Civil Engineering Final Year Project PDF
Civil Engineering Final Year Project PDF
Civil Engineering Final Year Project PDF
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering
PRESENTED BY:
NAME: REG. NO:
GODFREY OCHIENG AGORO CSE/71/03
Signature .. Date
GODFREY OCHIENG AGORO
D.C.S.E Student
CERTIFICATION
I, MR.KHADAMBI, hereby certify this report and approve it for examination.
Signature .. Date
MR.KHADAMBI,
Project supervisor.
River sand has been widely used in Eldoret as a construction material for the
manufacture of concrete. Quarry dust as a waste product from crusher
operations, is considered by most construction sites as non-marketable .and non-
environmentally friendly material.
The overall economy of the concrete greatly depends on the cement content of
the particular mix. Different researchers have established that the replacement of
natural sand with crushed stone sand can result in savings in cement.
Replacement of a portion of natural sand with Quarry dust in the production of
concrete is recommended only if the gradation of the resulting fine aggregate
mixture conforms to the specified standards.
In concrete, fine and coarse aggregates constitute about 80% of the total volume
(Prabin, 2005). It is, therefore, important to obtain the right type and good quality
aggregates at site. The aggregates form the main matrix of the concrete mixes.
Most of the aggregates used in Eldoret as fine aggregates are river sand. Fine
aggregates used for concrete should conform to the requirements for the
prescribed grading zone as per BS: 882 1982. The stone particles comprising
the sand should be hard and sound. .
Aggregate characteristics of shape, texture, and grading influence workability,
finishability, bleeding, pumpability, and segregation of fresh concrete and affect
strength, stiffness, shrinkage, creep, density, permeability, and durability of
hardened concrete. Construction and durability problems have been reported
due to poor mixture proportioning and variation on grading [Lafrenz, 1997].
Fine aggregates should also not be covered with deleterious materials like clay
lumps and should be clean. They should not contain organic or chemically
reactive impurities. Natural or river sand may not conform to all the above
requirements and may have to be improved in quality by washing, grading and
blending.
Eldoret town lacks the available deposits of river sand hence relying on
deposits from Kisumu, Pokot and River Nzoia. This makes the market value
of river sand to be higher compared to that of Quarry dust.
The uses of quarry dust are also relatively few in the Eldoret region. There
is also a perception that since quarry dust is a waste product it is inferior to
sand but this may not be the case.
Cement
All concrete mixes are incorporated the same variety of ordinary portland
cement.
Chloride(Cl) .0006
1.2 OBJECTIVES
Compressive strength
Workability
Durability
Economic considerations
1.5 HYPOTHESIS
Aggregates have long been regarded simply as inert fillers in concrete there to
provide bulk and economy. A 1931 monograph on cements and Aggregates
stated that The coarse and fine aggregates in concrete are simply inert fillers
used to reduce the cost and went on to say that the type of course aggregate
has relatively small effect on the strength of concrete, provided it is sound(
Baker, 1931). This view has unfortunately prevailed up to the present time
among engineers.
We now know that fine aggregates can have very profound influences on the
physical and mechanical properties of hardened concrete. Different aggregate
types may interact differently with the matrix and these differences may be
technically important depending on the magnitude of the influence. On
occasions, improvements in strength induced by use of different aggregates may
be economically important, by permitting significant reductions in cement content.
Whether engineers can exploit such effects will depend on geographical
proximity of different fine aggregates sources to a construction site and their cost.
Technical and economical exploitation is possible where fine aggregates are
derived from dedicated quarries producing a rock type of assured consistency.
For centuries, construction aggregates or crushed stone, sand and gravel have
been sold commercially for residential and commercial building construction.
These materials have fundamentally improved mankinds security, safety and
mobility and enhanced the quality of life. During the Greek and Roman periods,
sand, gravel and volcanic rock and dust were used to make concrete-like
material for use in building. Some of these structures remain standing to this day.
In ancient times, a form of concrete was made from a conglomerate of gravel and
broken stone with sand and lava. Vitruvius, a Roman architect and engineer, and
Pliny, a Roman scholar, designed cisterns from this material for storing large
amounts of water. It was not unusual for Roman roads to be made of broken
stone, and some of those roads still carry traffic today. In medieval Europe,
castles and cathedrals were built by stonemasons of various types of stone.
1. Large dump trucks used to carry aggregate may increase traffic, affect
road safety, create dust and increase road maintenance requirements.
4. Storm water flowing across exposed soils can pick up fine clays and silt
which, if not managed properly, will negatively impact offsite water quality.
Quarry rock may have acid generating capabilities.
The main characteristics of aggregate that affect the performance of fresh and
hardened concrete are:
2.3.1.2. Soundness
This is a term used to describe the ability of an aggregate to resist excessive
changes in volume as a result of changes in physical conditions .Lack of
soundness is thus distinct from expansion caused by chemical reactions between
the aggregate and the alkalis in the cement.
