Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al.

, 2016

ISSN xxxx - xxxx www.trpubonline.com

Vol. 1, No. 1, March 2016
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Replacement of Sand by Sheet Glass Powder

in Concrete
R Ramasubramani1*, S Divya1 and Vijay1

*Corresponding Author: R Ramasubramani,  ramasubramani.r@ktr.srmuniv.ac.in

Scarcity of sand and environmental hazards caused due to the depletion of sand has led to the discovery
of new materials for its replacement. Many materials have been discovered to replace sand and have
yielded positive results. Glass is one such material that can be used to replace sand. Glass used in
concrete making leads to greener environment. Recently many sheet glass cuttings go to waste,
which are not recycled at present and usually delivered to landfills for disposal. Also natural resources
are being depleted for collecting sand. Using glass powder in concrete is an interesting possibility for
economy on waste disposal sites and conservation of natural resources. This project examines the
possibility of using glass powder as a replacement in fine aggregate for a new concrete. Natural sand
was partially replaced (10%, 25% and 50%) with glass powder. Compressive strength, Tensile strength
and Flexural strength were compared with those of concrete made with natural fine aggregates. Also
durability tests such as RCPT, acid attack and Sulphate attack were conducted on glass powder concrete
to study the durability properties. The test results showed an increase in strength for glass powder
concrete. This indicates that it is possible to manufacture concrete containing glass powder with
characteristics similar to those of natural sand aggregate concrete.

Keywords: Sand replacement, sheet glass, concrete, glass powder, durability

Introduction without changing its chemical properties.

General
The interest of the construction community
in using waste or recycled materials in
concrete is increasing because of the
emphasis placed on sustainable construction.
The waste glass from in and around the small
shops is packed as a waste and disposed as
landfill. Glass is an inert material which
could be recycled and used many times
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM University, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India.
Since the demand in the concrete
manufacturing is increasing day by day, the
utilization of river sand as fine aggregate
leads to exploitation of natural resources,
lowering of water table and sinking of the
bridge piers. The most widely used fine
aggregate for the making of concrete is the
natural sand mined from the river beds. The
present scenario demands identification of
substitute materials for the river sand for

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Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016
making concrete because of the abundant
scarcity it is facing.
Attempts have been made in using
crushed glass as fine aggregate in the
replacement of river sand. Studies have
shown that finely ground glass does not
contribute to alkali – silica reaction. In the
recent, various attempts and research have
been made to use ground glass as a
replacement in conventional ingredients in
concrete production as a part of green house
management. In the current research, sand
is partially replaced by glass powder in
concrete. The sheet glass powder is obtained
from crushing the wastage glass, which is
disposed as landfill by the industries.Glass
is a transparent material produced by
melting a mixture of materials such as silica,
soda ash, CaCO 3 at high temperature
followed by cooling where solidification
occurs without crystallization. Glass is
widely used in our lives through
manufactured products such as sheet glass,
bottles, glassware, and vacuum tubing. Glass
is an ideal material for recycling. The use of
recycled glass saves lot of energy and the
increasing awareness of glass recycling
speeds up focus on the use of waste glass
with different forms in various fields. One
of its significant contributions is the
construction field where the waste glass was
reused for concrete production.Using waste
glass in the concrete construction sector is
advantageous, as the production cost of
concrete will go down. The amount of waste
glass is gradually increased over the years
due to an ever-growing use of glass
products. Most of the waste glasses have
been dumped into landfill sites. The land
filling of waste glasses is undesirable
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R Ramasubramani et al., 2016
because they are not biodegradable, which
makes them environmentally less friendly.
There is huge potential for using waste glass
in the concrete construction sector. When
waste glasses are reused in making concrete
products, the production cost of concrete will
go down. Crushed glass or cullet, if properly
sized and processed, can exhibit
characteristics similar to that of gravel or
sand.
Materials
Cement
Ordinary Portland Cement of 53 grade
conforming to IS 2269 (1987) was used. The
properties of cement are given below:
1. Fineness index = 8%
2. Normal consistency of cement = 31%
3. Initial setting time = 38 minutes
4. Specific gravity = 3.12
Aggregates
Aggregates are inert granular materials such
as sand, gravel or crushed stone. They are
also the raw materials that are an essential
ingredient in concrete. For a good concrete
mix, aggregates need to be clean, hard, strong
particles free of absorbed chemicals or
coatings of clay and other fine materials that
could cause the deterioration of
concrete.Aggregates, which account for 60 to
75% of the total volume of concrete, are
divided into coarse or fine depending on
their size. The properties of aggregates used
in this project are mentioned below.
Coarse Aggregates
The fractions from 80 mm to 4.75 mm are
termed as coarse aggregates. The shape of
Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al., 2016

