CE 201: Engineering Materials

Sand
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Sand

➢ Sand is a naturally occurring granular material

composed of finely divided loose particles
derived from disintegrated rock.
➢ The most common constituent of sand is silica
(silicon dioxide, SiO2), usually in the form of
quartz.
➢ Color of sand varies in shades of brown and
orange.
➢ It provides bulk volume, strength, and other
properties to construction materials like asphalt
and concrete.

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Uses of Sand

➢ Sand is mainly used as fine aggregates in mortar, concrete, asphalt.

➢ Used as a decorative material in landscaping
➢ Specific types of sand are used in the manufacturing of hollow and sheet
glasses
➢ Used as filler to fill up gaps in between bricks in road construction.
➢ Sand is also used as molding material for metal casting.
➢ Sand is also used as an abrasive in sandblasting and to make sandpaper.

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Classification of Sand According to Source

Based on the sources from which sand is obtained, it is classified as follows:

1. Pit sand
2. River sand
3. Sea sand
4. Crushed Stone Sand/ Artificial Sand/ M-Sand

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Pit Sand

➢ Pit sand is obtained by forming pits into soils.

➢ It is sharp, angular, porous and free from harmful salts.
➢ Pit sand is generally red-orange in color due to a coating of iron oxide.
➢ Pit sand possess greater crushing strength and superior binding qualities than
other types of natural sand, thus serves as an excellent material for mortar or
concrete work.
• Coarse grained sand is preferred from strength point of view to fine sand.
➢ Fine pit sand, when rubbed between fingers, should not leave any stain on it.
Stain indicates the presence of clay.
➢ Pit sand must be made free from clay and other organic materials before it can
be used in mortar. Therefore, clay and other impurities should be washed and
screened before use.
➢ If coating of oxide of iron presents over the sand grains, they should be removed.

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River Sand

➢ River sand is generally collected from the riverbank and bed.

➢ This variety of sand is fine, round and polished due to rubbing action of
water currents.
➢ This sand is usually whitish grey in color.
➢ The river sand is available in clean conditions and widely used for all
purposes.
➢ Grains are smaller than pit sand and hence, it is suitable for plastering
work.

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Sea Sand

➢ This type of sand is obtained from seashores.

➢ Sea sand is also fine round and polished.
➢ Light brown in color.
➢ Worst of the three varieties because:
• it contains sea salts, which absorb moisture from the atmosphere and cause
permanent dampness and efflorescence in the structure.
• it also contains shells and organic matter which decompose in the body of
mortar and concrete, and hence reduce their life and strength.
• sea salt also retards the setting action of cement.
➢ Should be discarded as far as possible.

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Manufactured Sand (M-Sand)

➢ Globally, natural sand and gravel extraction is becoming less of an option. Locating new
pits are scarce, further from the marketplace and harder to secure.
➢ Due to massive growth in the construction, demand for sand is very high. To meet the
demand and to maintain the ecological balance without affecting the environment sand
is manufactured as an alternative to river sand.
➢ M-Sand (manufactured sand) produced by crushing either granite or basalt rock.
M-Sand is manufactured through the process of shaping cubically, grading and cleaning.
➢ The size of manufactured sand is less than 4.75 mm.
➢ The color of M-sand is greyish-blue to red color based on type of rock used in crushing.
➢ Experiments show that considerable variations in strength of mortar may occur owing to
form and variety of the sand particle. It is not expected that all particles of a naturally
occurring sand would have higher strength. However, in the sand manufactured by a
machine, this can be ensured by using raw material of higher strength.
➢ M-Sands do not have any silt materials or organic impurities, making it best suited for
concrete construction.

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Classification Based on Size

➢ Sand classification depending on the grain size varies as per the

definitions set by different standardization organizations, e.g., ASTM,
AASHTO, ISO, USCS
ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials
AASHTO: American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials
ISO: International Organization for Standardization
USCS: Unified Soil Classification System
➢ According to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) under ASTM D
2487
Sand: Material passing a 4.75-mm sieve (No. 4) and retained on a
0.075-mm (No. 200) sieve.
CE 201_Sand
 Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) under 10
ASTM D 2487
1. Coarse Sand:
• Material passing 4.75-mm (sieve No. 4) and retained on 2.00-mm (sieve No.
10) is defined as coarse sand.
• This type of Sand is used in making concrete.
2. Medium Sand:
• Material passing 2.00-mm (sieve No. 10) and retained on 0.475-mm (sieve
No. 40) is defined as medium sand.
• This size of sand is mostly used for masonry works.
3 Fine Sand:
• Material passing 0.475-mm (sieve No. 40) and retained on 0.075-mm (sieve
No. 200) is defined as fine sand.
• Fine sand is mostly used in plastering works for better finish.

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Other Standards

➢ These definitions are slightly different than those of AASHTO – M145

• Coarse sand - fraction passing No. 10 (2-mm) U.S. sieve and retained on No.
40 (0.475-mm) U.S. sieve and
• Fine sand - fraction passing the No. 40 (0.475-mm) U.S. sieve and retained
on No.200 (0.075-mm) U.S. sieve.