The physical causes of large or permanent volume changes of aggregates are
freezing and thawing, thermal changes at temperatures above freezing point and
altering wetting and drying.
Aggregate is said to be unsound when volume changes, induced by the above
causes result in deterioration of the concrete .This may range from local scaling
and so-called pop-outs to extensive surface cracking and to disintegration over a
considerable depth, and can thus vary from no more than impaired appearance
to a structurally dangerous situation.
Unsoundness is exhibited by porous flints and cherts especially the light weight
ones with a fine textural pore structure.
A British test on soundness of fine aggregates is prescribed in BS 812: part
121:1989.This determines the percentage of aggregate broken up in
consequence of five cycles of immersion in a saturated solution of magnesium
sulphate alternating with oven drying When the fine aggregate is subjected to five
A quantitative assessment (P. V. Beresnevich, 1975) was also made of the self-
adhesion force for fields of magnetite and oxidized hornfels, shales, and
limestones, and their specific gravity. It was found that the specific gravity of dust
from a rock surface decreases with an increase in self-adhesion.
Both fine and course aggregates should be free from impurities and deleterious
substances which are likely to interfere with the process of hydration, prevention
of effective bond between the aggregate and the mix. Impurities sometimes
reduce the durability of the aggregate.
Generally, fine aggregates obtained from natural sources are likely to contain
organic impurities in the form of silt and clay. Quarry rock dust does not normally
contain organic materials. But it may contain excess of fine crushed stone dust.
Course aggregate stacked in the open and unused for along time may contain
moss and mud in the lower level of the stack.
Sand is normally dredged from river beds and streams in the dry season, when
the river bed is dry or when there is not much flow in the river. Under such
situation along with the sand, decayed vegetable mater, humus, organic mater
and other impurities are likely to settle down. But if sand is dredged when there is
good flow of water from very deep bed the organic matter is likely to be washed
away at the time of dredging. The organic matter will interfere with the setting
action of cement and also interfere with the bonding characteristics with
Fine Fine
aggregate Fine Fine aggregate
percentage aggregate aggregate percentage
Sr Deleterious Method of
by weight percentage percentage by weight
No. substances test
by weight by weight
soft shales, organic matter, clay lumps, moisture and other foreign matter .
For a long time aggregates have been considered as inert materials but later on
particularly , after 1940s it was clearly brought out that the aggregates are not
fully inert. Some of the aggregates contain reactive silica, which reacts with
alkalis present in cement i.e. sodium oxide and potassium oxide.
In the US it was found for the first time that many failures of concrete like
pavement, piers and sea walls could be attributed to the alkali-aggregate
reaction. Since then a systematic study has been made in this regard and now it
is proved beyond doubt that certain types of reactive aggregates are responsible
for promoting aggregate-alkali reaction.
The types of rocks which contain reactive constituents include traps, andesites,
rhyolites, siliceous limestones and certain types of sandstones. The reactive
constituents may be in the form of opals, cherts, chalcedony, volcanic glass,
zeolites etc.
The reaction starts with attack on the reactive siliceous minerals in the
aggregates by the alkaline hydroxide derived from the alkalis in the cement. As a
result, the alkalis silicate gels of unlimited swelling type are formed. When the
conditions are congenial, progressive manifestation by swelling takes place
which results in disruption of concrete with the spreading of pattern cracks and
eventual failure of concrete structures. The rate of deterioration may be slow or
This are
Fuel Saving: Concrete roads are rigid pavements, which do not deflect
under loaded trucks, unlike bitumen pavements. Hence load carriers
require less energy when travelling on concrete roads (since no effort is
expended in getting out of deflection 'ruts'). Trials carried out in the USA
by the Federal Highway Administration and in India by the Central Road
Research Institute, have shown that laden goods carriers consume 15-
20% less fuel on concrete roads as compared to bituminious ones.
Considering the fact that a considerable amount of our country's goods
traffic moves by road, construction of a nation-wide network of concrete
roads could thus save us hundreds of shillings worth of foreign exchange
now being spent on importing petroleum products.
When life-cycle costs are considered (as recommended by the BIS, for all
competing technologies), concrete pavements with their long life and negligible
maintenance, come out invariably superior to bituminious ones.
2.7.2 Workability
Concrete which can be readily compacted is said to be workable, but to say
merely that workability determines the ease of placement and the resistance to
segregation is too lose a description of this vital property of concrete(Neville
2000). Furthermore, the desired workability in any particular case would depend
on the means of compaction available. Likewise workability suitable for mass
concrete is not necessarily suitable for thin, inaccessible or heavily reinforced
sections. For this reasons workability should be defined as a physical property of
concrete alone without reference to the circumstances of a particular type of
construction.