the coarse aggregates chosen was as per IS

Figure 1: Glass Powder After Sieving
2386 Part 1 (1963). The surface texture
characteristics are as per IS 383:1970.Specific
gravity of coarse aggregate obtained was
2.71. Crushed gravel or stone is used as
coarse aggregates. 10 mm size aggregates
were used in this study.

Fine Aggregates
The fine aggregate used in this investigation
was clean river sand, whose maximum size
is 4.75 mm, conforming to grading zone II.
The sand was dried, sieved and stored.
Specific gravity of sand obtained was 2.39.
Mix Proportions
Water 1. Water cement ratio - 0.55
Water is an important ingredient of concrete
2. Mix ratios - 1 : 1.21 : 3.31
as it actually participates in the chemical
reaction with cement. Since it helps to form 3. Grade of concrete - M25
the strength giving cement gel, the quantity
and quality of water is required to be looked Experimental investigations
into very carefully. The project deals with the study of concrete
when sand in the concrete is partially
Glass Powder as an Aggregate replaced by glass powder. The primary
Glass powderis prepared by melting the concern of this study is to determine the
raw materials, such as sodium carbonate strength and durability characteristics of
(soda), lime, dolomite, silicon dioxide glass powder concrete.
(silica), aluminium oxide (alumina), and
A total of 72 glass concrete specimens were
small quantities of fining agents (e.g.,
cast out which there were 27 cubes, 27
sodium sulfate, sodium chloride) in a glass
cylinders and 18 beams. 24 conventional
furnace at temperatures locally up to 1675
concrete specimens were casted out of which
°C. Ordinary soda-lime glass appears 9 were cubes, 9 were cylinders and 6 were
colorless to the naked eye when it is thin. beams. The grade of concrete was taken as
Recent studies have shown the scope of M25. The investigated parameters under this
using glass as partial replacement of both study were strength and durability.
sand and cement in the production of
concrete. Specific gravity of glass powder Details of Specimens
obtained was 2.64. Figure 1 shows glass The cubes prepared for testing of strength
powder used as partial replacement for were of dimensions 100 x 100 x 100 mm. The
sand. cubes prepared for durability tests were of
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Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016
size 150 x 150 x 150 mm. No reinforcements
of any kind were provided.
Cylinders are of diameter 100 mm and
height 200 mm for both conventional
concrete and glass powder concrete.
Beams were of cross section 100 x 100 mm
and length 500 mm for both conventional
concrete and glass powder concrete.
Curing of Specimens
After 24 hours of casting, the specimens were
removed from the moulds. Identification
marks were made on the specimens. The
specimens were kept for a curing period of
3, 7 and 28 days. Figures 2 and 3 shows the
concrete specimens kept under curing.
Figure 2: Concrete Beams and Cubes Under
Curing
Figure 3: Concrete Cylinders Under Curing
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R Ramasubramani et al., 2016
Instrumentation
Compressive strengths, flexural strengths
and tensile strengths were measured using
a compression testing machine with a
maximum capacity of 2000 kN. The load
applied on the specimen was displayed
digitally on the machine.
Results and Discussion
As a part of experimental investigation
various tests were conducted on the material
to test their properties and also to find out
the strength and durability characteristics of
the concrete.
Compressive strengths, flexural strengths
and tensile strengths were measured using
a compression testing machine with a
maximum capacity of 2000 kN. For all tests,
each value was taken as the average of three
samples. Test results for conventional
concrete and glass powder concrete (with the
replacement of 10%, 25% and 50%) for 3, 7
and 28 days curing are tabulated.
Compressive Strength
Three numbers of samples in each of
concrete were subjected to compression test
(shown in Figure 4) using the compression
Figure 4: Concrete Cube Under Testing
Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al., 2016

Table 1: Compressive Strength Results Split Tensile Strength

for Conventional Concrete vs Glass Three numbers of samples in each of
Powder Concrete (N/mm2) concrete were subjected to testing using the
Replacement Levels of compression testing machine as shown in
No. of Conventional Figure 6. The result of the average strength
Glass Powder
Days Concrete
10% 25% 50% of cylinders is shown in Table 2 and the
3 22.5 26.5 28.5 20.17 comparison of split tensile strength of
conventional concrete with that of glass
7 26.4 29.9 34.7 21.07
powder concrete is illustrated using bar chart
28 35.8 36.3 38.3 35.43
in Figure 7.

