This document summarizes an experimental study on using unseived stone dust as a replacement for river sand in cement mortar. Sieve analysis and physical tests were conducted on the stone dust and river sand. Mortar mixes with ratios of 1:3 to 1:6 were made with both stone dust and river sand to determine water requirement and compressive strength. The results showed that stone dust mortar requires slightly more water but achieves equal or higher strength compared to river sand mortar, especially for ratios of 1:4 to 1:6. The study concludes that unseived stone dust can be effectively used as a replacement for river sand in making mortar.

1. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 7, July (2014), pp. 01-06 © IAEME
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLOGY (IJCIET)
ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print)
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online)
Volume 5, Issue 7, July (2014), pp. 01-06
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IJCIET
©IAEME
USE OF UNSEIVED STONE DUST AS FINE AGGREGATE IN MORTAR
Er. S. Thirougnaname
M.Tech., MIE., MISTE., FIAH., MIWWA., AMISE., MIT Arb., MICI.,
Project Engineer, Pondicherry Tourisum Developemnt Corporation, Puducherry, India.
Er. S. Segaran
M.Tech, Civil Engineer, Puducherry, India.
ABSTRACT
Experimental investigation was carried out to study the feasibility of unseived stone dust (a
product obtained from crushing of granite) as fine aggregate in place of river sand in making cement
mortar 1:3, 1:4, 1:5 and 1:6, which are the mixes usually adopted in various construction activities.
The results obtained are comparable with the conventional mortar. It is concluded that the
compressive strength at 28 days of unseived stone dust used as fine aggregate in mortar gives 5%
higher strength for the ratio of 1:4, 1:5, and 1:6, where as 5% less than the conventional mortar for
the ratio 1:3. Therefore the unseived stone dust in raw form can be confidently used as a good
construction material in making mortar and that a maximum of 10-13% of fine materials i.e less than
150 micron in the unseived Stone dust may not affect the strength of the mortar.
Keywords: Mortar, Stone Dust, Workability, Strength of Mortar.
INTRODUCTION
Rapid industrialization due to the implementation of successive five year plans have
contributed to the accumulation of industrial wastes and by-products which pose disposal and
environmental problems and causing health hazards. On the other hand, the social commitment of
providing “shelter for all” is becoming a distant even for those with an assured decent income,
leaving along other segments of people in lower economic level. To overcome the above problems,
studies have been initiated in the use of non-conventional materials for partial replacement of cement
by fly ash in concrete; Conversion of agricultural wastes like saw-dust, cork granules, rice-husk,

2. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 7, July (2014), pp. 01-06 © IAEME
coconut pith into some useful building materials, etc. Industrial by-products which were once
disposed-off as a waste material are finding ever increasing use in the construction industry.
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At present CA is mostly obtained from hard broken granite stones and the by-product of
crushing the stones is “Crusher dust” or”Stone dust”. It is also referred to as “Manufactured
sand”. According to ASTM : C 144-87, it is the product obtained by crushing stone, gravel or air-cooled
iron blast furnace slag, specially processed to assure suitable particle shape as well as
gradation. Although the specifications for sand (fine aggregates) to be used in mortar and concrete
do permit the use of crushed stone dust, there appears to be a general hesitation amongst the field
Engineers, regarding its use, even in those areas where crushed stone dust is available almost free of
cost in abundance. The general tendency is to use river sand only, even if it has to be transported
from long distances.
However the effect of the materials (less than 150 microns) on the strength of concrete and
mortar need to be ascertained. If there is a possibility of using unseived stone dust (Raw form) in the
above, there will be further saving in the effort involved in processing and there will be a complete
solution to the disposal problems.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Sand mining is banned by various states in India, and with the increasing demand for river
sand for construction works, the Civil Engineers, have expressed the need to promote use of
manufactured sand in the construction industry. As per report, manufactured sand is widely used all
around the world because of its consistent gradation and zero impurity4
One of the earliest investigations on the suitability of manufacture sand for making quality
concrete was carried out by Ghosh and other1 at Central Road Research Institute [CRRI], New Delhi.
They carried out the various tests on the physical properties of manufactured sand obtained from a
few sources in U.P. to determine their suitability as a FA. Mortar making property, compression
strength, flexural, abrasion loss, drying shrinkage and bond strength of concrete were determined for
all the samples and concluded that manufactured sand can be confidently used as FA to produce
quality concrete. However, split tensile strength tests and durability studies were not conducted to
determine the relative performance of manufactured sand concrete.
Misra2 studied the water requirements and compressive strength of cement mortar using
manufactured sand as FA, with FM ranging from 0.50 to 2.0 and 75% and 100% flow of mortar.
Based on the above extensive experimental investigations, he had concluded that the strength of
mortar with manufactured sand is higher than that of the corresponding mix with cement (sand)
mortar. He has recommended the use of manufactured sand for mortar and has cautioned the
removal of excessive proportions of very fine particles.
Studies were carried out at Pondicherry Engineering Collage, Puduchery3 for using
manufactured sand as FA in concrete and its compressive, flexural and split tensile strengths; sand
abrasion; elastic modulus; mortar making properties and durability test under various acidic and
alkaline mediums were determined and the performance compared with conventional concrete for
M15 and M20 concretes. The size of manufacture sand used in the above study was restricted to 4.75
mm to 150 microns i.e. the size range presented in IS specification. From the studies, it is concluded
that the manufactured sand can be used in the concrete effectively by replacing normal river sand.
The investigation carried out by Nagabhushana and Sharada Bai6 studied the properties of
mortar and concrete in which Crushed Rock Powder (CRP) was used as a partial and full
replacement for natural sand. For mortar, CRP is replaced at percentages of 20,40,60,80 and 100.
The strength properties of concrete were investigated by replacing natural sand by CRP at
replacement level of 20, 30, and 40 per cents.

3. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 7, July (2014), pp. 01-06 © IAEME
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Nataraja et al7. Investigated the possibility of utilizing Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GBFS)
as a sand substitute in cement mortar, in order to reduce environment problems related to aggregate
mining and waste disposal. In this investigation, cement mortar mix 1:3 and GBFS at 0, 25, 50, 75
and 100 per cent replacement to natural sand for constant w/c ratio of 0.5 was considered. The work
was extended to 100 per cent replacements of natural sand with GBFS for w/c ratios of 0.4 and 0.6.
The flow characteristics of the various mixes and their compressive strengths at various ages were
studied. From this study, it was observed that GBFS could be utilized partially as alternative
construction material for natural sand in mortar applications. Reduction in workability expressed as
flow could be compensated by adding suitable percentage of super plasticizer.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
The crusher plants located in and around Puducherry are the sources for crushed stone dust
(manufactured sand). The stone dust of granite origin collected from Thiruvakkarai crusher plant,
Vanur, Tamil Nadu was taken for this investigation. At present the dust is used as a filler material in
making bituminous top for roads and the rate of production of dust is about 20-25% of total quantity.
Only small amounts of these wastes have been used in road making and in the manufactured of
building materials such as, light weight aggregate bricks and autoclaved blocks.
Laboratory investigations are carried out on the stone dust obtained from the crusher plant
and the results are compared with the existing IS Standards to decide on their suitability as FA. It
was proposed to use of stone dust in making of mortar as a substitute for river sand. First gradation
of the stone dust and river and were determined by conducting size analysing as per IS. 383-1970.
The result of sieve analysis and various physical property are given in table 1 and 2 for stone dust
and river sand.
Table 1: Sieve Analysis of Stone dust (Raw Sample) and River Sand
Stone Dust River Sand (Reference)
SI.
No
Sieve
Size
(mm)
Weight
retained
(gm)
Cumula-tive
Weight
Retained
(gm)
Cumula-tive
%Weigh
t
Retained
Cumulativ
e %
Passing
Weight
Retained
(gm)
Cumula
-tive
weight
retained
(gm)
Cumula-tive
%weight
retained
Cumulative
% Passing
1 10 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 100
2 4.75 8 8 0.8 99.2 20 20 2.0 98
3 2.36 82 90 9.0 91 100 120 12.0 88
4 1.18 204 294 29.4 70.6 124 244 24.4 75.6
5 0.600 162 456 45.6 54.4 180 424 42.4 57.6
6 0.300 285 741 74.1 25.9 340 764 76.4 23.6
7 0.150 138 879 87.9 12.1 170 934 93.4 6.6
8 0.150 121 1000 100 0 66 1000 100 0

4. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 7, July (2014), pp. 01-06 © IAEME
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Table 2: Physical test of Stone dust and river sand
SI. No Water
absorption on
SSD basis (%)
Bulk sp. Gravity
on SSD basis
(gm/cc)
Unit wt.
(Kg/m)
Maximum
Bulkage
Remarks
1 5.5 2.600 1.500 20% Reference
2 3.7 2.564 1.810 24% Stone dust
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 43 grade obtained as single batch and from a single source
is used throughout the investigation. The physical properties of the above cement determined by
standard tests are given in Table 3.
Tests on fresh mortar (sand and Stone dust as FAs) and on hardened mortars was carried out.
The test for determination the mortar making property was performed at 100% flow and 75%. To
determine this flow percent, flow table test for mortars of different mix proportions (1:3, 1:4, 1:5 and
1:6 – the mixes chosen for the present study based on the practical ranges normally adopted) were
made and percent of water required for 100% and 75% flow are determined. With the above percent
of water for 100% flow, mortar cubes of size 70.6 x 70.6 x 70.6 mm, the above mix proportions were
prepared using sand and Stone dust as FAs. The cubes are immersion curved for 3 days, 7 days, 14
days and 28 days and end of the above curing period, the specimens are tested and their compressive
strength are determined.
Table 3: Physical Properties of Cement
SI. No Description Value
1
2
Initial setting time
Final setting time
110 min
160 min
3 Normal consistency 29%
4 Fineness (Specific surface) 285 m2/kg
5 Fineness (by dry sieving) 9%
6 Specific gravity 3.15
7 Expansion (Le-Chatlier) 2.5mm
8 Compressive strength *
(i) 3 days
(ii) 7 days
(iii) 28 days
20.87 N/mm2
25.88 N/mm2
36.92N/mm2
Note : * Standard sand is used.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Water requirement for various mix proportions (1:3 to 1:6 which will cover the normal
practical rang used in the field) at 100% and 75% flow values for conventional mortar and Stone dust
mortars are given in table 4. The result very clearly indicated that more quantity of water is required
for Stone dust mortar when compared to conventional mortar, irrespective of the mix proportion.

5. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 7, July (2014), pp. 01-06 © IAEME
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Table 4: Water Requirement at various Flow values for Different Mortar Proportions
SI.
No
Mix Proportion
Water requirement for various Flow Values (%)
Conventional mortar Manufactured sand
mortar
By vol
By wt.
100% flow 75% flow 100% flow
75% flow
1 1:3 1:3.13/3.81 16.5
16.5
17.0
17.5
14.5
14.5
15.0
16.0
18.5
18.5
19.0
19.0
16.5
17.0
17.5
17.5
2 1:4 1:4.17/5.10
3 1:5 1:5.20/6.28
4 1:6 1:6.25/7.54
Note: The weight proportion in the table corresponding to that of conventional mortar and Stone
dust mortar.
Compressive strength of mortars with different mix proportions for 100% flow using Stone
dust and conventional FA are given in Table 5. From the result it is found that the compressive
strength of mortars with Stone dust is slightly higher than the reference mortar using river sand for
the mix proportions 1:4, 1:5 and 1:6
Table 5: Compressive Strength of Various Mortars at 100% Flow
SI
.N
o
Mix
Prop-ortion
(by
Vol.)
Compressive Strength of Mortar at (N/mm2)
3 days 7 days 14 days 28 days
A B A B A B A B
1 1:3 6.42 6.82 7.62 7.82 11.04 10.43 13.44 12.77
2 1:4 4.82 5.62 6.02 7.22 9.83 10.23 11.04 11.57
3 1:5 4.02 4.82 5.42 5.62 7.62 7.83 9.49 10.03
4 1:6 2.01 2.51 2.81 3.21 4.42 4.82 5.22 5.42
Note: A-Mortar with conventional FA; B-Mortar with Stone dust.
CONCLUSIONS
Following conclusions are arrived at based on the experimental investigations carried out in
this study:
Stone dust obtained from various sources in and around Pondicherry satisfies the requirement
as specified in IS standards.
More quantity of water is required for unseived Stone Dust mortar when compared to
conventional mortar, irrespective of the mix proportion.
Stone dust mortars has equal or slightly higher strength than reference mortar for different mix
proportions, namely for 1:4, 1:5, 1:6 at 100% flow. Hence, it is concluded that Stone dust
mortars can also be used with confidence in construction.

6. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 – 6308 (Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6316(Online), Volume 5, Issue 7, July (2014), pp. 01-06 © IAEME
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REFERENCES
1. Ghosh, R.K., Sethi, K.L., Prakash, “Suitability of manufactured sand for making quality
concrete”, Road Research Paper No.111, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi
1970, pp. 21.
2. Misra R.N., “Use of stone dust from crushers in cement-sand mortars”, The Indian Concrete
Journal, August 1984, pp. 219-224.
3. Uma Maheswari, G., “Strength and durability studies on manufactured sand concrete M. Tech.
Thesis, Submitted to the Pondicherry University, December 1996, pp. 53.
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Education, Bangalore, India.
6. Nataraja, M.C., Dileep Kumar, P.G., Manu, A.S., and Sanjay, M.C., (2013) “Use of granulated
blast furnace slag as fine aggregate in cement mortar”, International Journal of Structural
Civil Engg. Research, Vol.2 No. 2, May, pp. 1-12.
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9. S.P.:23 -1982, “Hand book on Concrete mixes”, BIS, New Delhi.
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AUTHOR’S DETAIL
Er. S. Thirougnaname, M.Tech., MIE., MISTE., FIAH., MIWWA., AMISE., MIT Arb., MICI.,
Project Engineer, Pondicherry Tourism Development Corporation, Puducherry,
India.