SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering (SSRG-IJCE) – volume 2 Issue 12 December 2015

Usage of Waste Foundry Sand in Concrete

Vema Reddy Chevuri*1, S.Sridhar*2
M.Tech Student, Dept of Civil Engineering, Nalanda Institute of Technology, Dist: Guntur, AP, India.
Assistant Professor, Dept of Civil Engineering, Nalanda Institute of Technology, Dist: Guntur, AP, India.

ABSTRACT: governed by aggregate. The aggregate itself is

`Now a days good quality natural river sand is categorized as fine and coarse aggregate.
not readily available, it is to be transportated from a In this study, scope of project report will be focused on
long distance. These resources are also exhausting very the use of fine aggregate using foundry sand. Before
rapidly. So there is a need to find alternative to natural further discussion, it shall be better to have a
river sand. Natural river sand takes millions of years knowledge and clear understanding about the foundry
for its formation and is not renewable. As a substitute sand and its properties and performances. Foundry sand
to natural sand , artificial sand is used as a complete is one of the aggregate to be used in concrete, other
replacement. In this project the behavior of concrete is than normal sand. Metal foundries use large amounts
assured by partially replacing the natural sand with of sand as part of the metal casting process. Foundries
foundry sand which is a waste product from machine successfully recycle and reuse the sand many times in a
industries. The experimental work is mainly concern foundry. When the sand can no longer be reused in the
with the study of mechanical properties like foundry, it is removed from the foundry and is termed
compressive strength, split tensile strength and as well “foundry sand.” Foundry sand production is nearly 6 to
as flexural strength of concrete by partial replacement 10 million tons annually. Like many waste products,
of artificial sand by foundry sad as fine aggregate. foundry sand has beneficial applications to other
Tests over carried out on cubes, cylinders to studies industries.
the mechanical properties o concrete using foundries
and compare with concrete with natural sand as fine Types of Foundry Sand
aggregate. Artificial sand was replaced with five There are two basic types of foundry sand available,
percentages (0%,5%,10%,15%& 20%) of Waste green sand (often referred to as molding sand) that uses
Foundry Sand by weight. A total of five concrete mix clay as the binder material, and chemically bonded sand
proportions are made with and without foundry sand. that uses polymers to bind the sand grains together.
Compression test, splitting tensile strength test and GREEN SAND consists of 85-95% silica, 0-12% clay,
flexural strength test were carried out to evaluate the 2-10% carbonaceous additives, such as sea coal, and 2-
strength properties of concrete at the age of 7 &28 5% water. Green sand is the most commonly used
days. Test results showed a nominal increasing strength molding media by foundries. The silica sand is the bulk
and durability properties of concrete by the addition of medium that resists high temperatures while the coating
waste foundry sand as a partial replacement of natural of clay binds the sand together. The water adds
sand. plasticity. The carbonaceous additives prevent the
KEYWORDS: The experimental work is mainly “burn-on” or fusing of sand onto the casting surface.
concern with the study of mechanical properties like Green sands also contain trace chemicals such as MgO,
compressive strength. K2O, and TiO2. CHEMICALLY BONDED SAND
consists of 93-99% silica and 1-3% chemical binder.
I.INTRODUCTION Silica sand is thoroughly mixed with the chemicals; a
Argillaceous materials have been used by mankind for catalyst initiates the reaction that cures and hardens the
construction from time immemorial. The every rising mass. There are various chemical binder systems used
functional requirement of the structures and the in the foundry industry. The most common chemical
capacity to resist aggressive elements has necessitated binder systems used are phenolic-urethanes, epoxy-
developing new materials and composites to meet the resins, furfyl alcohol, and sodium silicates.
higher performance and durability criteria. The
environmental factors and pressure of utilizing waste Significance of research:
materials from industry have also been the major Foundry sand is basically fine aggregate. It can be used
contributory factors in new developments in the field of in many of the same ways as natural or manufactured
concrete technology. Since concrete is the most sands. This includes many civil engineering
important part in structural construction, it should be in applications such as embankments, flowable fill, hot
a form of good strength for structural purposes. mix asphalt (HMA) and portland cement concrete
Concrete is made up of aggregate, cement and water. (PCC). Foundry sands have also been used extensively
Though this combination of three – quarter of the mix is agriculturally as topsoil.

