Evaluating Quarry Dust as a Sustainable Alternative to Natural Sand in Concrete Mix Design

The increasing demand for natural sand has increased in recent years, so the researchers started working on the alternative materials that can be used in place of the sand to make concrete mix. The object of research investigates the effects of 10, 20, 30, and 40% replacement with quarry dust on the workability, compressive strength, and tensile strength of concrete. As we know, quarry dust is a by-product of rock crushing and can be used as a sustainable replacement for natural sand in M40-grade concrete. We prepared 45 specimens according to IS 10262-2019 and IS 516-1959 and tested them at 7, 14, and 28 days. The results that we got showed that replacing up to 20% of fine aggregate with quarry dust increased the compressive strength, reaching a peak of 46.35 MPa after 28 days; 20% replacement increased the tensile strength to 3.95 MPa. Still, performance declined with increasing replacement rates, with compressive strength decreasing to 35.21 MPa at 30% and 34.04 MPa at 40%. And tensile strength decreased to 3.323 MPa at 30% and 3.267 MPa at 40%. The study determined that quarry dust can effectively replace up to 20% of natural sand without any effects on the strength and durability of concrete. This approach supports sustainable construction methods, conserves natural resources, and promotes the reuse of industrial waste in line with circular economy principles.