Experimental Study on Concrete and Cement Plaster using Partial Replacement of Quarry Rock Dust as Fine Aggregate

Conventional Cement Concrete (CCC) consists of Portland Cement (PC) as binder, which binds the inert aggregate system. Concrete has found its wide application in buildings throughout the world because of positive attributes such as durability, high resistance to loads, and the possibility of using local raw materials in the preparation of concrete (Sand, Crushed Stone). The use of river sand in making the concrete is the best Fine Aggregate (FA). Seasonal non – availability and scarcity leads to the higher cost. There is a need to tackle this problem. So the replacement of conventional river sand is necessary. For this the abundantly available material at all season at a cheaper rate is in need. The best way to deal with these environmental concerns is to use waste or recycled material, as substitute for natural river sand. This paper deals with replacement of sand used in concrete as fine aggregates by the waste generated by the stone quarry industry. Quarry rock dust can be an economic alternative to the river sand. Quarry Rock Dust as 100% substitutes for Natural Sand in concrete. This project presents the feasibility of the usage of Quarry Rock Dust as hundred percent substitute for Natural Sand in concrete. Design Mix for M30 and M40 has been calculated using IS 10262-2009 for both conventional concrete and quarry dust concrete. Tests were conducted on cubes, cylinders and prisms to study the strength of concrete by using Quarry Rock Dust and the results were compared with the Natural Sand Concrete. Cement mortar cubes were cast and its compressive strength is calculated. Cement mortar ratios of 1:3 and 1:6 are prepared and observed the percentage of water absorption in both Quarry Rock Dust and Natural sand for plastering. The main objective of the present investigation is to evaluate the possibilities of using quarry dust as a replacement to fine aggregate. During the present study, 0%, 50%, 75% and 100% of traditional fine aggregate was replaced with quarry dust. Compression, split and flexural strengths were found after 7days and 28 days of curing.