8th International Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction Management, 2017

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EFFECT OF MANUFACTURED SAND AS A REPLACEMENT FOR FINE

AGGREGATES IN CONCRETE
AMZ Zimar *, GKPN Samarawickrama, WSD Karunarathna, S Jayakody
Department of Civil Engineering, South Eastern University of Srilanka, Srilanka.
*E-mail: zimar@seu.ac.lk, TP: +94778937777
Abstract: The demand for river sand is incredibly increasing due to its scarcity in the market. Manufactured
sand (MS) produced by crushed rock is being considered as an appropriate alternative to replace river sand
in concrete. However, it needs more research on the MS to reveal the engineering properties prior to utilize.
The main objective of this study is to explore the possibility of using MS in concrete structures with grade of
20. In this paper, experimental studies on compressive strength development of concrete with manufactured
sand (CMS) were carried out. The conventional river sand was replaced with 0%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 100%
by the MS in concrete mixtures and test cylinders were cast for each percentage. The CMS cylinders were
tested after 7 and 28 days of curing. Results indicated that river sand can be entirely replaced by MS
however; water reducing admixtures need to be added as required. Further, the compressive strength of the
concrete with MS was exceeded that of the concrete with natural sand at the same w/c ratio. In contrast,
slump values gradually decrease with the increasing of MS in concrete due to the higher angularity of the
manufactured sand particles.
Keywords: Manufactured sand, Concrete, Natural sand, Compressive strength
1. Introduction civil engineering. High fines content in the MS
has been recorded by Goncalves et al (2007) and
Concrete is inordinately produced daily with
rapid development in construction industry. Shen et al., (2016) and they observed
significant impact of high fine content on the
River sand has been used as fine aggregate in
concrete for many decades. However, workability of mortar and concrete. Therefore,
higher amount of water is required for concrete
excavation of river sand has been limited
with manufactured sand (CMS) to achieve the
because of the depletion of river sand in many
similar workability for the same mix proportion
countries including Sri Lanka. This situation
compare to the natural sand concrete (Dilek,
has ensued in exploration for an alternative
2014, Zhao et al., 2011a, Zhao et al., 2011b).
source. In many countries, natural sand sources
Further, higher compressive strength, fracture
are becoming insufficient and environmental
energy and higher bonding strength to steel bar
authorities prevents sand dredging (Kaya, 2009,
Manning and Vetterlein, 2004). Manufactured were recorded in CMS than natural sand
sand (MS) is popular as machine-made sand, concrete (Kim et al., 1997, Li et al., 2012, Park,
artificial sand and crushed-stone sand. MS has 2012, Wang et al., 2014, Zhao et al., 2012).
been used for products and engineering However, the engineering properties of MS are
governed by the source of its raw material, thus
application of premixed concrete with partially
their properties can be changed region to
and completely replacing the river sand in
region. Therefore, it is essential to investigate
concrete (Jadhav and Kulkarni, 2012, Rao et al.,
the suitability of MS prior to their applications
2012). Further, it has been used in light weight
in constructions in a particular region if
aggregate concrete, engineered cementitious
engineering information is not available.
composites and masonry mortar (Cortes et al.,
2008, Cui et al., 2010, Sherir et al., 2015). Therefore, this study intended to identify the
potential of using MS as fine aggregates in
MS is produced by mechanically crushing the
concrete manufacturing in Sri Lanka. It was
rocks boulders. The features of MS differentiate
chosen grade 20 concrete for this study since it
from natural sand with their uneven surface,
represents the intermediate strength of concrete
irregular particle shape, angular edges, higher
roundness and length-width ratio and applications and the best index to initiate the
mineralogy (Shen et al., 2016). Several research investigations on potential use of MS in
studies on the MS are recorded in the past concrete productions. MS was replaced by the
decade to be used as constructional material in river sand with different fractions in concrete
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mixtures. Detail experimental investigation was 2.4 Concrete mix design

undertaken to examine the physical properties
of MS and strength properties of CMS. The mix design was prepared for grade 20
Outcomes of the results showed promising concrete based on the American Concrete
applications of MS in grade 20 concrete Institute specified mix design method
elements. (SEAONC, 2013) as shown in Table 3 .
Superplasticizer that contains a sulphonated
2. Experiment Methodology polymer was used as water reducing admixture
to improve the workability. Series of tests were
2.1 Materials conducted for five different combination of
natural sand and MS without changing the total
The commercial Portland Ordinary cement of
fine aggregate amount quantity. The calculated
the grade of 52.5 (P.O 52.5) was used in this
quantities of materials for 1m3 of concrete is
investigation. Coarse aggregate and river sand
shown in Table 3.
were obtained from Mahiyangana, Uva
province in Sri Lanka. Manufactured sand was Table 3: Information on grade 20 concrete mix
collected from the manufacturing plant situated design
in Divulapitiya, Western province in Sri Lanka. Component Value
Design strength 20 N/mm2 in 28 days
2.2 Materials characterization
Standard deviation 8.0 N/mm2
The coarse aggregate, river sand and MS were Free water/cement ratio 0.58
Maximum aggregate size 20 mm
tested to characterize their properties to Cement 343.6 Kg
ascertain the suitability for producing concrete. Water 200 Kg
Table 1 shows the conducted tests and the Fine Aggregate (Natural
922 Kg
sand/ MS)
material type with the standard test methods. Coarse Aggregate (20mm) 992 kg

