Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 17

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Construction and Building Materials

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Strength and durability properties of concrete made with granite

industry waste
M. Vijayalakshmi a, A.S.S. Sekar b, G. Ganesh prabhu c,
a

Dept. of Civil Engineering, Fatima Micheal College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu, India
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu, India
c
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Sethu Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, India
b

h i g h l i g h t s
 Utilization of granite industry waste in concrete production was carried out.
 Effect of GP waste on mechanical and durability properties of concrete was evaluated.
 Inclusion rate up to 15% does not affect the strength and durability properties.
 Optimum inclusion rate of GP waste was recommended for concrete production.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 26 February 2013
Received in revised form 3 April 2013
Accepted 5 April 2013
Available online 10 May 2013
Keywords:
Concrete
Granite powder
Waste
Compressive strength
Durability
Carbonation
Chloride
Sulphate

a b s t r a c t
Granite stones processing industry from Tamilnadu state produces tons of non-biodegradable ne powder wastes and utilization of that hazardous waste in concrete production will lead to green environment
and sustainable concrete technology. The main objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the
suitability of granite powder (GP) waste as a substitute material for ne/natural aggregate in concrete
production. The experimental parameter was percentage of granite powder substitution. Concrete mixtures were prepared by 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% of ne/natural aggregate substituted by GP waste.
Various mechanical properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, exural strength;
ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and elastic modulus were evaluated. To ensure the reliability of its usage
in aggressive environments, the durability properties such as water permeability, rapid chloride penetration (RCPT), carbonation depth, sulphate resistance and electrical resistivity was also determined. The
obtained test results were indicated that the replacement of natural sand by GP waste up to 15% of
any formulation is favorable for the concrete making without adversely affecting the strength and durability criteria however it is recommended that the GP waste should be subjected to a chemical bleaching
process prior to blend in the concrete to increase the sulphate resistance.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Among the 32 states in India, Tamilnadu state has the 45% of total granite reserve. Using different types of cutting method, granite
stones are machined from the quarries and that blocks are transported to the nearby processing plants. Then the stones are industrially processed such as sawing and polishing, nally the
processed stones are used for decorative purposes. During this
industrial process, the ne granite particle and the water mixed
together and become a granite colloidal waste. When the stone
slurry is disposed in landlls, its water content is drastically re Corresponding author. Address: Department of Civil Engineering, Sethu
Institute of Technology, Kariapatti, Virudhunagar 626 115, Tamil Nadu, India. Tel.:
+91 989451881.
E-mail address: gganeshprabhu@gmail.com (G. Ganesh prabhu).
0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.04.018

duced and the waste becomes a dry mud consisting of very ne

powder that can be easily inhaled by human being and animals.
In addition to that, it is a non-biodegradable waste that causes pollution and environmental damage. The data available from the literature, the amount of wastes in the different production stages of
the granite industry reaches some 2025% of its global production,
meaning millions of tons of colloidal waste per year and disposal of
those ne wastes is one of the environmental problems worldwide
today. With increasing restrictions on landlls in nearby area, the
cost of deposition also become increase and the industries are
forced to nd ways for reusing that wastes. Even though the reutilization of granite wastes has been practiced, the quantity of
wastes reutilized in that way is still negligible. Hence, the need
for its application in other industries is become very imperative.
Past few decades, the construction industry especially the concrete
industry has utilized almost all stone industrial waste to resolve

