Performance of modified desert sand concrete: An experimental case study

In this research, sustainable sand was developed using desert sand with recycled fine aggregate. Developing sustainable sand can solve environmental issues caused by excessive river sand mining. For this purpose, four types of sustainable sand have been developed. The present study has developed a method to optimize desert sand by incorporating recycled crushed sand from demolished concrete. The developed sand properties were well within the ASTM and British standards recommendations. A chemical analysis of SEM-EDS and FTIR was also performed on the developed sand. The 50 % addition of desert sand separately with 50 % recycled crushed sand is effected to reach the fineness modulus well within the specified range (2.4–3.0) set by the standard code. Four concrete mixes were prepared with developed sand using the absolute volume method. The compressive strength increment was evaluated at 3, 7, 28, 56, 91, and 360 days of curing. The developed sand mixes with fineness modulus values 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8 successfully pass criteria 1 and 2 set for this study at 28 days of curing. The prepared mix with the lowest fineness modulus value of 2.4 successfully achieved criterion 1 and failed to reach criterion 2. It shows that the fineness modulus value significantly influences the concrete strength. The flexural strength of all mixes surpassed the standard requirement. The study concluded that desert sand is a useful fine aggregate with recycled crushed sand when utilized at the optimum value. Hence, the developed sustainable sand can replace river sand in concrete production.