Table 1: Tests and their standards for coarse

and fine aggregates
2.5 Slump test and compressive strength test for
Test Test method fresh CMS
Sieve analysis test ASTM C136
Slump test and compressive strength test were
Bulk density ASTM C29
Specific Gravity and Water
conducted in accordance with the specifications
Absorption for Coarse ASTM C127 ASTM C143 (ASTM, 2015) and ASTM C39 /
Aggregate C39M-17b (ASTM, 2017) respectively. Cylinder
Specific Gravity and Water specimens with the diameter of 100 mm and
ASTM C128
Absorption for Fine Aggregate height of 200 mm were cast and compacted.
Clay and silt content of sand ASTM C33 Specimens were covered with polythene sheets
on cast surfaces for 24h. Then, specimens were
2.3 Sample preparation -MS mix ratios removed from the mould and cured under
water in standard curing tanks till testing.
River sand was substituted with different Cylinders were tested after 7 and 28 days of
proportions of MS by weight as shown in Table curing to determine the compressive strength.
2 to determine the appropriate percentage of
3. Results and Discussion
MS that can be replaced in concrete mixture.
Table 2: Samples and mix ratios Physical properties of coarse aggregates, sand
materials and manufactured sand were
Natural Sand (% MS (% by
Sample Name inspected in accordance with the standards
by weight) weight)
RS100/MS0 100 0
mentioned in the Table 1 prior to the main
testing programme.
RS70/MS30 70 30
RS50/MS50 50 50 3.1 Properties of fine aggregates
RS30/MS70 30 70
RS0/MS100 0 100 Particle size distribution and fines content
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The particle size distributions (PSD) of the river Bulk Density

sand and manufactured sand are graphically
presented in Figure 1. Both of the grading Average bulk density value of river sand and
curves lied within the recommended grading MS were 1479 kg/m3 and 1551 kg/m3,
limits in accordance with CIDA specifications respectively. MS displays higher bulk density
for building works (CIDA, 2014) as shown in than river sand.
Figure 1. The shape of the curve obtained for Specific gravity
the river sand samples is uniformly graded
while MS samples show well graded shape. The average specific gravity of the river sand
samples was observed as 2.63 whereas the
Clay and silt content of fine aggregates
average specific gravity of manufactured sand
The aggregates used in the concrete production samples was 2.79. Manufactured sand tends to
should be free from impurities such as clay and have a relatively higher packing density due to
silts (Ngugi et al., 2014). The concrete strength the well-graded PSD (See the Figure 1)
will be reduced if the higher percentage of clay compared to river sand.
and silt exist in fine aggregates (Cortes et al.,
Water Absorption
2008, Gonçalves et al., 2007, Kaya, 2009,
Manning and Vetterlein, 2004, Olanitori, 2006). The average water absorption of manufactured
sand was 0.60%, while average water
Clay and silt content was determined by absorption of river sand was 0.35%.
measuring the particle percentage passing the
75μm size sieve in the wet sieve analysis test. Summary of properties of fine aggregates are
Clay and silt content of MS and river sand were given in Table 4.
1.80% and 0.20%, respectively. The fine content
of river sand and MS are within the maximum Table 4: Physical properties of fine aggregates
limit of ASTM C33 (ASTM, 2013). Since MS has Properties River Sand Manufactured Sand
higher fines content compared to river sand, Bulk Density(kg/m3) 1479 1551
fineness modulus of manufactured sand is Specific Gravity 2.632 2.787
larger than river sand. Water Absorption (%) 0.35 0.60
Fineness Modulus 2.7 2.9
Clay and Silt Content
0.2 1.8
(%)

#4 Coarse #10 Medium #40 Fine #200 SILT/CLAY

GRAVEL SAND SAND SAND
100
90
Sand
80
M-Sand
70
% Passing

Upper limit
60
50 Lower limit

40
30
20
10
0
10 1 0.1 0.01
Particle Diameter (mm)
Figure 1: Grading curve of natural coarse aggregates
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3.2 Properties of conventional coarse aggregates Influence of MS on compressive strength