M. Vijayalakshmi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 17

the environmental problem. The rst known study in this topic involved that utilization of granite dust for making aerated concrete
and ceramic production conducted by Beretka and Taylor [1]. Test
results of Moreira et al. [2] illustrated that the ceramic bodies containing granite powder waste are adequate for manufacture of
structural ceramic and the employed methodology is environmentally correct. Experimental results of Saboya et al. [3], Ilker Bekir
et al. [4], Binici et al. [5], Corinaldesi et al. [6] and Hebhoub et al.
[7] demonstrated that the waste marble and granite powder can
be potentially used as a substitution for ne aggregates in concrete
production and the mechanical properties of concrete were found
to be conforming to the concrete production standards. Recently
Flexikala and Partheeban [8] found that the replacement of sand
by granite powder has benecial effect on the mechanical properties of concrete and the values of both plastic and drying shrinkage
of granite powder concrete was nominal than the ordinary
concrete.
From the past research, it was observed that there were boundless investigations done with the marble powder by-product as a
substitute material in concrete production besides investigations
on granite powder (GP) waste as a ller material in concrete production is not widespread. The main objective of this study is to
experimentally investigate the suitability of granite industry waste
as a substitute material for ne aggregate in concrete production
and aimed to study the physical and chemical properties of the
GP waste as well. The experimental parameter was percentage of
granite powder substitution. The concrete cubes and cylinder specimens were prepared with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% of natural
sand is substituted by GP waste. Fresh concrete properties evaluated by slump cone test and the mechanical properties were evaluated through density, split tensile, exural, compressive strength,
UPV and elastic modulus test. Durability tests such as water and
chloride permeability test, electrical resistively, carbonation depth
and sulphate resistance test were also conducted on granite powder concrete to ensure the reliability of its usage in aggressive
environments.
2. Materials
2.1. Portland cement and aggregate
The commercial Portland cement supplied by India cements was used in this
study. The specic gravity of the cement was tested according to IS 8112:1989
[9] and the obtained value was about 3.14. Natural sand passing through
4.75 mm sieve and having a specic gravity of 2.48 was used in this study. The maximum size and the specic gravity of the coarse aggregate were 20 mm and 2.67
respectively. According to IS 2386(1):1963 [10], grain size distribution analysis
was carried out on both ne and coarse aggregate.
2.2. Granite powder
The granite powder (GP), which is a by-product obtained from granite processing industry was used in this study. To verify the physical and chemical characterization of the granite powder, the following tests were carried out at National
Testing House at Chennai, Tamilnadu. The obtained specic gravity and specic surface area value of GP waste was about 2.386 and 351 m2/kg respectively, which was
equivalent to the nesse of the cement. To verify the physical characterization of
the GP by-product, its grain size distribution analysis was carried out and it was observed that, 55% of granite powder was less than 150 lm and the 31% of particles
were less than 45 lm. The chemical analysis results were shown that the GP waste
contains about 72.14% of soluble silica (Sio2) and 17.13% of alumina (Al2O3), indicating very suitable for concrete production. The X-ray diffraction analysis, Fig. 1
shows that the presence of Quartz about 3% and Microcline about 1%. The remaining
GP by-product consists of amorphous silica, whose low crystallinity making them
mostly undetectable by X-ray diffraction [6].
2.3. Concrete
The concrete mix proportion was designed by IS method [11] to achieve the
strength of 30 N/mm2 and the designed mix proportion was 1:1.39:2.77 by weight.
The designed water cement ratio was 0.40 and the formulations of various mixtures
proportion were listed in Table 1.

Fig. 1. X-ray diffraction of the GP by-product.

3. Experimental program
3.1. Preparation and testing of specimens
The concrete mixtures were prepared by Portland cement, natural sand, coarse
aggregate (Blue metal) and GP by-product. Among the six series of mixtures, one
was the control mixture and the remaining ve mixtures were containing GP waste
substitution in various proportions such as 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. For all the
mixtures, aggregates were weighed in dry condition and the mixtures were mixed
together for 45 min in a laboratory counter current mixer. Workability of the fresh
concrete was veried by slump test apparatus. Compressive and splitting tensile
strength of the concrete was measured using 150 mm  150 mm  150 mm cubes
and 150 mm  300 mm cylinders respectively. In addition beams were prepared
to determine the exural strength of the concrete. All the cubes, cylinders and
beams were cast in three layers and each layer was fully compacted by using a needle vibrator for beams and a vibrating table for other specimens. After casting, specimens were kept in a room temperature for 24 h, thereafter demoulded and
transferred to the curing tank until their testing dates. Compressive strength of
the cube was measured by compression testing machine (CTM) having a capacity
of 2000 kN at the age of 7, 28 and 90 days. The exural and splitting tensile strength
of the concrete was measured by exure testing machine (FTM) and by CTM respectively at the age of 28 days. For each mixture three specimens were tested and tests
were carried out according to the relevant IS standards.
Chloride permeability of the concrete mixtures was performed according to
ASTM C 1202-97 [12] and resistance to the penetration of chloride ions were measured by determining the electrical conductance of concrete. A concrete disc having
a diameter and thickness of 102 mm and 51 mm respectively was prepared and allowed to cure for 28 days. Afterwards, both ends of the disc was sealed with cell,
one which lled with 3% NaCl solution, the other one lled with 0.3N NaOH solutions. A potential difference of 60 V was maintained across the two cells and the
amount of charge passed to the specimen was monitored for the duration of 6 h.
The amount of chloride penetration was measured in terms of Coulombs. A concrete
permeability test apparatus supplied by AIMIL Ltd., India was used in this study to
determine the water permeability of the concrete and the test was performed
according to IS 3085:1965 [13]. The water permeability of the cubes was obtained
by measuring the water volume that passes through the specimen under constant
air pressure 10 kg/cm2. For carbonation test, cylinders having a dimension of
150 mm  300 mm were prepared for all mixtures and allowed to cure for 28 days.
Later than, all the specimens were air cured for the duration of 90 days and
180 days then they were split. The split surface of the concrete was thoroughly
cleaned and the phenolphthalein indicator was uniformly applied along the entire
length using brush. The average depth was measured at three points to the nearest
1 mm, from the external surface to the colorless phenolphthalein region. The electrical resistivity of the concrete was determined using concrete electrical resistivity
meter supplied by AIMIL Ltd., India under saturated condition.

