Volume : 2 | Issue : 1 | Jan 2013 • ISSN No 2277 - 8160

Research Paper Engineering

A Study on Foundry Sand: Opportunities for Sustainable
and Economical Concrete

Student of final year M.E. in Construction Engineering & Management, B.V.M.

Dushyant R. Bhimani
Engineering College, Vallabh Vidyanagar-Gujarat-India
Assistant Professor & Research Scholar, Civil Engineering Department, B.V.M.
Jayeshkumar Pitroda
Engineering College, Vallabh Vidyanagar-Gujarat-India
Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, B.V.M. Engineering College
Jaydevbhai J. Bhavsar
Vallabh Vidyanagar-Gujarat-India
Foundries for the metal-casting industry generate by- products such as used foundry sand. Metal foundries use large
ABSTRACT amounts of the metal casting process. Foundries successfully recycle and reuse the sand many times in a foundry and
the remaining sand that is termed as foundry sand is removed from foundry. Foundry sand is uniformly sized, high-
quality silica sand that is combined with a binder and used to form molds for ferrous and nonferrous castings. Used foundry-sand properties
vary due to the type of equipment used for foundry processing, the types of additives, the number of times the sand is reused, and the type
and amount of binder. Within the concrete industry, the most successful examples have been using coal fly ash to make high-quality, durable
concrete and recycling old, demolished concrete as aggregate for new concrete. This study presents the information about the opportunities
for sustainable and economical concrete. Applications of foundry sand, which is technically, sound, environmentally safe for sustainable
development. Use of foundry sand in various engineering applications can solve the problem of disposal of foundry sand and other purposes.
Foundry sand consists primarily of silica sand, coated with a thin film of burnt carbon, residual and dust. Foundry sand can be used in concrete
to improve its strength and other durability factors. Foundry Sand can be used as a partial replacement of cement or as a partial replacement
of fine aggregates or total replacement of fine aggregate and as supplementary addition to achieve different properties of concrete.

KEYWORDS: foundry waste, foundry sand, concrete, strength, industrial waste, utilization.

INTRODUCTION concerns and globalization of economies have led to a closure of some

Foundry sand is high quality silica sand with uniform physical charac- 8000 foundries in Europe. These countries have been contemplating to
teristics. It is a by- product of ferrous and nonferrous metal casting in- shift their business to the low labour cost centres i.e. the developing
dustries, where sand has been used for centuries as a molding material countries.
because of its thermal conductivity. It is a byproduct from the produc-
tion of both ferrous and nonferrous metal castings. TABLE: 1
COUNTRY V/S FOUNDRY PRODUCTION: SCENARIO OF
The physical and chemical characteristics of foundry sand will depend WORLD
in great part on the type of casting process and the industry sector Country 2009 2010 2011
from which it originates. In modern foundry practice, sand is typically M.T. R M.T. R M.T. R
recycled and reused through many production cycles. Industry esti- China 35.3 1 39.6 1 41.26 1
mates that approximately 100 million tons of sand is used in produc- US 7.40 2 8.24 3 10.01 2
tion annually of that 6 - 10 million tons are discarded annually and are Japan 4.40 4 4.76 5 5.47 4
available to be recycled into other products and in industry. The au- India 7.40 3 9.05 2 9.99 3
tomotive industries and its parts are the major generators of foundry
Germany 3.90 5 4.79 4 5.46 5
sand. Foundries purchase high quality size-specific silica sands for use
Brazil 2.30 7 3.24 7 3.34 7
in their molding and casting operations.
Italy 1.67 9 1.97 9 2.21 9
France 1.74 10 1.96 10 2.04 10
The raw sand is normally of a higher quality than the typical bank run
Korea 2.10 8 2.23 8 2.34 8
or natural sands used in fill construction sites. The sands form the out-
er shape of the mold cavity. These sands normally rely upon a small Russia 4.20 6 4.20 6 4.3 6
amount of bentonite clay to act as the binder material. Chemical bind- M.T. = million tons, R= Rank
ers are also used to create sand “cores”. Depending upon the geometry
of the casting, sands cores are inserted into the mold cavity to form Source: Census of World Casting Production
internal passages for the molten metal. Once the metal has solidified,
the casting is separated from the molding and core sands in the shake-
out process.