The particle size distributions (PSD) of the
coarse aggregates lied within the recommended
grading limits in accordance with CIDA
specifications for building works (CIDA, 2014)
Average bulk density value of coarse
aggregates was 1498 kg/m3. The average
specific gravity of the coarse aggregate samples
was 2.79. The average water absorption of
coarse aggregates was 0.56%.
3.3 Properties of the CMS
Influence of MS on workability
A proper concrete mixture should be mixed,
handled, placed and consolidated without
difficulty to avoid creating issues in cost of
handling and is led to poor durability and
strength. Workability of the concrete is
indirectly measured through its consistency.
Consistency of a concrete mostly depends on
aggregate characteristics. MS shows poor
wokability in the concrete compare to the river
sand. Therefore, water reducing admixture was
used to improve the consistency. Slump cone
test was carried out according to the ASTM
C143 (ASTM, 2015) in order to determine the
workability of freshly mixed concrete. Table 5
shows the slump variation for different
percentages of MS.
Table 5: Slump Height Variation with
Manufacture Sand Percentage for Mix Design
Manufactured Sand Slump (mm)
RS100/MS0 160
RS70/MS30 145
RS50/MS50 145
RS30/MS70 135
RS0/MS100 125
Results of the compresive strength of grade 20
concrete elements shown in Table 6 and 7. The
values reveal gradual increase of the strength
when the river sand was replaced by the
manufactured sand. Compressive strengths of
samples changed between 19.3 MPa and 21.0
MPa for 7 days curing time. The highest
compressive strength, 21.0 MPa was observed
when MS was 100% in concrete and it was 8.8%
higher than when natural sand was 100% in
concrete. The strength values for the standard
curing time, 28 days were obtained greater
values than the target and all were above 24
MPa. Highest compressive strength was
obtained for the 100% MS made concrete which
is 26.9 MPa, 10.2% higher than 100% natural
sand made concrete.
The main reason for the strength increment
with MS is the excellent bonding between
coarse and fine aggregates, as it is attributed by
the formation of water cement gel in matrix.
Workability of the concrete reduces due to the
presence of high level of fines in manufactured
sand. Similar observations were made by
Elavenil (2013) and Balapgol (2002) and they
found that compressive strength increases by
the manufactured sand of 5% to 10% compared
to natural sand for grade 40 concrete.
Table 6: Average compressive strength of the
concrete
Compressive
Compressive Strength
Strength at 28 Days
at 7 Days (N/mm2)
M-Sand (N/mm2)
Percentage
Standard Standard
Average Average
Deviation Deviation
RS100/MS0 19.3 0.20 24.4 0.25
RS70/MS30 20.3 0.15 25.6 0.21

RS50/MS50 20.3 0.56 25.9 0.15

According to the Table 5, slump value of grade
20 concrete is reducing with the addition of MS. RS30/MS70 20.8 0.38 26.0 0.10
Slump value of 100% river sand concrete was
160 mm and it was dropped to 125 mm when RS0/MS100 21.0 0.29 26.9 0.20
river sand was totally replaced byMS. The
possibile reasons for the reduction of slump are
high fine content in MS and the rough surface
and angular shape particles of MS than RS.
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Table 7: Percentage increase of the strength C33/C33M West Conshohocken, PA,

with the addition of MS USA.
ASTM 2015. Standard Test Method for Slump
Component
7-days % 28-days % of Hydraulic-Cement Concrete C143 /
strength increase strength increase
(MPa) (MPa)
C143M-15a. West Conshohocken, PA,
USA.
RS100/MS0 19.3 0 24.4 0 ASTM 2017. Standard Test Method for
Compressive Strength of Cylindrical
RS70/MS30 20.3 5.2 25.6 4.9
Concrete Specimens. C39 / C39M-17b,.
RS50/MS50 20.3 5.2 25.9 6.1 West Conshohocken, PA, USA: ASTM
International.
RS30/MS70 20.8 7.8 26.0 6.5 CORTES, D., KIM, H.-K., PALOMINO, A. &
RS0/MS100 21.0 8.8 26.9 10.2
SANTAMARINA, J. 2008. Rheological
and mechanical properties of mortars
prepared with natural and
manufactured sands. Cement and
4. Conclusions
Concrete Research, 38, 1142-1147.
This research fulfils the gap of information CUI, H. Z., LO, T. Y. & XING, F. 2010.
on engineering properties of MS in Sri Properties of self-compacting
Lanka effectively benefited to use MS in lightweight concrete. Materials Research
concrete industry. The outcomes of the Innovations, 14, 392-396.
study made following conclusions; DILEK, U. 2014. Effects of manufactured sand
characteristics on water demand of
 MS can be produced to satisfy the upper mortar and concrete mixtures. Journal of
and lower particle size distribution limit Testing and Evaluation, 43, 562-573.
of ASTM specification. GONÇALVES, J., TAVARES, L., TOLEDO
 Bulk density, Specific gravity and water FILHO, R., FAIRBAIRN, E. & CUNHA,
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modulus compare to river sand because mortars. Cement and Concrete Research,
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JADHAV, P. A. & KULKARNI, D. K. 2012. An
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KIM, J.-K., LEE, C.-S., PARK, C.-K. & EO, S.-H.
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