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 SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering (SSRG-IJCE) – volume 2 Issue 12 December 2015

Currently, approximately 500,000 to 700,000 tons of THEORY AND ORIGIN OF FOUNDRY SAND:
foundry sand are used annually in engineering
applications. The largest volume of foundry sand is Foundry sand consists primarily of clean,
used in geotechnical applications, such as uniformly sized, high-quality silica sand or lake sand
embankments, site development fills and road bases. that is bonded to form molds for ferrous (iron and steel)
The advantages of this study are :- and nonferrous (copper, aluminum, brass) metal
1. To provide some information about the use castings. Although these sands are clean prior to use,
of foundry sand after casting they may contain Ferrous (iron and steel)
2. Beneficial and Economical value to local industries account for approximately 95 percent of
people foundry sand used for castings. The automotive
3. New attempt during the test and methods industry and its parts suppliers are the major generators
required to overcome the problems of foundry sand.
4. Have chances to explore the use of local
waste material in steel industries
The most common casting process used in
A brief literature is presented in the coming chapter the foundry industry is the sand cast system. Virtually
over this area so as to know the status of the project.
all sand cast molds for ferrous castings are of the green
II.RELATED WORK sand type. Green sand consists of high-quality silica
Most metalcasting sand (FS) is high
sand, about 10 percent bentonite clay (as the binder), 2
quality silica sand with uniform physical
to 5 percent water and about 5 percent sea coal (a
characteristics. It is a byproduct of the ferrous and carbonaceous mold additive to improve casting finish).
nonferrous metal casting industry, where sand has been The type of metal being cast determines which
used for centuries as a molding material because of its
additives and what gradation of sand is used. The green
unique engineering properties. In modern foundry
sand used in the process constitutes upwards of 90
practice, sand is typically recycled and reused through
percent of the molding materials used.
many production cycles. Industry estimates are that
approximately 100 million tons of sand are used in
production annually. Of that, four (4) to seven (7) In addition to green sand molds, chemically
million tons are discarded annually and are available to bonded sand cast systems are also used. These systems
be recycled into other products and industries. involve the use of one or more organic binders (usually
Sand used at foundries is of a high proprietary) in conjunction with catalysts and different
quality, much of it supplied by members of the hardening/setting procedures. Foundry sand makes up
Industrial Minerals Association of North about 97 percent of this mixture. Chemically bonded
America (IMA-NA). Stringent physical and chemical systems are most often used for "cores" (used to
properties must be met as poor quality sand can result produce cavities that are not practical to produce by
in casting defects. Foundries and sand producers invest normal molding operations) and for molds for
significant resources in quality control of their sand nonferrous castings.
systems, with extensive testing done to maintain The annual generation of foundry waste
consistency. As a result, FS from an individual facility (including dust and spent foundry sand) in the United
will generally be very consistent in composition, which States is believed to range from 9 to 13.6 million metric
is an advantage for most end use applications. tons (10 to 15 million tons).(2) Typically, about 1 ton of
foundry sand is required for each ton of iron or steel
Although there are other casting methods including die casting produced.
casting, investment casting, and permanent mold III. OBJECTIVES & SCOPE OF PRESENT
casting, sand casting is by far the most prevalent casting STUDY
technique. Sand is used in two different ways in The construction industry and concrete manufacturers
metalcasting : as a molding material, which forms the have realized that they will need to use available
external shape of the cast part, and as cores, which form aggregate rather than search for the perfect aggregate to
internal void spaces in products such as engine blocks. make an ideal concrete suitable for all purposes.
Since sand grains do not naturally adhere to each other, Simultaneously, significant increase in the other
binders must be introduced to cause the sand to stick construction materials production like steel will
together and hold its shape during the introduction of produce a lot of industrial waste such as used foundry
the molten metal into the mold and the cooling of the sand. This can be used in the production of concrete for
casting. specific purposes.
It has been well established that foundry sand aggregate
can be used for all structural elements in civil
engineering. Based on review of literature , it is clear

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 SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering (SSRG-IJCE) – volume 2 Issue 12 December 2015

that very little research has been carried out so far on following is the brief description of each and every
the behavior of Foundry Sand (FS). material specifying their physical and chemical
The main objectives of the present experimental work properties.
are discussed below : 4.1 DISCUSSION OF TEST RESULTS
 To find the efficiency of the Foundry Sand for WORKABILITY:
civil constructions. The workability of mixes have been measured
 To know the fresh concrete properties of by compaction factor test and slump cone test. The
foundry sand concrete. values of slump cone test results are presented in below
 To know the behavior of compressive and split table. From this it is observed that the slump decrease
tensile strength of foundry sand. with increase in the % of foundry sand in the concrete
 To analyse the different areas of civil mix. The decrease of workability may be due to higher
engineering in which Foundry Sand can be water absorption and rough surface of foundry sand
used efficiently. than the normal sand.
To obtain the above objectives of the experimental Slump Test values:
work , the test programmer is planned as %
0 20 40 60 80 100
presented below. replacement
Total 36 concrete specimens are prepared. 6 specimens Slump
150 130 90 70 40 30
with natural concrete and other 30 specimens (mm)
Are prepared with foundry sand concrete as
replacement of foundry sand in proportion of 20, 40, 150