3.2. Descriptions of mixtures

Among the six mixtures, ve mixtures were prepared with natural sand substituted by GP by-product and the remaining one was control mixtures (CM). To identify the mixtures easily, the each mixtures was designated with the names such as
CM, CGP 5%, CGP 10%, CGP 15%, CGP 20% and CGP 25%. For example CGP 10% species that the concrete mixture made with 10% of natural sand is substituted by GP
waste.

M. Vijayalakshmi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 17

Table 1
Concrete mixture proportions.
Mixture

Control mixture

CGP 5%

CGP 10%

CGP 15%

CGP 20%

CGP 25%

W/C ratio
Water (kg/m3)
Cement (kg/m3)
Sand (kg/m3)
Coarse aggregate (kg/m3)
Granite powder (GP) (kg/m3)

0.4
186
465
603
1086
0

0.4
186
465
572
1086
31.94

0.4
186
465
542
1086
63.88

0.4
186
465
512
1086
95.83

0.4
186
465
482
1086
127.77

0.4
186
465
451
1086
159.71

4. Result and discussion

4.1. Fresh concrete properties
Slump value of the fresh concrete was measured using slump
cone, time ranged from immediate after mixing, 30 min and
60 min, it is the convenient method and useful to control the quality of the concrete. Fig. 2 explains the effect of GP waste on the
workability of the fresh concrete. For all the mixtures there was
a signicant losses in slump was observed with time in addition
to that the workability of the concrete decreases with the increases
in the substitution rate. The poor workability was observed for
mixture of CGP 20% and CGP 25% when compared to the other mixture. The workability and the water demand of the concrete depend upon the particle shape, particle size distribution and
surface texture. Compared to the natural sand, the GP has a very
rough and angular geometry and more than 90% particle size are
less than 50 lm i.e.) very ne powder. The rough and angular texture of the granite powder increase the friction between the coarse
aggregate and paste and the increased specic surface area of the
powder increasing the water demand by increased water absorption. As a result the workability of the concrete reduced further
when increasing the substitution of the GP. Hence the water required for the mixtures need correction based on the amount of
GP by-product added. The another possible factor that density of
the GP waste which was contributed to low down the paste volume and this decrease in the paste volume decreases the cohesiveness and thus leads to decreased workability.
4.2. Mechanical properties
4.2.1. Compressive strength
Compressive strength is the most important property of the
hardened concrete. The concrete cubes were cast, cured and tested
accordance with the IS standard and the 7, 28 and 90 days compressive strength results are listed in Table 2. The main objective
of this research is to utilize the GP waste in concrete making with
conform to the concrete production standards and not to enhance

Slump loss value (mm)

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Imm. After mixing

After 30 min

After 60 min

Duration
CM

CGP 5%

CGP 10%

CGP 15%

CGP 20%

CGP 25%

Fig. 2. Slump loss value of concrete versus duration at different substitution rate of
GP by-product.

