Applications of Foundry Sand

Avi Sikchi * S. M. Dhawade Saurabh Pachpor

Final Year Student Assistant Professor Final Year Student
B.E. Civil Engineering PRCOE&M B.E. Civil Engineering
PRCOE&M Badnera-Amravati 444 701(MS) PRCOE&M
avisikchi007@gmail.com sarang.dhawade@gmail.com saurabhpachpor01@gmail.com
Abstract It is an review paper about the foundry sand as by-product of metal casting industries
causes environmental problems because of its improper disposal thus, its usage in building
material, construction field and other fields is essential for reducing environmental problems.
Foundry waste is one of the most active research areas that encompass a number of
disciplines including civil engineering and construction materials. They can stand close to the
concept of green concrete which is in compatible with the environment.
Foundry sand from casting industries is a waste material which is dumped extensively
and in this study an attempt has been made to evaluate the usage of this waste material in
concrete. The constant depletion of sand beds at all major sources of availability is a major
concern and thus efforts are taken in order to replace sand in construction activities. Test
showed impressive results, showing capability of foundry sand for being a component in
concrete for imparting strength. Making concrete from recycled materials saves energy and
conserves resources which lead to a safe sustainable environment.
Key word: Foundry Sand, Energy, Strength.

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.2 About Foundry Sand

1.1 General Foundry sand is high quality silica sand that

N ow-a-days the construction sector is

exploring rapidly on a large scale and also
involves new techniques for rapid and comfort
works on the field. Concrete as a building
material plays an important role in this sector.
The consumption of natural resources as an
ingredient of concrete, costs high as well as it is
on verge of extent. These problems force us to
recover the natural resources or to find an
alternative option to overcome this problem.
Presently, the production of waste foundry sand
as a by-product of metal casting industries
cause various environmental problems. Usage
of this waste in building material would help in
reduction of stress on environment.
Concrete is a material which is composed
of coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, cement,
admixtures and water these each material in
concrete contributes its strength. So, by partial
or percentage replacing of material affects
different properties of concrete. By using such
waste material which harms the environment
can be used for the development of low cost and
eco-friendly building materials. In this study an
experimental investigation is carried out by
varying percentage of fine aggregate with used
foundry sand to produce low cost and eco-
friendly concrete
is a byproduct from the production of both
ferrous and nonferrous metal casting Industries.
From centuries foundry sand has been used as
a molding casting material because its high
thermal conductivity. The physical and chemical
characteristics of foundry sand will depend in
great part on the type of casting process and the
industry sector from which it originates.
In the casting process, molding sands are
recycled and reused multiple times. Eventually,
however, the recycled sand degrades to the
point that it can no longer be reused in the
casting process. At that point, the old sand is
displaced from the cycle as byproduct, new sand
is introduced, and the cycle begins again.
Foundry sands are classified as: clay
bonded systems (Green sand) and chemically-
bonded systems. Both types of sands are
suitable for beneficial use but they have different
physical and environmental characteristics. Over
the last decades, much research has been
conducted on the mechanical, chemical and
durability aspects of foundry sand. But
inadequate research focus is given to the study
of the strength and durability aspects of foundry
sand concrete.

* Corresponding Author
 Fig.1: Heap of Waste Foundry Sand
1.3 Production
Every year about 8 to 10 million ton of
foundry waste is produced in INDIA. Out of
which 4 to 6 million ton is discarded.
1.4 Scope
The concentration on the work of the initial
phase of the initial phase was on the feasibility
of beneficial utilization of used foundry sand in
concrete as a partial replacement of regular
sand by studying properties of both fresh and
hardened concrete. An extensive literature
search was undertaken and tests were
conducted on by-products samples to determine
their physical properties to evaluate the possible
uses.
1.5 Types of foundry sand
There are two basic types of foundry sands
used in construction industries
1.5.1) Clay bonded systems (Green sand) and
1.5.2) Chemical- bonded systems.
1.6 Area of utilization
Fig2: Land fill for drainage system
Foundry sand can be suitable for a variety
of beneficial reuses. Terminology for defining
uses varies across states. For the purposes of
this study, common uses of sand in consultation
with industry experts. The following are the uses
of foundry sand approved in one or more states:
1.6.1 Structural Fill
Foundry sand can be used as support for
structures such as road- ways, parking lots,
buildings, and pieces of equipment.
"Encapsulated" structural fill may involve the use
of a liner, cap, or cover, generally made of a clay
material, which prevents water from percolating
through the foundry sand and minimizes the
potential for leaching. Fig3: Plantation in foundry sand

