CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL

Concrete is the most widely used man-made construction materials in the world. Slightly more
than a ton of concrete is produced each year for every human being on the planet

Fundamentally, concrete is economical, strong, and durable. Although concrete technology

across the industry continues to rise to the demands of a changing market place. The construction
industry recognizes that considerable improvements are essential in productivity, product
performance, energy efficiency and environmental performance. The industry will need to face
and overcome a number of institutional competitive and technical challenges. One of the major
challenges with the environmental awareness and scarcity of space for land-filling is the
wastes/byproducts utilization as an alternative to disposal. Throughout the industrial sector,
including the concrete industry, the cost of environmental compliance is high. Use of industrial
by-products such as foundry sand, fly ash, bottom ash and slag can result in significant
improvements in overall industry energy efficiency and environmental performance.

The consumption of all type of aggregates has been increasing in recent years in most countries
at a rate far exceeding that suggested by the growth rate of their economy or of their construction
industries. Artificially manufactured aggregates are more expensive to produce, and the available
source of natural aggregates may be at a considerable distance from the point of use, in which
case, the cost of transporting is a disadvantage. The other factors to be considered are the
continued and expanding extraction of natural aggregates accompanied by serious environmental
problems. Often it leads to irremediable deterioration of the country side. Quarrying of
aggregates leads to disturbed surface area etc., but the aggregates from industrial wastes are not
only adding extra aggregate sources to the natural and artificial aggregate but also prevent
environmental pollution.

Foundry industry produces a large amount of by-product material during casting process. The
ferrous metal casts in foundry are cast iron and steel, non ferrous metal are aluminum, copper,

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brass and bronze. Over 70% of the total by-product material consists of sand because moulds
usually consist of molding sand, which is easily available, inexpensive, resistance to heat
damage, easily bonded with binder, and other organic material in mould. Foundry industry use
high quality specific size silica sand for their molding and casting process. This is high quality
sand than the typical bank run or natural sand. Foundries successfully recycle and reuse the sand
many times in foundry. When it can no longer be reused in the foundry, it is removed from the
industry, and is termed as waste foundry sand (WFS). It is also known as spent foundry sand
(SFS) and used-foundry sand (UFS).

Waste foundry sand are by-products which appears to possess the potential to partially replace
regular sand as a fine aggregate in concretes, providing a recycling opportunity for them. If such
types of materials can be substituted partly/fully for natural sand (fine aggregates) in concrete
mixtures without sacrificing or even improving strength and durability, there are clear economic
and environmental gains. Currently, very limited literature is available on the use of these by-
products in concrete. Waste foundry sand (WFS) is one of the major issues in the management of
foundry waste. WFS are black in color and contain large amount of fines. The typical physical
and chemical property of WFS is dependent upon the type of metal being poured, casting
process, technology employed, type of furnaces (induction, electric arc and cupola) and type of
finishing process (grinding, blast cleaning and coating).

1.2 TYPE OF WASTE FOUNDRY SAND

Classifications of foundry sand mainly depend primarily upon the type of binder and binder
system used in metal casting. There are two types of foundry sand; Green sand (clay bonded) and
chemically bonded. Resin coated sand, cold box sand, hot box sand and Co2 sands are some
common type of chemically bonded sand. (Mold and core test handbook, American foundry
society).

1.2.1 Green (Clay Bonded) Sand

Green sand (clay bonded) is used for mould making and is mixture of silica sand (80-95%),
bentonite clay (4-10%), carbonaceous additive (2-10%) and water (2-5%). Large portion of the
aggregate is sand which can be either silica or olivine. There are many recipes for the proportion

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 Introduction

of clay, but they all strike different balance between moldability, surface finish and ability of the
hot molten metal to design. It still remains very cheapest way to cast metal because of easy
availability. Other minor ingredients are flour, cereals, rice hulls and starches. Silica sand is the
bulk medium that resist the high temperature, bentonite clay bind the sand grain together, water
activate the binding action of clay on sand and add plasticity. Carbonaceous additive prevent the
fusing of sand on to the casting surface. Minor ingredients absorb moisture, improve the fluidity
of sand. Green sand (clay bonded sand) also contains some chemical like Magnesium oxide
(MgO), Potassium dioxide (K2O), Titanium dioxide (TiO2). About 85% of green sand molding
used for cast iron in the world. Green sand is not green in color but green in the sense that it is
used in a wet stage.