the concrete properties. As expected the addition of GP by-product

does not affect the compressive strength of the concrete up to 15%
of substitution rate and the compressive strength of the concrete
increased upon aging. Fig. 3 clearly shows that in all ages the compressive strength values of the mixtures CGP 5%, CGP 10%, CGP 15%
were neither close nor little higher than the control mixture (CM).
However the lowest compressive strength obtained for CGP 20%
and CGP 25% mixtures that have a poor workability. The decreased
workability is attributed to increased specic surface area and specic density of the GP waste which is create the increases in demand of paste volume and reduce the workability of the concrete
resulting poor compactness. The compactness of the concrete is inversely proportional to the porosity of the concrete. Thus increases
in porosity can led to the reduction in compressive strength. The
keen observation of Fig. 5 shows that the early age (i.e. 7 days)
compressive strength of the mixtures CGP 5%, CGP 10%, CGP 15%
showed better gain in strength when compared to the CM. The reason is attributed to the denser matrix of the GP waste and the better dispersion of the cement grains. Furthermore the increased
specic surface area and the siliceous property of the GP by-product may be act as nucleation sites for the early reaction products
[14]. This nucleation, accelerating the hydration process and significantly increase the C3S content as a result increase in compressive
strength of the concrete was observed in the early stage. From the
above results it was concluded that the GP substitution rate up to
15% which led to the acceptable fresh concrete properties in terms
of workability and also acceptable difference in mechanical
properties.
The aggregate densities, mix proportions, water content and degree of hydration are deciding the density of the concrete. It was
expected that the substitution of GP by-product may affect the
density of the concrete. Nevertheless the density value of the concrete does not change considerable with the substitution rate of up
to 15% in addition the differences in the density values are relatively small and acceptable. The above results are fairly agreement
the compressive strength results. Fig. 4 shows the relationship between the density and compressive strength of the GP concrete.
4.2.2. Split tensile strength and exural strength
The split tensile strength and exural strength of the concrete
measured at the age of 28 days and the strength values are listed
in Table 2. Fig. 5 clearly shows that substitution of GP waste much
not affect the tensile and exural strength and the strength values
of the mixtures CGP 5%, CGP 10%, CGP 15% and somewhat equal or
little lower than the control mixture. However a close observation
of Fig. 5 exhibits that the increases in substitution rate of GP waste
affect strength and the decrease in strength was signicant beyond
15% (mixtures CGP 20% and CGP 25%). As said earlier the decreases
in strength can be attributed to the demand in cement paste volume which is contributed to the poor interlocking between the
aggregate and cement paste.
4.2.3. Relation between compressive and split tensile strength
The compressive strength of the concrete alone usually measured for the purpose of quality control. The tensile strength of

M. Vijayalakshmi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 17

Table 2
Mechanical properties of concrete mixtures.
Compressive strength

Flexural
strength

28 days

90 days

21.34
22.56
24.34
22.75
23.67
25.63
24.95
24.75

39.12
38.85
40.43
39.46
39.07
39.26
39.65
39.32

42.65
41.46
42.11
42.07
42.67
40.54
41.76
41.66

3.4
3.1
3.6
3.4
3.2
3.0
3.5
3.2

6.30
5.90
6.10
6.10
5.90
6.20
5.80
5.97

25.64
25.12
24.56
25.11

39.24
40.12
40.15
39.83

42.98
43.12
42.60
42.90

3.3
3.1
3.4
3.3

5.82
5.70
5.81
5.77

24.23
23.56
24.41
24.07

38.32
38.78
38.56
38.55

41.12
40.25
42.13
41.17

2.9
3.0
2.8
2.9

5.55
5.75
5.30
5.53

22.10
23.15
23.59
22.95

38.12
37.12
37.53
37.59

39.21
39.65
37.92
38.93

2.4
2.1
2.0
2.2

4.50
4.20
4.00
4.23

21.35
22.19
21.68
21.74

35.31
35.73
34.16
35.06

36.13
36.95
37.10
36.73

1.7
1.5
1.6
1.6

3.25
3.43
3.10
3.26

2525

2500

2475

2450

2425

2400
34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

Compressive strength (N/mm 2 )

Fig. 4. Relation between compressive strength and density of GP concrete.

