Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical Conference December 22-24,2013, Roorkee

SHEAR STRENGTH BEHAVIOR OF QUARRY DUST-SAND MIX

K. Koustuvee, Post Graduate Student, Assam Engineering College, kumarikoustuvee@gmail.com C. Malaya, Assistant Professor, Assam Engineering College, gogoi_chetia@yahoo.co.in A. Sridharan, Honorary Scientist, Indian National Science Academy, Formerly, Professor, IISC Bangalore,
sridharanasuri@yahoo.com ABSTRACT: A large amount of quarry dust is produced during crushing of stones to obtain aggregates. The usefulness of quarry dust should be investigated in geotechnical applications to reduce the difficulty of its disposal which may lead to many geo-environmental problems. With this in view, experiments were conducted on a locally available sandy soil, two quarry dusts and three different quarry dust-sand mixes using direct shear test. The present study attempts to understand the influence of the quarry dust content on the shear strength of sandy soil. The study indicates that the addition of quarry dust increases the shear strength of the sandy soil significantly. The added advantage is that this helps in the saving of sand availability.

INTRODUCTION Sand is the most typical cohesionless granular material resulting from the erosion of rocks and is globally widespread throughout alluvial lands, deserts, and the seabed. Quarry dust or crusher dust is obtained as solid wastes in huge quantities, during crushing of stones to obtain aggregates and the disposal of these wastes create a lot of geoenvironmental problems. Several works have been done regarding the utilization of this waste for various beneficial engineering purposes [1]. Some of these uses may require natural dewatering or even drying of quarry fines as these have high moisture contents. In addition, some of these uses may have specific gradation requirements and may have limitations on the type of quarry fines to be used. Nevertheless, further research may introduce even more of its potential utilities. Since such cohesionless materials like sand and crusher dust are often come across in engineering applications, there is a need to clearly know the shear strength behavior of natural sands and crushed aggregates. The following discussions are included in this paper: (i) the variance in shearing strength of sand and quarry dust. (ii) the shearing behavior of quarry dust-sand mixes having different fractions of natural sand and quarry dust. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS Three cohesionless soils were used in this study, which include a locally available sandy soil

(denoted as S1) and quarry dusts (denoted as D1 and D2). Sand and dust have been characterized for its specific gravity and grain size distribution by following the guidelines provided in the literature [2,3]. According to USCS [4] all the samples are poorly graded (SP). The grain size distribution curves of the samples are shown in Fig.1. The results of these characterizations are presented in Table 1. Shape and mineralogical characterization of the samples were carried out from the petro graphical images. Petrographical images indicate that the main mineral present in the samples is quartz. The shape of the sand particles are mainly rounded to sub rounded whereas the dust particles are mostly angular to sub angular.
110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0.01 0.1 1 10 S1 D1 D2

% finer

Grain size (mm)

Fig. 1 Grain size distribution curves of S1, D1 and D2 Page 1 of 5

K. Koustuvee, C. Malaya & A. Sridharan

The direct shear tests [5] were carried out on dry sand, dust samples and sand-dust mixes under consolidated drained conditions to obtain the shear parameters of the samples. In this study three different mixes of S1-D1 and S1-D2 (30:70; 50:50 and 70:30) have been used. Different percentages of quarry dust (70%, 50% and 30%) of dry weight of the sample were mixed with the sandy soil. Sample prepared by mixing three parts of sandy soil, S1 (30 %) with seven parts of quarry dust, D1 (70 %) by weight is designated as S1-D1 (30:70). Similarly, in samples S1-D1 (50:50) and S1-D1 (70:30), quarry dust content was 50 % and 30 % respectively, of total weight of the mix. In the similar manner, the second mix, S1-D2 was prepared with the sand, S1 and the quarry dust, D2. The samples were designated as S1-D2 (30:70), S1-D2 (50:50) and S1-D2 (70:30).