Figure 5: Comparison of Compressive The concrete where sand was partially

Strength of Conventional Concrete replaced by glass powder showed a decrease
and Glass Powder Concrete in split tensile strength. The split strength
decreased as the level of replacement of
glass powder increased. The strength

Figure 6: Concrete Cylinder Under Testing

testing machine. The result of the average

strength of cubes is shown in Table 1.
The comparison of compressive strength
of conventional concrete with that of glass
powder concrete is illustrated using a bar
chart in Figure 5.
The concrete where sand was partially Table 2: Split Tensile Strength Results
replaced by glass powder showed an for Conventional Concrete and Glass
increase in compressive strength. The Powder Concrete
compressive strength increased as the level Replacement Levels of
of replacement of glass powder increased. No. of Glass Powder Conventional
The strength increased with the number of Days
10% 25% 50%
Concrete
days of curing. The maximum
3 2.17 1.77 1.52 1.11
compressive strength attained was 38.3 N/
7 2.47 1.91 1.69 2.11
mm2 for 50% replacement at the end of 28
days. 28 3.22 2.78 2.35 3.02

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Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al., 2016

Figure 7: Comparison of Tensile Strength Table 3: Flexural Strength Result

of Conventional Concrete vs Glass Powder for Conventional Concrete and Glass
Concrete Powder Concrete

Replacement Levels of
No. of Conventional
Glass Powder
Days Concrete
10% 25% 50%
7 8.96 8.27 7.51 7.72
28 12.82 12.11 11.72 11.04

Figure 9: Comparison of Flexural Strength

of Conventional Concrete vs Glass Powder
Concrete
increased with the number of days of curing.
The maximum split tensile strength attained
was 3.22 N/mm2 for 10% replacement at the
end of 28 days.

Flexural Strength
Three numbers of beam samples in each of
concrete were subjected to testing using the
compression testing machine as shown in
Figure 8. The result of the average strength
The concrete where sand was partially
of cylinders is shown in Table 3 and the replaced by glass powder showed a decrease
comparison of flexural strength of
in flexural strength. The flexural strength
conventional concrete with that of glass
decreased as the level of replacement of
powder concrete is illustrated using bar chart glass powder increased. The strength
in Figure 9.
increased with the number of days of curing.
The maximum flexural strength attained was
Figure 8: Concrete Beam Under Testing
12.82 N/mm2 for 10% replacement at the end
of 28 days.

Durability Tests
Rapid Chloride Penetration Test (RCPT)
Reinforced concrete structures are exposed
to harsh environments. For reinforced
concrete bridges, one of the major forms of
environmental attack is chloride ingress,
which leads to corrosion of the reinforcing
steel and a subsequent reduction in the
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Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al., 2016