Split tensile strength

Flexural strength

Strength (N/mm 2 )

Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

CM1
CM1
CM1
CM1 average
CGP 5%-1
CGP 5%-2
CGP 5%-3
CGP 5%
average
CGP 10%-1
CGP 10%-2
CGP 10%-3
CGP 10%
average
CGP 15%-1
CGP 15%-2
CGP 15%-3
CGP 15%
average
CGP 20%-1
CGP 20%-2
CGP 20%-3
CGP 20%
average
CGP 25%-1
CGP 25%-2
CGP 25%-3
CGP 25%
average

7 days

Split tensile
strength
28 days

Density (kg/m 3 )

Mixture
designation

2550

50
40

30

20
10
0

1
0%
7 Days

28 Days

90 Days

CGP 5%

CGP 10%

CGP 15%

CGP 20%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

GP substitution rate (%)

Curing of concrete
CM

5%

Fig. 5. Relationship between GP substitution rates and split tensile strength,

exural strength of GP concrete.

CGP 25%

Fig. 3. Compressive strength of concrete mixtures at different ages-comparison.

the concrete generally determined from the compressive strength

using empirical correlation. Based on the test results, the following
correlation was formulated between the compressive and exural
strength as expressed in the following equation:

fspt 0:241fck 0:712 MPa

where fspt and fck are 28 days split tensile strength and compressive
strength respectively.
4.2.4. Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and elastic modulus
The ultrasonic pulse velocity test is used to predict the strength
of the concrete related to its compactness. The UPV values of the all
concrete mixtures were determined at the end of 28 days, 60 days
and 90 days and Fig. 6 shows the relationship between the UPV values and the compressive strength in all ages. IS 13311(1):1992 [15]
classied the concrete as excellent, good, medium and doubtful for

the UPV values ranges from 4500 m/s and above, 35004500 m/s,
30003500 m/s and below 3000 m/s respectively. In Compared to
the control mixture, the UPV values of the concrete for the substitution rate of the 5%, 10% and 15% are relatively equal and the concrete was classied as good and the measured values were
greater than 3500 m/s. The UPV values of the concrete decreases
with the increase in substitution rate. The determined UPV values
of the mixtures CGP 20% and CGP 25% showed low values due to
its high porosity. The trend in UPV values is to increases with the
increases in the compressive strength [14]. Fig. 6 clearly shows that
for all mixtures the correlation between the UPV values and compressive strength was too strong (R2 = 0.9549 for all ten mixtures).
The elastic modulus of the concrete was measured according IS
13311(1):1992 [15] and the Eq. (2) were used to determine the dynamic elastic modulus of the concrete.

q1 l1  2l 2
V
1l

M. Vijayalakshmi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 17

where E is the dynamic Youngs Modulus of elasticity (Mpa), q is

density of concrete in kg/m3, V is the pulse velocity in m/s and l
is the dynamic poisons ratio of the concrete. The dynamic elasticity
of the concrete is normally proportional to the compressive
strength and pulse velocity of the concrete. The test results were
indicated that same situations. The elastic modulus value of the
mixtures CGP 5%, CGP 10%, CGP 15% were comparatively equal to
the control mixture and decreases in of elasticity was observed
when increasing the substitution rate further.
4.3. Durability properties
4.3.1. Chloride and water permeability
The main critical parameter in evaluate the service life of reinforced concrete structures is the concrete ability to repel the penetration of chloride ions. With the intention that, according to
ASTM C1202-97 [12], chloride penetration test was conducted on
all mixtures at the age of 180 and 365 days, in order to determine
the effect of GP waste on resistance to chloride transfer. Fig. 7
shows the resistance of the concrete mixtures against chloride
penetration. The test result showed that the chloride permeability
of the concrete is directly proportional to the substitution rate and
the penetration rate was increased when increasing the GP waste
substitution rate. However the penetration values of the mixtures
CGP 5%, CGP 10% and CGP 15% were almost equivalent to the penetration value of the CM. Mixtures CGP 20% and CGP 25% were
showed highest permeability value and the total charge passed is
above 1500 Coulombs. The increases in the chloride penetration
is attributed to poor compaction resulting high porous microstructure and a discontinuous pore system, increase the permeability of
chloride ions. On the whole, the inclusion of GP waste had a profound effect on the depth of chloride penetration of the concrete.
The water permeability test was performed on all mixtures at
the age of 28 days and the test results are presented in terms of
permeability coefcient. Eq. (3) was used to calculate the coefcient of permeability.