In the casting process, molding sands are recycled and reused multiple
times. Eventually, however, the recycled sand degrades to the point
that it can no longer be reused in the casting process. At that point, the
old sand is displaced from the cycle as byproduct, new sand is intro-
duced, and the cycle begins again.

PRODUCTION OF FOUNDRY INDUSTRY IN INDIA AND

WORLD
The World Scenario
There are about 35,000 foundries in the world with annual produc-
tion of 90 million tonnes. In terms of number of foundries China has
the highest score (9374), followed by India (6000). The share of Iron
foundries is the maximum i.e. almost 56%, followed by steel with 14% Figure 1 Foundry Production in World
and then the non-ferrous ones with 30%. The growing environmental Source: Census of World Casting Production

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 Volume : 2 | Issue : 1 | Jan 2013 • ISSN No 2277 - 8160

THE INDIAN FOUNDRY INDUSTRY AREA UTILIZATION

The impetus for foundry sector in India was given by the Jute indus- Foundry sand can be suitable for a variety of beneficial reuses. Ter-
try in Bengal and the cotton industry in Mumbai in late 19th century. minology for defining uses varies across states. For the purposes
The establishment of TISCO, Bengal Iron Company and the IISCO led to of this study, common uses of sand in consultation with industry
some remarkable new uses of castings, in domestic as well as industrial experts. The following are uses of foundry sand approved in one or
areas. more states:

India ranks second in the world based on the number of foundry units Structural Fill
present (4550 units) - after China – and fourth in terms of total pro- Foundry sand can be used as support for structures such as road-
duction (7.8 million tonnes) (42nd Census of World Casting Production ways, parking lots, buildings, and pieces of equipment. "Encapsu-
– 2007). Apart from the registered 4550 units there are several unreg- lated" structural fill may involve the use of a liner, cap, or cover,
istered units, which according to various sources range approximately generally made of a clay material, which prevents water from per-
from 1500 to 5000 units. As per the IREDA- CII Report 2004, there are colating through the foundry sand and minimizes the potential
around 10,000 foundry units present in India including registered and for leaching.
unregistered units. Considering that 4550 units are registered, the total
number of units unregistered is around 5450 units. As per estimation Manufacturing another Product
of experts of the foundry sector, there are around 1500 unregistered Foundry sand is useful as a raw material in manufacturing other prod-
foundry units that are scattered across the country. This discrepancy in ucts, such as controlled, low-strength material (CLSM or flowable fill),
unregistered units is mainly due to the fact that the 5450 units includ- asphalt, cement, concrete, grout, lightweight aggregate, concrete
ed all kinds of micro and small units engaged in castings. Whereas the block, bricks, roofing materials, plastics, paint, glass, ceramics, and
1500 units data incorporates only those foundry units that are engaged rockwool.
in grey iron casting and use conventional cupola and excludes those
units that are too micro in nature and use crucible for melting of metals. Specific examples of these uses include:
Also several foundry units had closed due to non compliance with the • Flowable fill: Flowable fill is a liquid-like material that self-com-
pollution standard set by the government for example Howrah, Agra pacts and is used as a substitute for conventional soil backfill. The
and nearby areas. product is easily transported and can be readily re-excavated. The
typical mixture contains sand, fly ash, portland cement, and water.
The foundry produces a wide variety of castings such as manhole Foundry sand can readily be substituted for virgin sand in flowable
covers, pipe and pipe fittings, sanitary items, tube well body, metric fill mixtures.
weights, automobile components, railway parts, electric motor, fan • Cement and Concrete: Sand is a component of Portland cement
body etc. 90% of the castings produced are from the SSI sector. Most and concrete. Portland cement requires sand with a silica content
of these units are situated in clusters, with cluster size ranging from 30- of at least 80 percent, which most foundry sands meet. It also re-
500 units. quires certain minerals such as iron and aluminum oxides, which
are found in many foundry sands. Cement and additional sand
EXPORTS OF CASTINGS FROM INDIA or gravel are components of concrete, allowing further reuse of
The export of Castings from India (both sanitary and industrial com- foundry sand.
bined) has witnessed a steady growth consistently year after year from
Rs.1,404 crores in 2001-02 to Rs.2,997 crores in 2005-06, almost dou- Soil Manufacturing and Amendment
bled in five years. Year-wise break – up of exports is tabulated below: Commercial soil blending operations can use foundry sand to produce
India today ranks tenth among casting exporting countries. horticultural soils, topsoil, potting soil, and turf mixes. These soil prod-
ucts are typically mixtures of sand or gravel with peat, fertilizers, and/or
TABLE: 2 top soil. Foundry sand can also improve the performance of agricultural
COUNTRY V/S FOUNDRY PRODUCTIONS: SCENARIO OF soils, and can be used as a composting ingredient.
WORLD
Year Sanitary Castings Industrial Casting Total Landfill Uses
2001-02 524.00 880.00 1,404.00 Foundry sand can be used as a cover for the working face of an active
2002-03 609.00 1,038.00 1,647.00 landfill, for road construction within the active cell, or as a substitute
for virgin aggregate in the construction of drainage layers for landfill
2003-04 867.00 1,058.00 1,925.00
leachate collection systems.
2004-05 1,242.00 1,383.00 2,652.00
2005-06 1,530.00 1,467.00 2,997.00 Pipe Bedding and Backfill
Predicted 2,536.00 2,054.00 4,590.00 Foundry sand can serve as backfill for trenches created by the installa-
2011-12
tion of storm and sanitary sewer lines.
Sources: Census of World Casting Production
TYPES OF FOUNDRY SAND
FOUNDRY CLUSTERS OF INDIA Two general types of binder systems are used in metal casting de-
pending upon which the foundry sands are classified as: clay bonded
systems (Green sand) and chemically- bonded systems. Both types of
sands are suitable for beneficial use but they have different physical
and environmental characteristics

