Influence of Marble Powder on Mechanical Properties of Mortar and Concrete Mix

This paper aims to focus on the possibilities of using waste materials from differentmanufacturing activities in the preparation of innovative mortar and concrete. The use of waste marble powder (dust) was proposed in partial replacement of cement, for the production of Mortar and Concrete Mix. In particular, tests were conducted on the mortars and concrete mix cured for different times in order to determine their workability, flexural as well as compressive strength. Partial replacement of cement by varying percentage of marble powder reveals that increased waste marble powder (WMP) ratio result in increased workability and compressive strengths of the mortar and concrete.

Er. Tanpreet Singh and Er. Anil Kumar Nanda, Associate Professor & Head Surya School of Engg. & Tech. Surya World, Rajpura

Introduction

Blended cements based on the partial replacement of Portland cement clinker (PC) by wastes have been the subject of many investigations in recent years. The use of the replacement materials offer cost reduction, energy savings, arguably superior products, and fewer hazards in the environment. These materials participate in the hydraulic reactions, contributing significantly to the composition and microstructure of hydrated product. In building industry, Marble has been commonly used for various purposes like flooring, cladding etc., as a building material since the ancient times. The industry's disposal of the marble powder material, consisting of very fine powder, today constitutes one of the environmental problems around the world. In India, marble dust is settled by sedimentation and then dumped away which results in environmental pollution, in addition to forming dust in summer and threatening both agriculture and public health. Therefore, utilization of the marble dust in various industrial sectors especially the construction, agriculture, glass and paper industries would help to protect the environment. Some attempts have been made to find and assess the possibilities of using waste marble powder in mortars and concretes and results about strength and workability were compared with control samples of conventional cement sand mortar/concrete.

Methodology

To carry out the proposed study cubes of mortar (1:3) with varying partial replacement of cement with the same amount of WMP were cast and tested at three different intervals of 7days. Their results were compared with those of standard (1:3) mortar and concrete cubes.Detail of mortar mix has been shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Mortar Mix (1:3) Proportion when cement was replaced.
%Replacement	0%	5%	10%	15%	20%
Cement	1200	1140	1080	1020	960
Sand	3600	3600	3600	3600	3600
Marble Powder	0	60	120	180	240
Water	528	528	528	528	528
W/C ratio	.44	.46	.49	.51	.53

In the same way cube specimens and beams samples of M35 grade of concrete have been tested in laboratory for which each percentage of marble powder i.e. 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. Three properties of concrete namely workability, compressive strength and flexural strength have been selected for study and evaluated according to IS: 1199-1959 and IS: 516-1959 respectively. Before initiating the test properties of materials were determined according to respective IS codes. The properties are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Material Properties
Material	Fineness/Fineness Modulus	Specific Gravity
Cement	0.225 (m2/g)	3.12
Fine Aggregate	2.60	2.71
Course Aggregate	2.96	2.85
Marble Powder	1.5 (m2/g)	2.67
Consistency of cement is 30%. Initial and final setting time of cement is 127 minutes and 420 minutes respectively. Fine aggregate conforms to zone III as per IS: 383 —1970.

Mix Design

Based on the Indian Standard (IS: 10262-1982), design mix for M35 grade of concrete was prepared by partially replacing fine aggregate with five different percentages by weight of marble granules (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). The mix proportion for M35 Grades of concrete with varying percentage of marble granules is presented in Table 3.

Table 3: Mix Proportion for Concrete Mix
Mix	Materials			Mix Proportion
M35	%Marble	Sand (kg)	Waste Marble (kg)	C:w:fa:Ca:Wm
	0	635	0	1:0.40:1.59:2.91:0.00
	5	603.25	31.75	1:0.40:1.51:2.91:0.08
	10	571.5	63.5	1:0.40:1.42: 2.91:0.158
	15	539.75	95.25	1:0.40:1.35: 2.91:0.238
	20	508	127	1:0.40:1.27: 2.91:0.318
Cement content and coarse aggregate is 400 kg and 1165 kg respectively while W/C is 0.40 for each mix proportion.

Results and Discussions

Mortar Mix

28 days Compressive Strength Test on Mortar

Test results tor every specimen were shown below in Table 4. It is observed here that with increase of WMP (replacing cement) the strength falls when the WMP is 15% or 20%.

Table 4: Compressive strength for Mortar Mix (N/mm2).
Curing Days	5%	10%	15%	20%
28 days	39.6	37.1	35.2	34.6

Concrete Mix

Workability

It is observed here that degree of workability is medium as per IS 456-2000. The slump values of the concretes obtained from waste marble granules mix gave negligible effect as compared to normal concrete mix as shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Slump Value for Concrete Mix
% Replacement	Slump value (mm)
0	55
5	57
10	63
15	65
20	66

Compressive Strength

The test results are also presented in Table 6. By increasing the waste marble granules the compressive strength values of concrete tends to increase at each curing age. This trend can be attributed to the fact that marble granules possess cementing properties. It is also as much effective in enhancing cohesiveness due to lower fineness modulus of the marble powder or granules both. Furthermore, the mean strength of concrete mixes with marble granules was 5-10% higher than the reference concretes. However, there is a slight decrease in compressive strength value concrete mix when 20% marble granule is used as compared with that of 15% marble granule mix.

Table 6: Compressive Strength for Concrete Mix (N/mm2).
Days	0%	5%	10%	15%	20%
7 days	31.3	32	34.5	33.7	32.9
14 days	34.8	36.1	38.3	35.4	34.7
28 days	39.2	40.8	42.9	41.1	38.8

Flexural Strength Test

The flexural strength calculations are done as per IS: 516-1959. The results of the flexural strength tests for the waste marble powder mix concrete are shown in Table 7. The results show that the flexural strength of waste marble mix concrete increases with the increase of thewaste marble ratio in these mixtures. This trend can again be attributed to the fact that marblegranules possess cementing properties.

Table 7: Flexural Strength for Concrete Mix (N/mm2).
Curing Days	0%	5%	10%	15%	20%
28 days	4.9	5.1	5.3	5.5	5.4

Conclusions

Mortar Mix

Marble powder is partially replaced in cement by weight; there is a marked reduction in compressive strength values of mortar mix with increasing marble powder content when compared with control sample at each curing age.

Marble Mix Concrete

The slump values of the concretes obtained from waste marble granules mix gave negligible effect as compared to normal concrete mix. Degree of workability is medium conforming to IS: 456 – 2000. The mean strength of all concrete mixes with marble granules was 5-10% higher than the references concrete conforming to IS: 456-2000. The flexural strength of waste marble mix concrete increases with the increase of the waste marble ratio in these mixtures.

References

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