1.2.2 Chemically Bonded Sand

Chemically bonded sand is used in both core making and mould making. In core making, high
strength is necessary to withstand against high temperature. Chemically bonded sand is mixing
of silica sand and chemical binder (1-3%) for mould and core. When binder mixes with the silica
sand, then catalyst start the reaction that cures the chemical resin and hardens the sand core or
mould. There are various chemical binder system used in foundry industry, some of the binder
are furfuryl alcohol, phenolic urethane, phenolic no bake-acid, phenolic resole-ester, sodium
silicate, phosphate, alkyd (oil) urethane, shell liquid/powered and flake resins. Some of the most
common chemically bonded sands are resins coated sand, hot box, cold box and Co2 sand.
Majority of binder used in the foundry are self setting chemical binder. The following sand
binder or binder system in their sand mold process are Sodium silicate, phenolic urethanes,
phenolic esters, phenolic hot box, phenolic nobake, furan nobake, furan warm box, sulphur
dioxide, alkyd urethane and alkyd oil based core oil and epoxy SO2. Colour of the chemically
bonded sand is light than clay bonded sand.

1.3PROPERTIES OF WASTE FOUNDRY SAND

1.3.1 Physical Properties

Generally, waste foundry sand (WFS) is sub-angular to round in shape. Green sands are black or
grey, whereas chemically bonded sands are of medium tan or off-white color. Grain size

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distribution of waste foundry sand is uniform with 85-95% of the material in between 0.6 mm to
0.15 mm and approximately 5 to 20% of foundry sand can be smaller than 0.075 mm. Dayton et
al. (2010) mentioned that sand (0.05 to 2 mm) was the dominant size fraction in the 39 spent
foundry sands ranging from 76.6% to 100% with a median of 90.3%.The specific gravity of
foundry sand varies between 2.39 and 2.79. Waste foundry sand has low absorption capacity and
is non-plastic. Physical properties of waste foundry as reported by Javed and Lovell (1994), Naik
et al. (2001), Guney et al. (2010) and Siddique et al. (2011), are given in Table 1.1

Carey and Sturtz (1995) have reported that physical properties of WFS such as Particle
gradation, fine contents, density, and absorption and specific gravity help to recognize its
workability and suitability in flow able fill. Deng and Tikalsky (2008) have reported that
variation in the density (1052–1554 kg/m3), specific gravity (2.38–2.72) and absorption (0.38–
4.15%) measurements may be attributed to the variation in sand mineralogy, particle gradation,
grain shapes and fine contents. Good gradation and round shape lead to a compact structure and
high density. Correlation of absorption with fine content and grain size can be interpreted by the
law that a finer particle leads to a higher specific surface area, which favors the absorption of
water.
Table 1.1: Typical Physical Properties of Waste Foundry Sand

Property Javed and Lovell Naik et al. Guney et al. Siddique et al.
(1994) (2001) (2010) (2011)
Specific gravity 2.39-2.55 2.79 2.45 2.61
Fineness modulus - 2.32 - 1.78
Unit Weight (kg/m3) - 1784 - 1638
Absorption (%) 0.45 5.0 - 1.3
Moisture content (%) 0.1-10.1 - 3.25 -
Clay lumps and 1- 44 0.4 - 0.9
friable particles
Materials finer than - 1.08 24 18
75µm (%)

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1.3.2 Chemical Properties

Chemical composition of the waste foundry sand depends on the type of metal, type of binder
and combustible used. The chemical composition of the foundry sand may influence its
performance. Waste foundry sand is rich in silica content. It is coated with a thin film of burnt
carbon, residual binder (bentonite, sea coal, resins/chemicals) and dust. Silica sand is hydrophilic
and consequently attracts water to its surface. Chemical composition of WFS as reported by
American Foundryman’s Society ( 1991), Guney et al. (2010), Etxeberria et al. (2010) and
Siddique et al. (2011) is given in Table 1.2

Johnson (1981) indicated that depending on the binder and type of metal cast, the pH of waste
foundry sand can vary between 4 and 8. It has been reported that some waste foundry sands can
be corrosive to metals (MNR,1992). Due to the presence of phenols in foundry sand, it raises
concerns that precipitation percolating through stockpiles could mobilize leachable fractions,
resulting in phenol discharges into surface or ground water supplies.

