EXPERMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON CONCRETE BY PARTIALLY REPLACING SAND WITH CRUSHED STONE DUST

Abstract

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in urban areas of Ethiopia. Out of different constituent materials of concrete, fine aggregate is one of the key materials and river sand is the most common form of fine aggregate used in Ethiopia. However, with increased dwelling demand and construction activities in Ethiopia, the demand for river sand has increased which is leading to large scale depletion of river bed and increasing cost of sand to be afforded by common man. This has compelled the researchers to find alternative sustainable materials in place of river sand which can be easily used as fine aggregate in concrete. Various industrial wastes and agrowastes have been tried as an alternative to river sand and the results are promising. This research work aims at examining the viability of using crushed stone dust as a fine aggregate in concrete. So, in this research work an attempt has been made to experimentally investigate the mechanical and durability properties of concrete using crushed stone dust as fine aggregate. Different concrete mix samples were prepared by using query dusts as fine aggregate in different proportions from 30% to 70% by volume and the strength and durability properties were compared with that of controlled concrete at several curing period. The experimental result revealed that, adding crushed stone dust as a partial replacement of sand in concrete has positive influence on the strength and durability properties of concrete.