Partial Replacement of Fine Aggregate with Quary Dust & Red Soil in Concrete

In India, construction industries are the fastest expanding industry. The river sand is being extensively used in the construction industry and this has lead to the acute shortage of the sand, which is used as fine aggregate. The cost of producing concrete has been steadily rising for some years, and fine aggregates have become increasingly scarce, exacerbating the problem. The negative consequences of indiscriminately extracting fine aggregate from river bottoms have been repeatedly mentioned as a source of concern. To address this problem, utilization of alternative materials should be done. In this review a thorough assessment is done on the alternatives available for the replacement of fine aggregate. The paper has reviewed the use of red soil and quarry dust as a fine aggregate replacement (partially and completely). Quarry dust is a waste by-product of aggregate processing plants. Red soil is naturally and easily available in Tamil Nadu, parts of Karnataka, south eastern Maharashtra, eastern Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Orissa. Different physical, chemical and mechanical properties of red soil and quarry dust as well as the concrete, containing these materials, were reviewed and comparisons were done between them. A comparative study is also done with the currently used material in the industry which is M-sand (Manufactured sand). It can be observed that in concrete where the sand was replaced by red soil soil and quarry dust exhibits improved strength and durability properties, but the water absorption is also increased significantly. It is deemed that further detailed investigations are needed for the proposed alternatives, and a structure for future research has been proposed in order to achieve reliable, robust, environmentally friendly, and economically viable concrete as the end product.