strength, serviceability and aesthetics of the concrete must then be known for design as
structure. This may lead to early repair or well as quality control purposes. The
premature replacement of the structure. A penetration of the concrete by chloride ions,
common method of preventing such however, is a slow process. Therefore, in
deterioration is to prevent chlorides from order to assess chloride penetration, a test
penetrating the structure to the level of the method that accelerates the process is
reinforcing steel bar by using needed, to allow the determination of
relativelyimpenetrable concrete. The ability diffusion values in a reasonable time.
of chloride ions to penetrate the concrete Rapid chloride penetration test involves
must then be known for design as well as obtaining a 100 mm (4 in.) diameter core or
quality control purposes. The penetration of cylinder sample from the concrete being
the concrete by chloride ions, however, is a tested. A 50 mm (2 in.) specimen is cut from
slow process. Therefore, in order to assess the sample. The side of the cylindrical
chloride penetration, a test method that specimen is coated with epoxy and it is
accelerates the process is needed, to allow allowed to dry. It is then placed in the test
the determination of diffusion values in a device. The left-hand side (–) of the test cell
reasonable time.
Figure 10: Test Setup (as per ASTM C1202)
Rapid chloride penetration test involves
obtaining a 100 mm (4 in.) diameter core or
cylinder sample from the concrete being
tested. A 50 mm (2 in.) specimen is cut from
the sample. The side of the cylindrical
specimen is coated with epoxy and it is
allowed to dry. It is then placed in the test
device. The left-hand side (–) of the test cell
is filled with a 3% NaCl solution. The right-
hand side (+) of the test cell is filled with 0.3
N NaOH solution. The system is then
connected and a 60-volt potential is applied
for 6 hours. Readings are taken every 30 Figure 11: Laboratory Test Setup
minutes. At the end of 6 hours the sample is
removed from the cell and the amount of
coulombs passed through the specimen is
calculated.A schematical representatiom of
the test setup has been illustrated in Figures
10 and 11 shows the arrangement of the
RCPT apparatus in the laboratory.bar by
using relatively impenetrable concrete. The
ability of chloride ions to penetrate the
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Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al., 2016

is filled with a 3% NaCl solution. The right- and has been tabulated in Table 4. This helps
hand side (+) of the test cell is filled with 0.3 to rate the concrete according to the criteria
N NaOH solution. The system is then mentioned in Table 5.
connected and a 60-volt potential is applied
for 6 hours. Readings are taken every 30 Table 4: Amount of Current Passing
minutes. At the end of 6 hours the sample is Through Concrete
removed from the cell and the amount of
Current Passing
coulombs passed through the specimen is Type of Concrete
(Coulombs)
calculated.A schematical representatiom of
the test setup has been illustrated in Figures Glass Powder
3133.13
10 and 11 shows the arrangement of the Concrete
RCPT apparatus in the laboratory. Conventional
2368.73
Average current flowing through one cell Concrete
is calculated by Equation 1.
Table 5: RCPT Ratings (as per ASTM
I = 900 * (I0 + I360) * 2 * ICUMMULATIVE ...(1) C1202)
ICUMMULATIVE = I30 + I60 + I90 + I120 + I150 + I180
+ I210 + I240 + I270 + I300 + I330 Charge Passed Chloride Ion
(Coulombs) Penetrability
where
> 4,000 High
I0 = Initial current reading in mA.
2,000-4,000 Moderate
I30 = Current reading at 30 minutes in mA.
1,000-2,000 Low
I60 = Current reading at 60 minutes in mA.
100-1,000 Very low
I90 = Current reading at 90 minutes in mA.
< 100 Negligible
I120 = Current reading at 120 minutes in mA.
Hence it can be concluded that the
I150 = Current reading at 150 minutes in mA. chloride ion penetrability of glass powder
I180 = Current reading at 180 minutes in mA. concrete is moderate.
I210 = Current reading at 210 minutes in mA. Sulphate Attack Test
I240 = Current reading at 240 minutes in mA. The test is performed to determine the
resistance of concrete to Sulphate attack.
I270 = Current reading at 270 minutes in mA.
The test method involves preparing the
I300 = Current reading at 300 minutes in mA. concrete cubes of sizes 150 × 150 × 150 mm.
I330 = Current reading at 330 minutes in mA. Three samples of conventional concrete
and three samples of glass powder
I360 = Current reading at 360 minutes in mA.
concrete are prepared. It is kept for curing
Using the above formula the total charge under water for 28 days. After the curing
passed through the concrete is determined period all the samples are weighed and the
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Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al., 2016

weights are noted down. The samples are

Figure 12: Sodium Sulphate
then immersed in 5% sodium Sulphate
solution and cured for another 28 days.
Then the samples are taken out and the
surfaces are cleaned. The weights of the
samples are again taken and percentage
decrease in weights is tabulated. Next the
samples are tested for its compressive
strengths and the percentage decrease in
strength is noted down. Table 6 shows the
reduction of weight in concrete specimens
kept under curing in Sodium Sulphate Figure 13: Cubes Under Curing in Sodium
solution. Table 7 shows the reduction of Sulphate Solution
compressive strength of concrete
specimens kept under curing in Sodium
Sulphate solution.Sample of Sodium
Sulphate in the powder form has been
shown in Figures 12 and 13 shows concrete
samples kept for curing inside a drum in
sodium Sulphate solution for 28 days.
Figure 14 shows the testing of cube that has
been kept for curing in Sodium Sulphate
solution.