Q
AT  HL

Q and A is the quantity of water in millilitres and area of the

specimen face in cm2 respectively. T and H/L is the time in seconds
and ratio of the pressure head respectively. ACI 301-89 [16]

recommended the maximum permeability coefcient value of

15  1012 m/s. The test results revealed that the concrete containing low GP waste showed low permeability in addition the permeability of the concrete increased when increasing the substitution
rate which is fairy agreed with the RCPT results. Fig. 8 clearly
shows that for all mixtures the correlation between the water permeability and RCPT charges of GP concrete is too strong. Mixtures
CGP 20% and CGP 25% showed more permeability and the permeability ranges from 12.15 to 15.21 which is more than the recommended value. The reason is attributed to increased specic
surface area and specic density of the GP waste.
4.3.2. Carbonation depth
Carbonation depth of all mixtures was measured at the age of
180 days and 365 days, and they were represented by the corresponding carbonation coefcient (C) value [17].

T 0:5

where C is the tested carbonation depth (mm), X and T is the carbonation depth in mm and period of exposure in months respectively. Carbonation depth values of all mixtures at the age of 180
and 365 days are represented in Fig. 9. From Fig. 9 it can be understand that, the carbonation depth values of mixtures CGP 5%, CGP
10% and CGP 15% were relatively close to the control mixture
(CM) and the effect of GP waste on carbonation depth was signicant when increasing the substitution rate beyond 15%. The keen
observation of Fig. 9 showed that the carbonation depth value of
the concrete increases with the increase in GP waste substitution
however the increase in depth was not proportional. Up to 15% substitution rate, for every increase in 5%, the average increase in carbonation depth value was 1.2 mm; however the increase was not
proportional beyond the substitution rate of 15%. This is a result
of the fact that low workability of the concrete resulting poor compactness. The carbonation depth value of mixtures CGP 20% and
CGP 25% were 8.9 mm and 10.2 mm at the age of 365 days, which
was closer to the cover of reinforcing steel bars and it may be cause
corrosion. From the above observation it was concluded that, concrete containing substitution rate up to 15% can be considered as
a good concrete and the beyond the substitution rate of 15% is
not advisable for structural concrete.
2000

41

1800
40

y = -5E-06x + 0.0579x - 108.69

Charge passed (Coloumbs)

Compressive strength (N/mm2 )

R = 0.9549
39
38
37
36
35

1400
1200
1000
800
600

34
33
3800

1600

After 180 Days

400
3900

4000

4100

4200

4300

4400

4500

UPV values (m/s)

Fig. 6. Correlation between UPV values and compressive strength.

0%

5%

10%

15%

After 365 Days

20%

25%

30%

GP substitution rate (%)

Fig. 7. Relationship between GP substitution rate and RCPT charges of GP concrete.

M. Vijayalakshmi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 17

45

1900

40

Compressive strength (N/mm2)

Charge passed (Coloumbs)

1700
1500
1300
1100
900
700
500

35

30

25

20

15

300

After 28 days in normal water

After 180 days in sulphate solution
After 365 days in sulphate solution

10

13

16

10
0%

Coefficient of
-12
Permeability x 10 (m/sec)

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

GP substitution rate (%)

Fig. 8. Relationship between water permeability and RCPT charges of GP concrete.

4.3.3. Sulphate resistance

The concrete cubes were immersed in solution containing
NaSO4 and MgSO4 for the duration of 180 days and 365 days and
the loss in compressive strength of concrete in NaSO4 and MgSO4
solution is shown in Fig. 10. The control mixtures (CMs) showed
10% and 30% reduction in compressive strength after 180 and
365 days exposure respectively. However the concrete containing
GP waste showed signicant loss in the compressive strength
when compared to the control mixtures in addition the action of
sulphate increased when increasing the substitution rate. The increase in sulphate action was due to the presence of kerosene, diesel and wax traces in GP waste which has been used during the
process of sawing and polishing. During the process of sawing
and polishing, the formation of enormous heat in the blade, transformed the sulphur content present in the kerosene and diesel into
sulphur trioxide.

Fig. 10. Relationship between GP substitution rate and loss of compressive strength
of concrete in NaSO4 and MgSO4 solution.

From the above observation it can be concluded that the durability of the concrete inuenced by the reactive material present in
the GP waste. Hence it is recommended that GP waste should be
subjected to chemical bleaching or oil separation process using
petroleum ether (hydrocarbons), prior to blend in the concrete in
order to remove the oil traces present in the GP.