➢ As per ISO 14688 sands are classified as fine (0.063 ~ 0.2 mm), medium
(0.2 mm ~ 0.63 mm), and coarse (0.63 mm ~ 2.0 mm).

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Properties of Good Sand

➢ It should be chemically inert.

➢ It should be clean and coarse.
➢ It should be free from any organic or vegetable matter.
➢ It should be free from coatings of clay and silt. Usually, 3 to 4% clay is
permitted.
➢ It should contain sharp, angular, coarse and durable grains.
➢ It should not contain salts which attract moisture from the atmosphere.
➢ It should be well graded i.e., should contain particles of various sizes in
suitable proportions.
➢ It should be strong and durable.

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Functions of sand in Mortar/Concrete

➢ Offers requisite surface area for the film of binding material to adhere and
spread.
➢ Increases the volume of mortar & consequently makes mortar more
economical.
➢ Well-graded sand adds to the density of mortars and concrete.
➢ Prevents excessive shrinkage of mortar.
➢ Since inert material, it renders structure more resistant against
atmospheric agencies.

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Substitute for sand

If good sand is not available in the nearby of the site, the substitutes may be
used.
➢ Stone screenings: Fine particles obtained by screening crushed stones.
The grains are sharp and strong, and hence impart better strength to the
concrete if used.

➢ Surkhi: It can be obtained either from finely powdered burnt clay (brick) or
by grinding slightly under-burnt bricks. It disintegrates under the action of
air & humidity so not suitable to be used for external mortar.

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Tests for Sand

To ensure quality of any construction materials, their important properties

need to be tested before use. There are different methods for testing of sand
quality – some tests are done in field and some done in lab.

Field Tests:
1. Presence of silt and clay:
➢ Field test can be performed by rubbing a small amount of sand between
fingertips. Clayey spots (dust) left on the fingertips indicates the presence
of clay in considerable amount.
2. Presence of salt:
➢ It can be tested by putting some amount of sand in the mouth. The salty
test of sand will reflect the presence of any salt.
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Tests for Sand: Laboratory Tests

1. Presence of silt and clay:

• Determination of presence of silt and clay in sand is done by the percentage
loss in weight of a sample after washing the sand with clean water.
2. Organic matter:
• The presence of organic matter is determined by stirring a sample of sand
with 3% solution of NaOH in a closed bottle. The sample is left for 24 hours.
The color of the solution turns brown if any organic matter is present. The
amount of organic matter is determined from the intensity of darkness of the
solution.
3. Sieve Analysis
4. Specific Gravity and Absorption Will be covered in the next lecture
5. Unit Weight

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Bulking of Sand

➢ The increase in the volume of sand due to the presence of surface moisture is known as bulking of sand.
➢ Free moisture forms a film around each particle. This film of moisture exerts surface tension which keeps the
neighbouring particles away from each other. Often there are also interlocked air in between the sand grains
and film of water. Therefore, no point contact is possible between the particles. This causes bulking of the
volume.
➢ The extent of surface tension and consequently how far the adjacent particles are kept away will depend
upon the percentage of moisture content and the particle size of the fine aggregate.
➢ The bulking increases with the increase in moisture content upto a certain limit. Beyond that further increase
in moisture content leads to a decrease in the volume and at a moisture content, representing saturation
point, the fine aggregate shows no bulking. Upon further addition of water, sand particles packs closer and
the water moves into the voids in the particles and thus reduces bulking until the sand becomes fully
saturated. Thus, the dry sand and SSD sand has the same volume.
➢ For a moisture content of 5–8 %, the increase in volume may be about 20–40% depending on the gradation
of sand.
➢ The volumetric proportioning of sand is greatly affected by bulking of sand to a greater extent. The affected
volume will be great for fine sand and will be less for coarse sand.

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Bulking of Sand

Bulking of sands varies with moisture

content as well as grading of sand
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Measuring Bulking of Sand

1. A sample of moist fine aggregate is filled into a measuring cylinder in the normal
manner. Note down the level, say h1.
2. Take out the sand from the container. Care should be taken so that no sand
particles remain in the container.
3. Pour water into the measuring cylinder and fill the container with previously
taken out sand sample. The sand will be completely inundated.
4. Since the volume of the saturated sand is the same as that of the dry sand, the
inundated sand completely offsets the bulking effect.
Note down the level of the sand say, h2.
Then h1 – h2 shows the bulking of the sample.
h1
ℎ1 −ℎ2 h2
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 = ∗ 100 (%)
ℎ2

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

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Example Problem 1

To measure the bulking of a sand sample, sand is filled in a measuring

cylinder upto 200 mm height. When the sand sample is completely inundated
with water, the height of the sand sample comes down to 150 mm. What is
the bulking of the sand sample? Calculate the volume of this sand required
to cast 100 m3 concrete at a mix ratio 1:3:6 (volume basis).