Table 1.2: Chemical Composition of Foundry Sand

Constituent Value (%)
American Guney et al. Etxeberria et al. Siddique et al.
Foundryman’s (2010) (2010) (2011)
Society ( 1991)
SiO2 87.91 98 95.10 78.81
Al2O3 4.70 0.8 1.47 6.32
Fe2O3 0.94 0.25 0.49 4.83
CaO 0.14 0.035 0.19 1.88
MgO 0.30 0.023 0.19 1.95
SO3 0.09 0.01 0.03 0.05
Na2O 0.19 0.04 0.26 0.10
K2O 0.25 0.04 0.68 -
TiO2 0.15 - 0.04 -
Mn2O3 0.02 - -
SrO 0.03 - -
LOI 5.15 - 1.32 2.15

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1.3.3 Mechanical Properties

Waste foundry sand has good durability properties as measured by low Micro-Deval abrasion
(Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Canada 1996). Javed and Lovell (1994) have revealed
relatively high soundness loss, which may be due to the samples of bound sand loss and not a
breakdown of individual sand particles. The angle of shearing resistance (also known as friction
angle) of waste foundry sand varies between 33 and 40 degrees, which is comparable to that of
conventional sands. Typical mechanical properties of waste foundry sand are given in Table 1.3

Table 1.3: Typical Mechanical Properties of Spent Foundry Sand

Property Results
Micro-deval abrasion loss (%)
<2
(MNR–1992)
Magnesium sulfate soundness loss 5 - 15
(%)(MNR–1992) 6 - 47
Friction angle (deg) 33 - 40
California bearing ratio (%) (Javed
4 - 20
and Lovell 1994)

1.3.4 Potential Contamination

Casting processes used in foundries involve a variety of sands, inorganic or organic binders and
other additives, which generate residues in sand. The presence of these residues, mixing of waste
sand with dust and other fine-grained foundry waste materials, limit the reuse of foundry sand.
Foundries use screening systems and magnetic separators to segregate reusable sand from other
wastes and to separate particles of varying sizes. By carefully monitoring the casting process and
waste sand, foundries can ensure that their sand is largely free from excess contaminants and
qualifies as a non-hazardous industrial by-product (FIRST, 2004).

The binder system is the primary source of organic contaminants in sand. Green sand casting,
which generally does not involve the use of organic binders, has lower potential for leaching

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organic compounds than chemically bonded systems depending upon the curing and pouring
process. The more reactive organic compounds commonly used in binders and resins are of
special concern because they can be transformed into new hazardous compounds under
incomplete combustion conditions. Testing has not indicated that these reactive compounds are
found at significant concentrations in sand (FIRST–2004).

1.4 MANAGEMENT OPTION

In foundry processes, sand from collapsed moulds or cores can be reclaimed and then reused.
Some new sand and binder is then added to maintain the quality of the casting and to make up
for sand lost during normal operations (Javed and Lovell, 1994). Foundry sand is produced by
different foundry classes. The ferrous foundries (gray iron, ductile iron and steel) produce the
most sand and aluminum, copper, brass and bronze produce the rest. The sands from the brass,
bronze and copper foundries are generally not reused. Little information is available regarding
the amount of foundry sand that is used for purposes other than in-plant reclamation but waste
foundry sand has been used as a fine aggregate substitute in construction applications and as kiln
feed in the manufacture of Portland cement. Most of the waste foundry sand from green sand
operations is land-filled, sometimes being used as a supplemental cover. Fiore and Zanetti (2007)
studied the foundry sand reuse and recycling. They investigated the foundry sand of varying
sizes. On the grounds of the gathered results, they concluded that residues may be divided in
three categories according to the particle-size dimensions: below 0.1 mm, between 0.1 to 0.6 mm
and above 0.6 mm. The fraction above 0.6 mm, mainly made of metallic iron, may be reused in
the furnaces. The fraction between 0.1 mm to 0.6 mm may be reused in cores production after a
regeneration treatment. The fraction between 0.1 to 0.025 mm may be recycled as raw material
for the concrete industry and the below 0.025 mm fraction may be reused in green molding
operations. An economic evaluation of the proposed reuse and recycling solutions was
performed. Fig. 1.1 shows the recycling of foundry sand.

