides a viable alternative for river sand in concrete. The tests conducted pertain to concrete with river sand of strength 28.1 MPa. Tests on the strengths of concrete, and on the flexural behaviour of RC beams under two-point loading were conducted. Failure loads and cracking patterns of the beams with sand and with crusher dust as fine aggregates were compared. The investigations indicate that stone crusher dust has a good potential as fine aggregate in concrete construction. Use of Stone crusher dust does not only reduces the cost of construction but also helps reduce the impact on the environment by consuming the material generally considered as waste product with few applications.

The spiraling costs of river sand used as fine aggregate in concrete have increased the cost of construction significantly in the past two decades. The increase in the cost of river sand is due to dwindling natural resources coupled with the restrictions imposed by several state government on sand quarrying, as well as the concern to prevent further environmental degradation and conserve ground water. These problems have led to the search for alternative materials for fine aggregates that are eco-friendly besides being inexpensive.

Stone crusher dust, available abundantly from crusher units at a low cost in many areas, provides a viable alternative for conventional river sand. Crusher dust from quarries, being, by and large, a waste product, will also reduce environmental impact, if consumed by construction industry in large quantities. Investigation on the strength characteristics of mortars and concrete with crusher dust as partial and full replacement of the aggregate are reported by several researchers. The test results indicate that stone crusher dust can be used in mortar and concrete without significant difference in strength and workability compared to mortar and concrete with conventional river sand.

The investigation done by Student on the use of stone crusher dust in concrete as an alternative to fine aggregate are presented in this report. Standard concrete cubes (150 mm), cylinders (150x300 mm), prisms (100x100x500 mm) as well as beams (120x150x1350 mm) were tested. The physical properties of stone dust and its influence on the strength of concrete in the fresh and hardened state, along with a comparative study with the concrete prepared using river sand are also included.

The strength in direct compression at 3 days, 7 days and 28 days, and that in split tension and flexure were compared at 7 days and 28 days. Mixture proportions procedure in accordance with IS 10262 : 19825 and SP 23 : 1982 using 20 mm coarse aggregate was adopted in the investigations.

Tests were also conducted to evaluate the flexural behaviour of RC beams under two-point loading. Load-deflection characteristics were investigated for concrete with river sand and stone crusher dust as fine aggregates (three specimens each), and the failure and cracking patterns were compared.

The investigations indicated that stone crusher dust has potential as fine aggregate in concrete structures with a reduction in the cost of concrete by about 20 percent compared to conventional concrete. Crusher dust not only reduces the cost of construction but also the impact on environment by consuming the material generally considered as a waste product with few applications.