Green sand molds are used to produce about 90% of casting volume in
the U.S. Green sand is composed of naturally occurring materials which
are blended together; high quality silica sand (85-95%), bentonite clay
(4-10%) as a binder, a carbonaceous additive (2-10%) to improve the
casting surface finish and water (2- 5%). Green sand is the most com-
monly used recycled foundry sand for beneficial reuse. It is black in
color, due to carbon content, has a clay content that results in percent-
age of material that passes a 200 sieve and adheres together due to
clay and water.

Chemically bonded sands are used both in core making where high
strengths are necessary to withstand the heat of molten metal, and
in mold making. Most chemical binder systems consist of an organic
binder that is activated by a catalyst although some systems use inor-
Figure: 2 Foundry Clusters ganic binders. Chemically bonded sands are generally light in color and
Source: Institute of Indian Foundry Man in texture than clay bonded sands.

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Volume : 2 | Issue : 1 | Jan 2013 • ISSN No 2277 - 8160

TYPICAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SPENT GREEN

FOUNDRY SAND

TABLE: 3
TYPICAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SPENT GREEN
FOUNDRY SAND
[American Foundry man’s Society, 1991]

Property Results Test Method

Specific Gravity 2.39-2.55 ASTM D854
Bulk Relative Density, 2589(160) ASTMC48 / AASTHO T84
kg/m3 (lb/ft3)
Absorption, % 0.45 ASTM C128
Moisture content, % 0.1-10.1 ASTM D2216
Clay Lumps and Friable 1- 44 ASTM C142/ AASTHO T112
Figure: 3 chemically bonded sands Particles
Source: foundry industry, GIDC, Vallabh Vidyanagar Coefficient of
Permeability (cm/sec) 10-3-10-6 AASTHO T215/ ASTM D2434

Plastic Limit/Plastic Non plastic AASTHO T90/ ASTM D4318

Index
Source: R. Siddique, Waste Materials and By-Products in Concrete,
Springer-2008

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FOUNDRY SAND

TABLE: 4
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FOUNDRY SAND
Constituents Value (%)
SiO2 87.91
Al2O3 4.70
Fe2O3 0.94
Figure: 4 chemically bonded sands CaO 0.14
Source: foundry industry, GIDC, Vallabh Vidyanagar MgO 0.30
SO3 0.09
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FOUNDRY SAND
Na2O3 0.19
Foundry sand is typically sub angular to round in shape. After being
used in the foundry process, a significant number of sand agglomera- K2O 0.25
tions form. When these are broken down, the shape of individual sand TiO2 0.15
grains is apparent. SrO 0.03
LOI 5.15
Source: R. Siddique, Waste Materials and By-Products in Concrete,
Springer-2008