Table 6: Change in Weight of Concrete

Weight Reduction Figure 14: Concrete Cube Under Loading

Type of Initial
Taken After in Weight
Concrete Weight (kg)
Curing (kg) (%)
Conventional
8.71 8.58 1.49
concrete
Glass powder
8.83 8.73 1.13
concrete

Table 7: Change in Compressive Strength

of Concrete
Initial Compressive
Reduction in
Type of Compressive Strength
Compressive
Concrete Strength After Curing
2 2 Strength (%)
(N/mm ) (N/mm )
Conventional
35.43 34.26 3.3
concrete
Glass powder
38.3 37.1 3.13
concrete

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Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al., 2016

Acid Attack Test reduction of compressive strength concrete

The test is performed to determine the specimens kept under curing in Sulphuric
resistance of concrete to acid attack test. The acid solution.
test method involves preparing the concrete Figure 15 shows the concentrated
cubes of sizes 150 × 150 × 150 mm. Three sulphuric acid sample used for preparing the
samples of conventional concrete and three solution. Figure 16 shows the concrete
samples of glass powder concrete are specimens kept under curing in sulphuric
prepared. It is kept for curing under water acid solution
for 28 days. After the curing period all the
samples are weighed and the weights are Figure 15: Concentrated Sulphuric Acid
noted down. The samples are then immersed
in 5% concentrated sulphuric acid solution
and cured for another 28 days. Then the
samples are taken out and the surfaces are
cleaned. The weights of the samples are
again taken and percentage decrease in
weights is tabulated. Next the samples are
tested for its compressive strengths and the
percentage decrease in strength is noted
down. Table 8 shows the reduction of weight
in concrete specimens kept under curing in
Sulphuric acid solution. Table 9 shows the

Table 8: Change in Weight of Concrete

Weight Taken
Type of Initial Weight Reduction in
After Curing
Concrete (kg) Weight (%)
(kg) Figure 16: Concrete Cubes Under Curing
Conventional
8.71 8.11 7.24 in Conc. Sulphuric Acid Solution
concrete
Glass powder
8.83 8.19 6.8
concrete

Table 9: Change in Compressive Strength

of Concrete

Initial Compressive
Reduction in
Type of Compressive Strength
Compressive
Concrete Strength After Curing
2 2 Strength (%)
(N/mm ) (N/mm )
Conventional
35.43 33.42 5.66
concrete
Glass powder
38.3 36.24 5.36
concrete

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Int. J. Civil Engg. Conc.Structs 2016 R Ramasubramani et al., 2016

compressive strength for conventional

Figure 17: Concrete Cube Under Loading
concrete was by 5.66% and that for glass
powder concrete was by 5.66%. Sulphate
attack showed a reduction of weight by 1.49%
for conventional concrete and 1.13% for glass
powder concrete. The reduction in
compressive strength for conventional
concrete was by 3.3% and that for glass
powder concrete was by 3.13%.

References
Figure 17 shows a concrete cube under
testing that has been cured for 28 days in
sulphuric acid solution.
Conclusion
The following salient conclusions are drawn
from the present investigations.Maximum
compressive strength was achieved at 50%
replacement. Compressive strength of
concrete. Increased by 7.5% when 50% sand
was replaced by glass powder. Tensile
strength achieved its peak value when sand
was replaced by glass powder at 10%
replacement level. Tensile strength was
increased by 6.2%. Flexural strength attained
its maximum value at 10% replacement level
and the increase was by 13.8%. Rapid
Chloride Penetration Test was conducted to
study the chloride ion penetration. On
conducting the experiment the chloride ion
permeability was found to be moderate.
Acid attack and alkalinity attack conducted
on the concrete showed a decrease in weight
and compressive strength. Acid attack
showed a reduction of weight by 6.8% for
conventional concrete and 7.24% for glass
powder concrete. The reduction in
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Seshadri Sekhar T, Pannirselvam N and
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