The aggregate characteristics, texture, shape, and size distribution play a major
role in the workability of concrete.
For the purpose of this research work, the quarry dust samples were obtained
from Sirikwa Quarry and the river sand was obtained from Kisumu. In order to
achieve the aim and specific objectives made in chapter one, the use of a
combination of various approaches were considered to be inevitable. These
approaches included:
The DOE Method divides concrete mix design into five stages.
The mix design is carried out according to the DOE Method in the following five
stages.
The compressive strength test is used to measure the strength of concrete. The
procedure for preparation of the concrete involves taking a sample of the mix and
curing it in laboratory conditions to ensure full testing strength is achieved.
The concrete should be thoroughly mixed before placing in the oiled cube. The
mix is compacted in three layers, the first being about a third full, with at least 35
strokes of the tamping rod on each layer. The cube is then cured at 20C in a
controlled environment such as a curing tank. When a prescribed time has
elapsed the cubes are then subjected to the 'crushing test'
To accomplish the objectives, the project was divided in the following four
studies:
1. Sieve analysis
2. Compressive strength tests
3. Slump test
4. Magnesium sulphate soundness test
80
60
y
40
20
0
0.01 0.1 1 10
x
sieve sizes(log)
FIGURE 4.1: Gradation Curve for quarry dust
80
60
y
40
20
0
0.01 0.1 1 10
x
80
60
y
40
20
0
1 10 100
x
1 1.83 2.75
30
20 25% SAND
SUBSTITUTION
15
50% SAND
10 SUBSTITUTION
100% SAND
5 SUBSTITUTION
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
NO. of days
30
concrete strength (N/mm2)
25
20 100% sand mix
4.3:COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
The presence of voids in concrete greatly reduce its strength.5 per cent of voids
can lower strength by as much as 30 per cent , and even 2 per cent in voids
can result to a drop in strength of more than 10 per cent. This is in agreement
with Frets expression relating strength to the sum of the volumes of water and
in the hardened cement paste.
From table 4.7 TO 4.10 it is manifest that the compressive strength of concrete
decreased successively with increase in quarry dust content. Also from the
results of table A5 it was concluded that grading for maximum density gives the
highest strength and that the grading curve of the best mixture resembles a
parabola (Filler and Thompson).
.This subjected the sample of aggregate to the disruptive effects of the repeated
crystallization and rehydration of magnesium sulphate within the pores of the
aggregate .The degree of degradation resulting from the disruptive effects was
measured by the extent to which the material finer than 1.18mm in particle size is
produced.
The Soundness test was performed on both quarry dust and river sand.
4.4.2 Apparatus
1. Test Sieves of sizes 2.36mm and 1.18mm and a woven wire 1.15mm test
sieves
2. A balance of at least 500g capacity accurate to 0.05g
3. At least 2 brass or stainless steel mesh brackets for immersing aggregate
specimens
4. An oven capable of being heated continuously at 105 to 110c.
5. A density hydrometer complying with Bs 718 1979 type
4.4.3 Reagents
1. A supply of distilled or deionized water
2. Barium chloride 5% solution dissolve 5g of barium chloride in 100ml of
distilled water
Procedure
1. Immerse the basket containing the specimen under the test in a container
holding the saturated solution of magnesium sulphate so that the
aggregate is completely immersed for a period of 17H+_ 30 mins.
Suspend each basket so that there is a minimum of 20mm of solution
above the specimen and 20mm separation from any salt cake
accumulation or from any other basket. Cover the container holding the
solution and the test specimen to reduce evaporation and to prevent
ingress of foreign matter.
2. At the end of the immersion period remove the basket from the solution,
cover the container and leave the basket to drain for a period of 2h+_15
min. Place the basket in the oven maintained at 105c to 110c for at
least 24 hours
3. Remove the basket from the oven and leave to cool to lab temperature for
5H+_ 15 min.
S=100M2/M1
The mean of the two results was calculated and the magnesium sulphate
soundness value (MSSV) to the nearest whole number was obtained.
S=
=82.14%
the weighted loss=100-82.18
=17.18%
S=
=90.36%
the weighted loss=100-90.36
=9.63%
Discussion
The soundness test on aggregates can be performed using either magnesium
sulphate or sodium sulphate. The British method of doing the soundness test
uses only magnesium sulphate while the American method uses both sodium
sulphate or magnesium sulphate. The five-cycle sulfate test with magnesium is
more severe and often causes a higher loss percentage than sodium. ASTM
Specification C 33 recognizes this by allowing a higher limit for magnesium.
The slump test is the most well-known and widely used test method to
characterize the workability of fresh concrete. The inexpensive test, which
measures consistency, is used on job sites to determine rapidly whether a
concrete batch should be accepted or rejected .The workability of the concrete
mix was assessed by the slump test conducted following the Bs 1881 102 1983
standard . For this test, an inverted cone was cast in three layers; each one
compacted by 25 strokes of the 5/8-in. rod. The concrete cone was then leveled
at the top. The slump cone was then removed vertically then the slump height
was measured using a tape measure.
