Compressive strength of concrete with granite powder as a partial replacement of river sand

Abstract

River sand is the most commonly used fine aggregate in the production of concrete and the constant usage has began to raise serious threat with respect to its availability, cost and environmental impact. The suitability of Granite Powder (GP) to replace river sand in concrete production was investigated. In this study, sand was replaced with granite powder at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% and the results compared with the control specimen. The workability of the concrete decreased with increase in GP replacements. Concrete specimen recorded maximum and minimum water absorption of 2.93% and 0.69% for 50% and 30% replacements respectively. The peak dry density recorded was 2598 kg/m³ for 50% replacement at 3 days of curing. The partial replacement of sand with granite powder shows an improvement in the compressive strength of concrete with 10% replacement of sand with granite powder yielding 31.03 N/mm² at the age of 56 days equivalent to grade 30 concrete which can be used for structural purposes including concrete with post tensioned tendons.