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Return Sand Storage New Sand Storage

Excess Return
Sand to Waste Additives
Bentonite Sea Coal

Sand Waste Mold

Screen Sand Making Cores from Core Making

Return Sand
System Molten
Return Sand
Metal
System

Shakeout Casting to Cleaning

and Finishing
Cores and Mold Lumps to
Mechanical Reclamation

Fig.1.1: Recycling of Foundry Sand

1.5 RISK EVALUATION

Hindman et al (2008) conduct a green house experiment to determine the suitability of waste
foundry sand from ferrous and non ferrous foundry in soil by measuring the plant growth, plant
uptake and leaching of nutrient, trace metals, metalloids and organic. They observed that use of
waste foundry sand in soil will not increase the risk of trace element or organic contamination
transport to surrounding soil and water.

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Dungan and Dees (2006) conducted a 28-day experiment with the earthworm Eisenia Fetida and
6 different waste foundry sands to assess the bioavailability of metals in soil blends up to 50%
foundry sands. Based upon the earthworm mortality and metal accumulation data, the study
suggests that waste sands from the iron, aluminum and steel foundries do not pose an
ecotoxicological or metal transfer risk. However earthworms in soil blends using sands from a
brass foundry suffered excessive mortality and metal uptake.

In 2002, in Unitted States, an effort to identify the risks and benefits of using foundry sand from
ferrous and aluminum foundries was initiated. Partners in the effort included the US Department
of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, the Ohio State University, the Pennsylvania State
University and US EPA. Using the metal and organic constituent levels from foundry sands from
more than 30 iron, steel, and aluminum foundries, EPA and USDA modeled several exposure
pathways associated with the use of foundry sands in a soil blend. Exposure pathways included:
inhalation, groundwater ingestion, and ingestion of vegetables grown in a home gardener
scenario. The draft study concluded that non-olivine sands from iron, steel and aluminum
foundries do not pose a threat to human health or the environment when used in roadway sub-
base or as an ingredient in manufactured soils or soil-less media. The study was submitted for
peer review and a final report is pending (US EPA 2010).

1.6 APPLICATIONS OF WASTE FOUNDRY SAND

Indian foundries produce approximately 1.71 million tons of waste foundry sand each year
(Metal World, 2006). In United States of America, metal casting foundries dispose of
approximately 9 million metric tons of waste foundry sand (WFS) in landfills in 2000 (Winkler
and Bol’shakov, 2000). United States’s average land-filling tipping fee of foundry byproducts is
US $15-75 per ton inclusive of storage, transportation and labour costs (Winkler et al. 1999). The
annual cost of WFS disposal was around US $ 135- 675 million. The considerable disposal
expense has made the current practice of WFS disposal in landfills less favorable. Besides the
financial burden to the foundries, land-filling WFS also makes them liable for future
environmental costs, remediation problems and regulation restrict ions. This issue is increasingly
addressed by alternate options of reusing WFS beneficially. Waste foundry sand is made up of

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mostly natural sand material. Its properties are similar to the properties of natural or
manufactured sand. Thus it can normally be used as a replacement of sand.

Beneficial reuses of WFS span a variety of applications related to infrastructure engineering and
rehabilitation works. Some of the researchers have reported the possible use of waste foundry
sand in different civil engineering applications, which are given in Table 1.4. These alternate
applications offer cost savings for both foundries and user industries and an environmental
benefits at the local and national level.

Table 1.4: Uses of WFS in Various Applications

Author’s Name Application

Javed and Lovell(1994), Traeger(1987), Kleven et al.(2000),
MOEE(1993), AFS(1991), Abichou et al.(1998), Mast and
Highway
Fox(1998), Kirk(1998) and Gunney et al.(2006)

. Nail et al. (2003; 2004), Tikalsky et al. (1998) and Siddique et

Controlled low strength
al.(2008)
materials
Dungan et al. (2006), Deng and Tikalsky (2008)
Geotechnical Field
Braham A. (2002)
Hot Mix Asphalt
Ham RK and Boyle (1981), Fero et al. (1986), Engroff et al.
Leachate Characteristic
(1989), Siddique et al. (2010) and Dungan et al. (2009)

Seung-Whee and Woo-Keun(2006), Naga and El-

Maghraby(2003), Pereiraa et al. (2006) and Quaranta et al. (2004) Ceramic material

