Effect of Mixed Foundry Sand and Rice Hull Ash on the Mechanical Properties of Concrete

Abstract

Waste foundry sand is the by-product of metal casting industry. Rice hull which is often burned after it is removed from rice is also a by-product of the agriculture industry. Disposing of these wastes leads to the environmental pollution. To optimal use of these wastes and avoid the adverse effects of dumping them, regular sand has been partially replaced with the waste foundry sand and rice hull ash pozzolan has been also used as a partial replacement for cement in making concrete. XRF, XRD and SEM experiments, compressive strength, tensile strength (Brazilian), flexural strength, modulus of elasticity and water absorption tests have been conducted. The results showed a slight decrease in compressive strength of samples in which regular sand was replaced with waste foundry sand by 15 percent; however, adding the rice hull ash to this mixture led to make a concrete comparable with control one. Also, using foundry sand in mix designs affects their physical performance. Moreover, the use of waste foundry sand in concrete is both economically and environmentally suitable.