S1-D1 for normal stress = 0.5 kg/cm2. Similarly Figs. 5-7 compare the displacement vs. shear stress plots for the samples S1, D2 and three different mixes of S1-D2 for normal stress = 0.5 kg/cm2. The displacement vs. shear stress plots of different samples for other normal stress of 1.0 kg/cm2 and 1.5 kg/cm2 are similar and hence not shown here. The maximum shear stress, max values obtained at different normal stresses for all the samples used in this study are presented in the Table 2 along with the shear displacements, SD corresponding to ma Comparison of Shear Strength of S1,
Sample n = 0.5 kg/cm2 max (kg/cm2) 0.37 0.41 0.41 0.47 0.47 0.43 0.44 0.58 0.46 SD (mm) 3.2 2.0 2.8 2.0 2.0 2.6 1.8 2.2 3.2 n =1. 0 kg/cm2 max (kg/cm2) 0.75 0.81 0.75 0.87 0.87 0.82 0.85 0.8 0.89 SD (mm) 3.6 2.2 3.2 3.0 2.2 3.0 2.6 2.8 4.0 n = 1.5 kg/cm2 max (kg/cm2) 1.2 1.26 1.3 1.32 1.3 1.22 1.43 1.3 1.16 SD (mm) 4.2 3.0 3.4 4.2 3.0 3.6 3.4 3.6 4.8

Table 1 Physical properties and classification of the samples used in this study
Property Soil Quarry dust S1 D1 D2 2.65 2.68 2.62

Specific Gravity Particle Size Characteristics (%) Sand (4.75-0.075 mm) Coarse Sand 0 (4.75-2 mm) Medium Sand 64.6 (2-0.425 mm) Fine Sand 34.6 (0.425-0.075 mm) Silt 0.8 (0.075-0.002 mm) Cc 0.98 Cu 2.3 USCS Classification SP

S1 D1 D2 S1-D1 (30:70) S1-D1 (50:50) S1-D1 (70:30) S1-D2 (30:70) S1-D2 (50:50) S1-D2 (70:30)

4.4 40.1 55.5 0 0.9 3.9 SP

20.1 37.4 36.8 5.7 2.3 8.3 SP

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The direct shear tests have been performed on sand and dust samples in the dry condition in a density range of 1.24 gm/cm3 to 1.30 gm/cm3. The displacement vs. shear stress plots of different samples for normal stress of o.5 kg/cm2, 1.0 kg/cm2 and 1.5 kg/cm2 have been obtained. Figures 2-4 compare the displacement vs. shear stress plots for the samples S1, D1 and three different mixes of

D1 and S1-D1 mixes The maximum shear stress, max values have been obtained for S1, D1 and S1-D1 mixes for different normal stresses, n (= 0.5, 1.0 and 1.50 kg/cm2). From the Figs. 2-4, it can be said that at a normal stress, n = 0.5 kg/cm2, the maximum shear stress was found to be more for S1-D1 (30:70) mix than that of S1 and D1 sample. The same was observed at other two normal stresses. The n vs. max plots have been shown in the Fig. 8 for S1, D1 and S1D1 (30:70) mix. The values obtained from these figures have been shown in the Table 3 corresponding to the percentage of dust content, Dc in the sample. Table 3 also shows the values for S1-D1 (50:50) and S1-D1 (70:30) mixes. These data are graphically shown in the Fig. 10. The figure shows that the values of S1-D1 mixes are Page 2 of 5

Shear strength behavior of quarry dust-sand mix

more than S1 and D1. It has been observed that the value of S1-D1 mixes increases with the increase in dust content, Dc in the mix. This is due to the increase in angular to sub angular particles present in the mix which results in a packing resulting in dilation at particle level and thus higher strength was achieved. It may be noted that the difference in densities is not much (1.24 to 3.0 gm/cm3). Comparison of Shear Strength of S1, D2 and S1-D2 mixes The maximum shear stress, max values have been obtained for S1, D2 and S1-D2 mixes for different normal stresses, n (0.5, 1.0 and 1.50 kg/cm2). From the Figs. 5-7, it can be said that at a normal stress, n = 0.5 kg/cm2, the maximum shear stress was found to be more for S1-D2 (30:70) mix than that of S1 and D2 sample. The same was observed at other two normal stresses. The n vs. max plots have been shown in the Fig. 9 for S1, D2 and S1D2 (30:70) mix. The values obtained from these figures have been shown in the Table 3 corresponding to the percentage of dust content, Dc in the sample. Table 3 also shows the values for S1-D2 (50:50) and S1-D2 (70:30) mixes. These data are graphically shown in the Fig. 10. The figure shows that the values of S1-D2 mixes are Table 2 Maximum shear stress, max and shear displacement, SD at failure more than S1 and D2. It has been observed that the value of S1-D2 mixes increases with the increase in dust content, Dc in the mix. This is due to the increase in angular to sub angular particles present in the mix which results in a packing resulting in dilation at particle level and thus higher strength was achieved.