Fig4: After 1 year of plantation
1.6.2 Manufacturing another Product
Foundry sand is useful as a raw material in
manufacturing other products, such as
controlled, low-strength material (flowable fill),
asphalt, cement and concrete, grout, lightweight
aggregate, concrete block, bricks, roofing
materials, Foundry sand can also improve the
performance of agricultural soils, and can be
used as a composting ingredient and also the
foundry sand can be used as a cover for the
working face of an active landfill for road
construction shown in fig.4 and Foundry sand
can serve as backfill for trenches created by the
installation of storm and sanitary sewer lines
Fig5: Land fills for road construction
1.7 Other Engineering Application
a) Portland cement manufacturing
b) Cement Mortar
c) Rockwool manufacturing
d) Fiberglass manufacturing
e) Landfill cover
1.8 Advantages
a) They are high strength concrete mouldings
in various shapes, sizes and colours to suit
the imagination of landscape architects &
nature's essence.
b) They do not absorb water
c) Low maintenance cost and a high salvage
value ensure low life cycle cost.
d) Maintenance of ICBP is easy and simple
and it is not affected by fuel and oil spillage.
1.9 Limitations
a) Foundry sand is black. In some concretes,
this may cause the finished concrete to have
a grayish/black tint, which may not be
desirable.
b) A 15% fine aggregate replacement with
foundry sand produces a minimal color
change. Also, the foundry must be able to
meet the quantity requirements of the
precast manufacturer.
c) Foundry sand reduces workability of
concrete.
2.0 PROPERTIES OF FOUNDRY SAND
2.1 Physical properties
2.1.1 Typical Particle Size and Shape
Foundry sand is typically sub angular &
rounded in shape. After being used in the
foundry process, a significant number of sand
agglomerations. When these are broken down,
the shape of the individual sand grains is
apparent. Physical properties of foundry sand
are given in table 1.
2.1.2 Grain Size Analysis of Foundry Sand
The grain size distribution of spent foundry
sand is very uniform, with approximately 90to 98
percent of the material between 4.75mm and
600micron sieve sizes. Five to 20 percent of
foundry sand can be expected to be smaller than
300 micron sieve size. The particle shape is
typically sub angular to round. A Waste foundry
sand gradation has been found to be too fine to
satisfy some specification for fine aggregate.

Fig.6: Foundry sand
2.1.3 Color of Foundry Sand
Green sand is typically black or gray in
color. Chemically bonded sand is typically a
medium tan or off white color.
2.2 Chemical Properties
Foundry sand (chemically bonded sand)
consists primarily of silica sand. Following table
lists the chemical composition of typical sample
of spent foundry sand. As per our finding the
sand has very minute loss on ignition which is
around 16.2%. It indicates that if the foundry
sand is used in the construction it also can be
used in the regions where the temperatures are
high. Acid soluble matter in foundry sand has no
effect on concrete since its presence is in very
negligible amount.
The other contents of the foundry sand are
the same as found in the natural sand that is
used for the construction purpose such as silica,
alumina and ferrous oxide. The presence of lime
i.e. calcium oxide increases the binding property
of the sand to form mixture. Thus the overall
effect of the chemical contents of foundry sand
on the concrete is no different than sand.
Chemical composition of foundry sand is given
in table 2.
2.2.1 Chemical composition of foundry sand
Table 2 Foundry Sand Chemical Oxide
Combination

Constituent Value (%)

SiO2 67.21
Al2O3 4.28
Fe2O3 7.32
CaO 0.15
MgO 0.23
SO3 0.89
Na2O 0.48
K2O 0.46
P2O5 0.00
Mn2O3 0.12
SrO 0.19
TiO2 0.48
Loss on Ignition 16.25
Total 98.06

Fig.7: Crushed Foundry sand

Table 1: Physical properties of foundry sand
Characteristics
Specific Gravity
Bulk Relative Density
Absorption
Moisture Content
Coefficint of permeability
Clay Lumps
Plastic limit
2.3 pH Value of Foundry Sand
The pH of foundry sand was determined in
Value the laboratory and was found to be around 13.
This defines that the foundry sand is very
2.49
alkaline in nature. But as the foundry sand
2592 kg/m3 replaces the natural sand by means of
percentage and not completely hence Ph of
0.43%
foundry sand when it is replaced with the natural
0.1 908 sand was determined. Table 3 shows the pH of
solution (25% suspension) of the mixture of
10-3 10-6 cm/s foundry sand by percentage. As the pH of the
1 - 42 solution of foundry sand and the natural sand
lies around the natural sand (with 10, 30, 60%
Non Plastic replacement of natural sand by foundry sand)
Lies around the neutral value . It indicates its no 4 B3 30% replacement
contribution towards enhancing the corrosion of
the steel used in concrete 5 B4 40% replacement

Table 3: pH value of foundry sand 6 B5 50% replacement

SAMPLE pH VALUE 4.0 RESULT

100% foundry sand 13
Compressive Strength
10% foundry sand + 90%
7.65 Compressive strength tests were performed
natural sand
on compression testing machine of 2,000 KN
30% foundry sand + 70% capacity. Three cubes of 150*150*150 mm from
7.85
natural sand each batch were subjected to this test. The
50% foundry sand + 50% comparative study was made on properties of
8
natural sand concrete after percentage replacement of fine
aggregate by waste foundry sand in the range of
3.0 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION 0% to 50 % .