El Haggar and El Hatow(2009)

Manhole cover
Periraa et al. (2004)
Refractory Mortars
Interization and Reuse of
Colombo et al. (2003), Ferraris et al. (2001),
Waste materials by
Geo and Drummond (1999)
Vitrification
Santurde et al. (2011)
Clay Brick

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1.7 SIGNIFICANCE AND OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH

1.7.1 Significance in Research Area

With ever increasing quantities of industrial byproducts and waste materials, solid waste
management has become the principal environmental concerns in the world. Scarcity of land-
filling space and due to its ever increasing cost, utilization/recycling of byproducts/waste has
become an attractive alternative to disposal. Several types of byproducts and waste materials are
generated. Each of these waste products has specific effects on the properties of cement-based
materials. The utilization of such materials in concrete not only makes it economical, but also do
help in reducing disposal problems. Reuse of bulk wastes is considered the best environmental
alternative for solving the problem of disposal. One of such industrial byproducts is Waste
foundry sand (WFS). Waste foundry sand is a by-product of ferrous and nonferrous metal casting
industries. Foundries successfully recycle and reuse the sand many times in a foundry. When the
sand can no longer be reused in the foundry, it is removed from the foundry and is termed as
waste foundry sand.

1.7.2 Gap in the Research Area

The Indian metal casting is well established. Indian Foundry Industry is the 4th largest casting
producer in the world (Metal World, 2006). There are more than 5,000 foundry units in India,
having an installed capacity of approximately 7.5 million tons per annum. The majority (nearly
95%) of the foundry units in India falls under the category of small-scale industry (Metal World,
2007). These foundry units generate approximately 1710000t (1.71 million Tons) waste foundry
sand per year (The Institute of Indian Foundry men). In Punjab region, there are approximately
750 foundries. The main clusters of foundries are Batala (450), Ludhiana (150) and Jalandher
(150). Punjab region generate approx. 170000t (0.17 million tons) waste foundry sand per year.

Not much work has been reported on the use of waste foundry sand (WFS) in concrete. In the
present research, experimental investigations will be carried out to investigate the effect of waste
foundry sand (WFS) as partial replacement of fine aggregate on the strength and durability
properties of concrete.

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1.7.3 Objective of the Research Work

Keeping in mind the gap in the research area, the objective of this study is to determine the
strength and durability properties of concrete of two Grades (20 and 30 MPa) of concrete
containing WFS (0 to 20% at an increment of 5%) as partial replacement of fine aggregate.
Following are the objectives of this study:
 Characterization (Physical and Chemical Properties) of waste foundry sand
 Study of strength properties such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and
modulus of elasticity at the ages of 7, 28, 91 and 365 days
 Study of durability properties such as chloride permeability, abrasion resistance, and
deicing salt scaling resistance at the ages of 28, 91 and 365 days
 Non-destructive testing (Rebound Hammer and USPV) on concrete cubes
 Comparative study of strength and durability properties results of both the grades of
concrete containing waste foundry sand
 Statistical analysis of the results would be carried out

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

The thesis consists in five chapters:

Chapter 1 introduces the need for concrete with industrial by-products; by products used i.e.
foundry sand their types and beneficial uses and global production in brief of these by-products
and the objectives of the present work.

Chapter 2 reviews the existing literature on the use of foundry sand in concrete, various fresh
properties, strength and durability properties of concrete using waste foundry sand.

Chapter 3 details the materials used with their properties, initial mix design, casting of
specimens for studying various properties and methodology adopted for testing of different
properties.

Chapter 4 presents the results, and their analysis for the fresh properties, strength properties
such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and durability

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properties like abrasion resistance, deicing salt surface scaling and rapid chloride penetration
resistance of the mixes with waste foundry sand along with the XRD to identify the presence of
various compounds of the concrete with foundry sand in varying percentages replacement of fine
aggregate.

Chapter 5 summarizes and concludes the findings of the study. Few recommendations for
further studies are also discussed.

References are placed at the end.

1.9 SUMMARY

This chapter discusses about the (i) types, properties, uses and applications of WFS in civil
engineering; (ii) risk evaluation of waste foundry sand; (iii) significance of this research work
and the need to investigate the effect of waste foundry sand (WFS) as partial replacement of fine
aggregate on the strength and durability properties of concrete was discussed.

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