Fig. 2 Displacement vs shear stress plots for S1, D1 and S1-D1 (30:70) mix for normal stress n = 0.5 kg/cm2

Fig. 3 Displacement vs shear stress plots for S1, D1 and S1-D1 (50:50) mix for normal stress n = 0.5 kg/cm2

Fig. 4 Displacement vs shear stress plots for S1, D1 and S1-D1 (70:30) mix for normal stress n = 0.5 kg/cm2

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K. Koustuvee, C. Malaya & A. Sridharan

1.4

Maximum shear stress, max (kg/cm2)

1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 S1 y = 0.77x D1 y = 0.83x S1-D1 (30:70) y = 0.88x 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
2

1.4

1.6

Fig. 5 Displacement vs shear stress plots for S1, D2 and S1-D2 (30:70) mix for normal stress n = 0.5 kg/cm2

Normal stress, n (kg/cm )

Fig. 8 Normal stress vs shear stress plots for S1, D1 and S1-D1 (30:70) mix
1.4

Maximum shear stress, max (kg/cm2)

1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 S1 y = 0.77x D2 y = 0.84x S1-D2 (30:70) y = 0.92x 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6

Fig. 6 Displacement vs shear stress plots for S1, D2 and S1-D2 (50:50) mix for normal stress n = 0.5 kg/cm2

Normal stress, n (kg/cm2)

Fig. 9 Normal stress vs shear stress plots for S1, D2 and S1-D2 (30:70) mix Table 3 Variation of value with Dc Dust content (degrees) (%) S1-D1 S1-D2 0 37.7 37.7 30 39.2 39.3 50 41.1 40.9 70 41.4 42.4 100 39.7 39.6 Comparison of Shear Strength of S1-D1 and S1D2 mixes Fig. 10 compares the value of S1-D1 and S1-D2 mixes with the dust content, Dc in the mix. Similar trends are obtained for both the mixes.

Fig. 7 Displacement vs shear stress plots for S1, D2 and S1-D2 (70:30) mix for normal stress n = 0.5 kg/cm2

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Shear strength behavior of quarry dust-sand mix

43 42 41 40 39 38 37

S1-D1 Mix S1-D2 Mix 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110

Dust content, Dc (%)

Fig. 10 Comparison of variation of value with Dc for different sand-dust mixes It can be noted from the figure that the difference in value for a particular mix of S1-D1 and S1-D2 is negligible. This may be due to the similar value of D1 and D2 samples. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The study investigates the influence of quarry dust content on the shear behavior of a sandy soil. For this, a sand sample (S1) and two quarry dust samples (D1 and D2) have been used. Direct shear tests have been performed to obtain the shear parameters of the samples S1, D1, D2 and three different mixes of S1-D1 and S1-D2. It is noted that the value of the sanddust mix significantly increases with the increase in the quarry dust content. This may be due to the difference in the grain shapes of the component samples. The angular and subangular particles of D1 and D2 might have entered and occupied positions among the rounded grains of sample S1. This has thus resulted in a denser packing of the mix by interlocking which resist more shear stress. The study also highlights that the difference in value for a particular mix of S1-D1 and S1-D2 is negligible. This is due to the similar value of D1 and D2 samples. This study also encourages the use of sand-quarry dust mix in place of sand alone which has become very valuable now.

REFERENCES 1. Soosan, T.G., Sridharan, A., Jose, B.T. and Abraham, B.M. (2005), Utilization of quarry dust to improve the geotechnical properties of soils in highway construction, Geotech. Test. Jl., ASTM, 28(4), Page count: 10 2. ASTM D 854-06 (2006), Standard test method for specific gravity of soil solids by water pycnometer, Vol. 04.08, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, ASTM International, West Conshohocken. 3. ASTM D 422-63 (2007), Standard test method for particle-size analysis of soils, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 04.08, ASTM International, West Conshohocken. 4. ASTM D 2487-06 (2008), Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (Unified Soil Classification System), Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 04.08, ASTM International, West Conshohocken. 5. ASTM D 3080-11 (2011), Standard test methods for direct shear test of soils under consolidated drained conditions, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 04.08, ASTM International, West Conshohocken.

Angle of shearing, (degrees)

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