The experimental investigation carried out The observed compressive strength for
by Amitkumar Raval , Arti Pamnani and Alefiya different replacement levels of foundry sand
Kachwala has following considerations. contents (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%)
at the end of 7 days, 14 days and 28 days
A mix M30 grade was designed as per results are given In Table 3
Indian Standard method (IS 10262-2009) and
the same was used to prepare the test samples. The compressive strength increased with
increase in the amount of foundry sand, up to
Table 4 : Design Mix Proportion for Various 40% replacement in concrete, compared to the
Concrete control mix. But as the amount of foundry sand
exceeded the amount of fine aggregate in
(%) of Foundry sand concrete, the compressive strength gradually
Concrete
Sr.No. Replacement with decreased. The progressive strength attainment
Type
Fine Aggregate rate of concrete with foundry sand replacement
is more, in comparison with control mix concrete,
1 B0 Standard Concrete
up to 40 % replacement results. The
2 B1 10% replacement replacement of whole fine aggregate with
foundry sand adversely affects the compressive
3 B2 20% replacement strength of concrete by giving the lowest values.
Table 5: Compressive Strength at 7 Days, 14 Days and 28 Days

Foundry Sand Compressive strength Compressive strength Compressive strength at

Content (%) at 7 days (N/mm2) at 14 days (N/mm2) 28 days (N/mm2)
BO - 0% 22.87 31.06 34.14
B1 - 10% 23.54 31.62 35.23
B2 - 20% 24.19 32.49 36.11
B3 - 30% 25.09 34.07 37.45
B4 - 40% 25.39 34.68 37.91
B5 - 50% 18.98 26.10 29.67

5.0 CONCLUSION 3. Application of this study leads to

1. Compressive strength of concrete increases development in construction sector and
with the increase in foundry sand content. innovative building material.

2. The problems of disposal and maintenance 4. Enviornmental effects of waste foundry sand
cost of land filling is reduced. can be reduced.
5. Use of foundry sand can save the cost of [7] Amitkumar D. raval, Arti Pamnani, Alefiya I.
concrete up to 1.7% at 10% replacement of Kachwala, Alternative Utilization Of Foundry
foundry sand. Waste Sand As a Partial Replacement Of
Fine Aggegate For Eco-Efficient Concretes,
6. Making concrete using recycled International Journal Of Advanced Research
materials(foundry sand) saves energy and in Engineering, Science and Management
conserve primary resources. IJARESM, Vol 2, 2014.
References [8] Muhammad Umar Farooq1, Tauqir Ahmed2,
Usman Akmal3 And Nauman Khurram3,
[1] Mr. I .M. Attar ,Prof. A.K. Gupta Application
Utilization of Non-Ferrous Recycled Foundry
of Foundry Sand In Civil Construction,
Sand As A Partial Replacement Of Fine
IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Aggregate In Concrete, ISSN 1013-5316;
Engineering (IOSR-JMCE), ISSN: 2278-
2014.
1684, PP: 38-42, Vol 1, 2010
Authors Biography
[2] John T. Kurtz, Beneficial Use of Foundry
Sand AFS Environmental, Health & Safety
Mr. Avi Sikchi pursuing for BE
Conference, Nashville, Tennessee August
in Civil Engineering from Sant
23-25, 2010
Gadge Baba Amravati
[3] Rafat Siddique , Gurpreet Singh, Utilization University. His area of
of waste foundry sand (WFS) in concrete specialization is Green
manufacturing,ELSEVIER,2011. Construction. At present he is
final year student of Prof Ram
[4] Eknath P. Salokhe ,D.B.Desai, Application Meghe College of Engineering & Management,
of Foundry Sand In Manufacturing of Badnera.
Concrete, IOSR Journal of Mechanical and
Civil Engineering(IOSR-JMCE), ISSN:2278- Mr. S. M. Dhawade obtained
1684,2012. PG and UG degrees from Sant
[5] Rafat SIDDIQUE, Ravinder Kaur SANDHU, Gadge Baba Amravati
Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete University. His area of
Incorporating Waste Foundry Sand, specialization is Green
Leonardo Journal of Sciences, ISSN 1583- Construction and Technology.
0233, JULY 2013. He is working with Prof Ram
Meghe College of Engineering & Management,
[6] DIXIT N. PATEL & JAYESHKUMAR R. Badnera. He has an experience of 5 years.
PITRODA, A Critical Literature Review On
Utilisation of Used Foundry sand In Mr. Saurabh Pachpor pursuing
Interlocking Paver Blocks, International for B.E in Civil Engineering from
Journal of Civil, Structural, Environmental Sant Gadge Baba Amravati
and Infrastructure Engineering Research University. He is student of
and Development (IJCSEIERD) ISSN(P): PRMCEAM, Badnera.
2249-6866; ISSN(E): 2249-7978 ,Vol. 3,
Issue 5, Dec 2013.