60, 80, 100% by absolute volume method. The

details of each category are described below : 120

Obejctives of the test programme: slump (mm) 90

3 cubes and 3 cylinders for each mix proportion.
a) Size of cube specimen : 150X150mm 60

Mix proportion is : 1:1.41:3.099

30
Water Cement ratio : 0.52
Number of specimens : 18 No. of cubes (3- 0

0%,3-20%,3-40%,3-60%,3-80%,3-100%) 0 20 40 60
% replacment
80 100

b) Size of cylinder specimen : l=300mm , d= 150mm sl

Mix proportion is : 1:1.41:3.099 ump values vs % replacement
Water Cement ratio : 0.52 The values of compaction factor test results are
Number of specimens :18 No. of cylinders (3- presented in below table. From this it is observed that
0%,3-20%,3-40%,3-60%,3-80%,3-100%) the compaction factor increase with increase in the % of
SCOPE OF PRESENT WORK: foundry sand in the concrete mix. The increase of
Based on the availability of equipment in the laboratory workability may be due to higher water absorption and
, experimental work was conducted on cubes and smooth surface of foundry sand than the normal sand.
cylinders so that it leads to evaluate compression and Compaction factor test values:
split tensile strengths. There is need to study the %
microstructure of concrete by conducting the X-Ray 0 20 40 60 80 100
replacement
diffraction and SEM analysis. Due to limitation of the
equipments,it was confined to finding of above said Compaction 0.82 0.83 0.85 0.86 0.87 0.89
strengths only. Factor
IV. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND
PRESENTATION OF TEST RESULTS
General:
The following materials were used for the
experimental work so as to achieve the specified
objectives , which were mentioned in the previous
chapter. The aggregate based on the specifications has
been divided in to fine and coarse aggregate. Of these
fine aggregate used in this project comprises of normal
sand as well as steel industry waste foundry sand.
Coarse aggregate is the same all through the project.
Cement used is JSW 53 Grade of cement. The

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 SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering (SSRG-IJCE) – volume 2 Issue 12 December 2015

0.91

0.90

0.89

0.88
Compaction Factor

0.87

0.86

0.85

0.84

0.83

0.82

0.81
0 20 40 60 80 100
% replacement

compaction factor vs % replacement

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH:
The compressive strength for all mixes are
represented in table. From this, it can be observed that
the 7 days compressive strength increase with the 30 Compressive Strength for 7 days
increase in % of foundry sand up to 60% and after that
Compressive Strength for 7 days (N/mm2)
decrease till 100%. This may be due to different surface 27

texture of aggregates. 24

For 20 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there

is increase in cube compressive strength by +13.42 % 21

over normal sand. 18

For 40 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there

is increase in cube compressive strength by +11.05 % 15
0 20 40 60 80 100
% Replacement
over normal sand.
For 60 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there compressive strength Vs % replacement
is increase in cube compressive strength by +16.28 % The compressive strength for all mixes are represented
over normal sand. in table. From this, it can be observed that the 28 days
For 80 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there compressive strength increase with the increase in % of
is decrease in cube compressive strength by foundry sand up to 60% and after that decrease till
-15.32 % over normal sand. 100%. This may be due to different surface texture of
For 100 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there aggregates.
is decrease in cube compressive strength by -8.49 % For 20 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there
over normal sand. is increase in cube compressive strength by +13.32 %
7-DAYS CUBE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH FOR over normal sand.
FOUNDRY SAND CONCRETE For 40 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there
is increase in cube compressive strength by +11.21 %
over normal sand.
For 60 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there
is increase in cube compressive strength by +15.98 %
over normal sand.
For 80 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there
is decrease in cube compressive strength by
-17.14 % over normal sand.
For 100 % replacement of foundry sand aggregate there
is decrease in cube compressive strength by -8.49 %
over normal sand.