SLUMP HEIGHT
4.5.1 Discussion
The aggregate characteristics, texture, shape, and size distribution play a major
role in the workability of concrete. The target range for workability was 10mm to
30 mm. The low slump of the concrete made from quarry dust is a pointer to the
fact that quarry dust produces concrete of low workability. However an increase
The quarry dust around Eldoret comes from three quarries namely,
1. Sirikwa quarry
2. Kaptinga quarry
3. Gituru quarry
From the questionnaire findings it was established that most construction sites
around Eldoret prefer river sand compared to quarry dust in the production of
concrete .This is because river sand is perceived to produce concrete having a
higher compressive strength compared to quarry dust. The quarry dust was also
supplied with a larger amount of particles ranging between 2mm to 5 mm and
therefore making it inadequate to fill the voids in concrete to produce stronger
concrete.
The amount of large particles in quarry dust also made it inappropriate for quarry
dust to be used in making motar for plastering walls. The workability of concrete
made with quarry dust was also found to be wanting as it is indicated by the low
slump values.
However quarry dust was widely used in the making of concrete blocks. This is
because , due to its cementations properties, quarry dust needs a small amount
of cement to be able to form a strong bond.
6.1 CONCLUSIONS
For a constant W / C ratio, concrete produced with river sand was 23% stronger
than the concrete produced with quarry dust .This was mainly due to the capacity
of river sand to be able to fill the voids in concrete better than quarry dust.
However with blending of quarry dust with river sand, the difference in
compressive strength was very minimal. The results indicate that quarry dust
can be used effectively to replace natural sand in concrete and the use of a
certain percentage of quarry dust can further enhance its quality.
The grading curve of the best mixture resembles a parabola (Filler and
Thompson). The laboratory results indicate that quarry dust produced a harsher
mix and formed a lower slump compared to river sand. This is because
workability is governed by grading, shape and texture of the aggregates. The
workability of quarry dust improved with the substitution of quarry dust with river
sand.
The weighted loss of river sand in the magnesium sulphate soundness test was
17.81% while the weighted loss of quarry dust was 9.63%.This shows that the
concrete made from quarry dust will be more durable compared to the concrete
made from river sand. Thus, it can be concluded that quarry dust can efficiently
The cost of quarry dust ranges between Ksh. 500 to Ksh. 600 per ton while the
cost of river sand ranges between 1100 Ksh. to 1200 Ksh. per ton. The findings
of this research indicate that the higher compressive strength and better
workability of river sand in concrete outstripped the economic consideration and
higher soundness value of quarry dust thus making sand to be preferred in many
construction sites.
Recommendations
1. Further research should be conducted on concrete class 30 and 40 to
establish if the findings conform to the results of this research.
2. The quarry dust from Sirikwa quarry has a higher soundness value
compared to river sand and therefore it is recommended to be used in
road construction because ,since it is more durable, it will resist abrasion
effectively .
3. It is recommended that the organic test should be done on both quarry
dust and river sand to determine the amount of organic content in each.
4. In the production of concrete it is highly recommended that quarry dust be
blended with river sand to improve on its workability and compressive
strength.
13. Eric P. Koehler and David W. Fowler, ICAR Project 108: Aggregates in
Self-Consolidating Concrete Aggregates Foundation for Technology,
Research, and Education (AFTRE)International Center for Aggregates
Research (ICAR)The University of Texas at Austin, March 2007
15. BSI, BS 882: Specification for Aggregates from Natural Sources for
Concrete, 1989.
16. Prof. David Manning ,Exploitation and Use of Quarry Fines,19th March
2004.
APPENDICES
Appendix 1:
TABLE A1:Fine aggregate gradation chart.
Reccomended test sieves , mesh baskets and mass of specimens for testing
aggregates outside the range 10.0mm to 14.0mm
1. It is assumed that the volume of freshly mixed concrete equals the sum of
the air content and of the absolute volumes of its constituent materials.
The method therefore requires that the absolute densities of the materials
be known in order that their absolute volumes may be calculated.
2. It is assumed that the strength of a concrete mix depends on:
4. Are there any particular structural places in buildings where river sand or
quarry dust is preferred
5. If you compare the workability of concrete made with river sand or quarry dust,
which one is better?
6. Which classes of concrete is in use in your construction site PS. State also
the ratios?
.
7. According to you , between river sand and quarry dust which one makes
stronger concrete and why?
.
8. If you compare the cost of river sand and quarry dust, which one is more
economical? Please indicate the figures
9:Do river sand and quarry dust conform to the gradation requirements of
BS 882:1992