Experimental Study on the Performance and Microstructure of Cementitious Materials Made with Dune Sand

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the utilization of dune sand from waterway regulation engineering as the main raw materials to produce cementitious materials. The mechanical and durability properties of the cementitious materials were studied. Furthermore, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP) were used to identify the microstructure of the specimens. The results show that the compressive and splitting tensile strength of cementitious materials can be improved due to the addition of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) which mainly attributes to a better grain size distribution and pozzolanic effect compared to the specimen added cement alone. The specimen with the addition of suitable cement, GGBS, and gypsum shows low dry shrinkage and excellent abrasion resistance. Correspondingly the specimens present a lower porosity and total volume of pores at different curing ages. The SEM observation indicates that there are quite a lot of hydrate products such as calcium silicate hydrate gel in the matrix which verifies the formation of cementitious compounds. The results obtained suggest that there is potential in manufacturing cementitious material with dune sand in substitution of ordinary concrete to use in hydraulic engineering.

Experimental evaluation of the effort of dune sand replacement levels on flexural behaviour of reinforced beam

“…The measured compressive strength of all the concrete specimens is shown in Table 6. Test results indicate that the compressive strength decreases with replacement of DS increasing when the replacement level is low, and this trend is consistent with previous literatures (Zhang et al 2006;Al-Harthy et al 2007;Zaitri et al 2014;Belferrag, Kriker, and Khenfer 2013;Abu Seif et al 2016;Alawad et al 2015;Jiang et al 2016;Luo et al 2013). Also, notably, higher replacement of DS aggregates (60%, 80%) causes increasing compressive strength, and this increase is due to absorption of DS which could reduce the water-cement ratio of cement gel.…”

“…Due to the scarcity of aggregates in the areas where aggregate resources are in short supply for environmental reasons, there has been a growing interest in utilization of dune sand (DS) in the production of concrete in structural engineering (Zhang et al 2006;Al-Harthy et al 2007;Bouziani, Bederina, and Hadjoudja 2012;Zaitri et al 2014;Belferrag, Kriker, and Khenfer 2013;Abu Seif et al 2016;Alhozaimy et al 2014;Alawad et al 2015;Jiang et al 2016;Luo et al 2013;Lee, Park, and Kim 2016). The Xinjiang province is located in the northwest of China, and nearly a quarter of Xinjiang is covered with DS due to dry continental climatic conditions (Wang, Xiao, and Li 2007), and the region of Xinjiang is characterized by a lack of fine natural aggregate resources.…”

“…Abu Seif et al (2016) studied the mortar and concrete made with DS in the area of Saudi Arabia, and tests indicated that the workability and compressive strength of the DSC and cement mortar were both suitable when the volume of sand did not exceed 50% of the total fine aggregate. Alhozaimy et al (2014), Alawad et al (2015) and Jiang et al (2016) analysed the microstructure of DSC by XRD and SEM, and tests revealed the correlation between the compressive strength and the CaO/SiO 2 . Luo et al (2013) studied on the properties of concrete made with DS from Australian deserts, and results showed that the performance of DSC would vary according to the S/C ratio.…”

Utilization of Sandy Soil as the Primary Raw Material in Production of Unfired Bricks

“…e reason for this phenomenon may be that the excessive gypsum could produce too much ettringite, which results in increased level of internal stress and adversely affects the strength development of the bricks [28].…”

Experimental Study on Performance Influencing Factors and Reasonable Mixture Ratio of Desert Sand Ceramsite Lightweight Aggregate Concrete

“…e results revealed that the desert sand content should not exceed 50% of the total volume of fine aggregate. Rmili et al [12], Bouziani et al [13], Zhang et al [14], Zhang et al [15], Li et al [16], Fu et al [17], Jiang et al [18], and Haifeng et al [19] have also investigated the mechanical properties and influencing factors of desert sand concrete. From the abovementioned literature, it is understood that existing research on desert sand concrete has mainly focused on ordinary concrete, while the application of desert sand to ceramsite lightweight aggregate concrete has not been investigated yet.…”