ADVANTAGES OF FOUNDRY SAND

 In Embankments
 In Barrier layers construction
 In Flowable fills
 In Road way construction
 As Soil reinforcement
Figure: 5 Unprocessed Foundry Sand  In Hot mix asphalt
Source: R. Siddique, Waste Materials and By-Products in Concrete,  In Portland cement concrete
Springer-2008
Other Engineering Application:
Green sands are typically black, or gray, not green chemically bonded  Portland cement manufacturing
sand is typically a medium tan or off-white color Figures.5 & 6 shows  Mortars
the unprocessed foundry sand and green sand respectively  Agriculture /soil amendments
 Verification of hazardous materials
 Smelting
 Rockwool manufacturing
 Fiberglass manufacturing
 Landfill cover or hydraulic barriers

LIMITATION
 Foundry sand is black. In some concretes, this may cause the fin-
ished concrete to have a grayish/black tint, which may not be de-
sirable.
 A 15% fine aggregate replacement with foundry sand produces a
minimal color change.
Figure: 6 Green Sands from a gray iron Industry  Also, the foundry must be able to meet the quantity requirements
Source: R. Siddique, Waste Materials and By-Products in Concrete, of the precast manufacturer.
Springer-2008  Foundry sand reduced workability of concrete.

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 Volume : 2 | Issue : 1 | Jan 2013 • ISSN No 2277 - 8160

PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM OF A FOUNDRY INDUSTRY TABLE:6

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (MPA) OF CONCRETE WITH
FOUNDRY SAND
Foundry Sand Content, % Mix Avg.Compressive
Strength, (MPa)
28 days 56 days 0
M1 28.50 32.80 10
M2 29.70 33.13 20
M3 30.00 34.50 30
M4 31.30 37.50
Source:dspace.thapar.edu:8080/dspace/bit-
stream/123456789/.../8042307.pdf

CONCLUSIONS
We can say that for 1m3 M20 grade of concrete consumption of fine ag-
gregate is 538.45 kg. Here in specimen M-4 we replace fine aggregate
Figure: 7 Process Flow Diagram of a Foundry Industry by 162 kg of foundry sand for 1m3 M20 grades of concrete. So, we can
Source: Google Image say that up to 30% foundry sand utilized for economical and sustain-
able development of concrete. Uses of foundry sand in concrete can
CASE STUDY save the metal industry disposal costs and produce a ‘greener’ concrete
In the present study, effect of foundry sand as fine aggregate replace- for construction. An innovative supplementary Construction Material is
ment on the compressive strength of concrete having mix proportions formed through this study.
of 1:1.45:2.20:1.103 was investigated. The percentages of replace-
ments were 0%, 10 %, 20% and 30 % by weight of fine aggregate. Tests ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
were performed for compressive strength for all replacement levels of The Authors thankfully acknowledge to Dr.C.L.Patel, Chairman, Charu-
foundry sand at different curing periods (28-days & 56-days). tar Vidya Mandal, Er.V.M.Patel, Hon.Jt. Secretary, Charutar Vidya Man-
dal, Mr. Yatinbhai Desai, Jay Maharaj construction, Dr.A.K.Verma, Head
TABLE: 5 & Professor, Structural Engineering Department, Dr.B.K.Shah, Associate
PROPORTION OF M-20 GRADE CONCRETE Professor, Structural Engineering Department, B.V.M. Engineering Col-
C Kg/ F.A. kg/ C.A. (10 mm) C.A.(20 mm) F.S.Kg/ W (Lts/ P(Lts/ lege, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India for their motivational and infra-
Mix m 3
m3 Kg/m3 Kg/m3 m3 m3) m3) structural support to carry out this research.
M-1 372 538.45 410.4 818.85 0 186 0.288
M-2 372 538.45 410.4 818.85 54 186 0.384
M-3 372 538.45 410.4 818.85 108 186 0.384
M-4 372 538.45 410.4 818.85 162 186 0.384
C=Cement, F.A. =Fine Aggregate, C.A. =Course Aggregate, F.S.
=Foundry Sand, W=Water, P= Plasticizer

Source:dspace.thapar.edu:8080/dspace/bit
tream/123456789/.../8042307.pdf

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