An Experimental Study on the Partial Replacement of River Sand with Waste Foundry Sand in Concrete Paver Blocks

Abstract

The metal foundries utilize a tremendous amount of sand in the metal casting process and can recycle and use the sand. Foundries can no longer use the same sand after a specific time. The sand is then carried away from the foundries and referred to as Waste Foundry Sand (WFS). Foundry sand output ranges from 6 to 10 million tonnes per year. Some foundry sand is deposited near industrial sites, while others are dumped in landfills. This pollutes the environment and places an additional burden on landfills. Waste Foundry Sand (WFS) is composed primarily of silica sand (96 to 99%) and less than 1% carbon and muck. Waste Foundry Sand is a non-structural component that can be added to concrete for paver blocks to improve their strength and longevity. Therefore, it can be utilized instead of natural aggregates, like fine aggregates, to achieve various concrete qualities. This study examined the impact of using waste foundry sand in place of fine aggregate on the compressive strength of M25-grade paver blocks. The weight of the fine aggregate was used to replace 20% of the waste foundry sand, or 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% of the total weight of the fine aggregate.