4.3.4. Electrical resistively test

The durability of the concrete can be evaluated through measurement of electrical resistivity. The electrical resistivity of the
all concrete mixtures was measured after 28 days of curing and
the values are shown in Fig. 11. In general the electrical resistivity
of the concrete is directly proportional to the pores structure of the
dense concrete. In other words for the higher resistivity, the corro-

S ! SO3 H2 O
The presence of those sulphur ions in the GP waste increase the
sulphate strength of the NaSO4 and MgSO4 solution, and enhance
the ettringite formation causing the deterioration of concrete.
The reaction with calcium alumino ferrite is as follows.

Electrical resistivity (k

Carbonation depth (mm)

CaSO4 2H2 O

12
10
8
6

After 28 days

50

-cm)

4Cao Al2 O3 Fe2 O3 H2 O SO2

4 ! Ca6 Al2 SO4 3 OH12 2H2 O

55

After 180 days

After 365 days

45
40
35
30
25
20

15

2
0

After 180 Days

10

After 365 Days

0%

Duration of air curing

CM

CGP 5%

CGP 10%

CGP 15%

CGP 20%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

GP substitution rate (%)

CGP 25%

Fig. 9. Carbonation depth of all mixtures comparison.

Fig. 11. Relationship between GP substitution rate and electrical resistivity of all
mixtures.

M. Vijayalakshmi et al. / Construction and Building Materials 46 (2013) 17

sion endurance may be more. Hwang et al. [18] suggested that the
minimum electrical resistivity value which corrosion cannot occur
is beyond 20 kX-cm. From Fig. 9, it can be understand that the
resistivity value of the concrete mixtures up to 15% of substitution
rate was higher than the value suggested by Hwang et al. [18].
However the electrical resistivity of the concrete was tend to decrease when increase the substitution rate. In this study when
increasing the substitution rate, the increased specic surface area
and specic density of the GP waste create the increases in demand
of paste volume and reduce the workability of the concrete resulting poor compactness resulting increase in high porous structure.
As a result the resistivity development of the concrete mixtures
was reduced.

 Carbonation depth values of mixtures CGP 5%, CGP 10% and CGP
15% are relatively close to the control mixture (CM) and the
effect of GP waste on carbonation depth beyond 15% is
10.2 mm which is closer to the cover of reinforcing steel bars
and it may be cause corrosion.
 It is suggested that GP waste should be subjected to chemical
bleaching or oil separation process using petroleum ether
(Hydro carbons), prior to blend in the concrete in order to
remove the oil traces present in the GP.
 It is recommended that the replacement of natural sand by GP
waste up to 15% of any formulation is favorable for the concrete
making without adversely affecting the strength and durability
criteria.

5. Conclusion
References
The study was conducted to evaluate the mechanical and durability properties of the GP concrete to ensure the reliability of its
usage in aggressive environments. Based on the extensive experimental test results of six mixtures the following conclusion can
be made.
 The high surface specic area and rough and angular texture of
the GP waste, have led to the signicant losses in slump in addition the workability of the concrete decreases with the
increases in the substitution rate.
 The early age (i.e. 7 days) compressive strength of the mixtures
CGP 5%, CGP 10%, CGP 15% showed better gain in strength when
compared to the CM. The reason may be attributed to the denser matrix of the GP by-product and the better dispersion of the
cement grains.
 The split tensile and exural strength of the concrete mixtures
CGP 5%, CGP 10%, CGP 15% were somewhat equal or little lower
than the control mixture however signicant losses in tensile
and exural strength was observed beyond the substitution rate
of 15%.
 UPV values of the mixtures CGP 5%, CGP 10%, CGP 15% were relatively equal to the control mixture and the concrete was classied as good and the measured values were greater than
3500 m/s.
 Based on the test results of six mixtures, the correlation
between the compressive and exural strength was formulated.
 Chloride penetration values of the mixtures CGP 5%, CGP 10%
and CGP 15% were almost equivalent to the penetration value
of the CM. However mixtures CGP 20% and CGP 25% were
showed highest permeability value.
 The chloride penetration rate and the water permeability of the
concrete were increased when increasing the GP waste substitution rate.

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