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 SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering (SSRG-IJCE) – volume 2 Issue 12 December 2015

28-DAYS CUBE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH concrete mix up to 60% and will decrease after
FOR FOUNDRY SAND CONCRETE 60% up to 100%
3. The split tensile strengths were increased with
increase in the foundry sand in the concrete
mix up to 60% and will decrease after 60% up
to 100%
4. There is an enhancement in the strengths for
respective replacement of aggregate with
incorporation of foundry sand with natural
sand
5. The failure modes are similar for both natural
sand and foundry sand. The use of foundry
sand for concrete works is demonstrated in
compression, split tensile strength
6. This study could enlighten the people to use
foundry sand for concrete works
Recommendations for future investigations
1. The studies can be conducted to know the
performance under impact and torsion loading
2. Studies can be conducted by incorporation of
platicizers, admixture, accelerators.
3. Mathematical / Emperical models can be
developed for the foundry sand concrete
4. Durability studies such as resistance to
sulphate attack, acid resistance etc., can be
carried out on foundry sand concrete
VI.APPENDIX
EXAMPLE OF MIX DESIGN(ABSOLUTE
VOLUME METHOD)
Here we followed ACI ABSOLUTE VOLUME
METHOD ,due to the differences in the specific
Compressive Strength for 28 days
gravities of the replacement material .
40
Mix component Properties:
Compressive Strength for 28 days (N/mm2)

36 Cement
32
grade: 53
28

Specific Gravity: 3.078

24
Corse Aggregate Nominal Maximum
20
0 20 40 60 80 100
particle Size: 10mm
% Replacement
SSD Bulk
compressive strength Vs % replacement (28 days) Specific Gravity: 2.58
SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH: Fine Aggregate SSD Bulk
The variation of 28 days split tensile Specific Gravity : 2.6
strength of concrete mixes is represented in tables and
figure. From these it is observed thatthe 28 days split Fineness Modulus: 2.727
tensile strength increase with the increase in % of Desired Mix Properties:
foundry sand up to 60% and after that decrease till A 30 kg batch on non-air –entrained concrete with a
100%. slump in the 80 to 100 mm range and a water/cement
ratio of 0.5 is required.
V.CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS SOLUTION:
The following conclusions may be drawn from present 1. Densities of all materials to be used: ρ=G*ρw
experimental work.
1. The workability of foundry sand increases
2. The compressive strengths were increased
with increase in the foundry sand in the

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 SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering (SSRG-IJCE) – volume 2 Issue 12 December 2015

4. Application of Foundry Sand in Civil Construction –

Mr.I.M.Attar Prof A.K.Gupta
5. Utilization of waste Foundry Sand ( WFS) in
Concrete manufacturing – Rafat Siddiquea and
Gurpreet Singh
6. Foundry Sand Utilization in Concrete Production –
J.M.Khatib , S.Baig
7. Foundry Sand facts for Civil Engineering – US
Transport dept.
8. User Guideline for Foundry Sand in Green
Infrastructure – Craig H.Benson
1. Absolute volume calculations: 9. Possibility of used Foundry Sand Exploitation in
Civil Engineering – korac , Kambervic
10. Using Foundry Sand in Green Infrastructure
Construction – S.L.Bradshaw.

AUTHORS PROFILES:

Vema reddy chevuri MTECH

(STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING) PURSUING
2. Sum of known volumes = IN NALANDA INSTITUTE
(0.186+0.1244+0.349+0.00002) = 0.6594 m3 OF TECHNOLOGY ,
SSD volume of Fine Aggregate = 1-0.6594 = 0.3406 KANTEPUDI,SATTENAPALL
m3 I, GUNTUR (DT),
Mass calculations for Fine Aggregates for the 20% ANDHRAPRADESH STATE,
replacement of Foundry sand. INDIA

S.SRIDHAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING working
in NALANDA INSTITUTE OF
5 . Total required volume for 3 cubes and 3 cylinders = TECHNOLOGY,SATTENAPALLI.
0.026 m3
Mass of Normal sand required for a mix = 0.026 *
708.24 =18.41 kg
Mass of Foundry sand required for a mix = 0.026 *
313.24 =8.144kg
Mass of cement required for a mix = 0.026 * 383
=9.96 kg
Mass of Coarse Aggregate required for a mix =
0.026 * 1187 =30.9 kg
Amount of Water required for a mix = 0.026 * 186 =
4.9 lit

VII.REFERENCES
1. Concrete Technology – M.S SHETTY
2. Properties of concrete – A.M. NEVILLE.
3. ASIAN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
(BUILDING AND HOUSING) VOL. 13, NO. 1 (2012)
PAGES 55-77 STRENGTH AND PERMEABILITY
CHARACTERISTICS OF FIBER REINFORCED
HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE WITH
RECYCLED AGGREGATES G. Ghorpade Vaishali
and H. Sudarsana Rao*

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