IRACST – Engineering Science and Technology: An International Journal (ESTIJ),ISSN: 2250-3498 Vol. 3, No. 6, December 2013 776 BEHAVIOUR OF CONCRETE ON THE USE OF QUARRY DUST TO REPLACE SAND – AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY G.Balamurugan Associate Professor and Head Department of Civil Engineering Jayamatha Engineering College Aralvoimozhi,Tamilnadu,India Dr.P.Perumal Principal Mahendra Institute of Engineering and Technololgy Mallasamudram Namakkal, Tamilnadu, India Abstract— This experimental study presents the variation in the strength of concrete when replacing sand by quarry dust from 0% to 100% in steps of 10%. M20 and M25 grades of concrete are taken for the study keeping a constant slump of 60mm. The compressive strength of concrete cubes at age of 7 and 28 days is obtained at room temperature. Split tensile strength and flexural strength of concrete are found at the age of 28 days. From the test results it is found that the maximum compressive strength, tensile strength and flexural strength are obtained only at 50% replacement. This result gives clear picture that quarry dust can be utilized in concrete mixtures as a good substitute for natural river sand at 50% replacement with additional strength than control concrete. Keywords- Concrete, quarry dust, river sand, compressive strength. I. INTRODUCTION Concrete is the most widely used construction material today. The constituents of concrete are coarse aggregate, fine aggregate binding material and water. Rapid increase in construction activities leads to acute shortage of conventional construction materials. It is conventional that sand is being used as fine aggregate in concrete. For the past some years, the escalation in cost of sand due to administrative restrictions in India, demands comparatively greater cost at around two to three times the cost of quarry dust even in places where river sand is available nearby. To achieve economy, it is proposed to study with the use of crusher powder, a quarry waste as an alternative material to replace sand by crusher powder. There was a remarkable increase in compressive strength of concrete with 20% replacement of sand with manufactured sand[1], 40% replacement is possible[2] and 50% replacement gave higher strength[3]. Quarry dust fine aggregate decreased the compressive strength due to deficient grading and excessive flakiness [4]. The w/c ratio and slump value increased with the replacement of sand [5]. Voids present in quarry dust mortar were lesser as compared to that of sand hence higher compressive strength [6]. A comparatively good strength is expected when sand is replaced partially or fully with or without concrete admixtures. It is proposed to study the possibility of replacing sand with locally available quarry dust without sacrificing the strength and workability of concrete. Coarse aggregate is an important material used in R.C.C work of all types of structures. This is obtained by crushing the stone boulders of size 100 to 150mm in the stone crushers. The aggregate is sieved and the sieved aggregates which is less than 4.75mm in size, used in building construction works is called quarry dust. This dust is heaped like a mountain near the stone crushers. The volume of the waste dust produced is increased day by day. The owners of the crushers find it difficult to clear the dust from the crusher units. In highways department the quarry dust is used to sprinkle over the newly laid bituminous road as a binding material between the bitumen and coarse aggregate. The fine powder from quarry dust is mixed with cement and used in grouting works. The quarry dust is used in the manufacturing of hollow blocks. Some mosaic companies use quarry dust partly for sand. In telecommunication department the quarry dust is used to refill the excavated pits after laying the telephone cables. II. PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS A. Cement The cement used for this project work is Birla Super 43- grade Portland pozzolana cement. The various properties of cement are tabulated in Table I. TABLE I. PROPERTIES OF CEMENT S.No Description Value 1 Normal Consistency 29.5% 2 Initial setting time 30 min 3 Final setting time 230 min 4 Specific Gravity 3.05 5 Fineness 6%