Characterisation of Iron Ore Tailings as Fine Aggregates for Mortar and Concrete

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4. Characterisation of Iron Ore Tailings as Fine Aggregates for Mortar and Concrete

Construction industry consumes bulk volume of natural resources. Fine aggregate is one such essential ingredient for construction materials such as concrete, mortar, masonry units etc. The properties of mortar and concrete largely depend on the quality of fine aggregate used. Natural river sand is widely used as fine aggregate. However, river sand is becoming a scarce commodity and there is ban on mining of sand due to environmental concerns. Hence, attempts are being made for exploring suitable alternatives to river sand. In the present investigation suitability of iron ore tailings (IOT) as an alternative to river sand for fine aggregate is examined. As part of this study, extensive experimental investigations were conducted for characterisation of properties of IOT, determination of properties of mortars and concrete using IOT as fine aggregate. The results on physical and chemical properties of IOT are discussed and few basic properties of mortar and concrete having IOT as fine aggregate are presented. The results reveal that IOT samples are fine grained (fineness modulus of about 0.2). A blend of IOT and natural river sand improves the grain size distribution leading to considerable improvement in the workability and strength characteristics of the mortar and the concrete. It is found that IOT can replace up to about 75% river sand in mortars and 50% in concrete.

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