Influence of Kenyan phonolite manufactured sand on concrete performance

Abstract

There is a shortage of river sand and a large number of phonolite deposits around Nairobi, Kenya, but the quality of manufactured sand made from phonolite is poor. In this paper, the effects of phonolite manufactured sand and river sand on the performance of C30 and C50 concrete are studied through the tests of mixture performance, mechanical properties and durability. The results showed that compared with the concrete prepared with river sand, the dosage required of superplasticizer in the preparation of concrete using phonolite manufactured sand was higher, the fluidity was slightly lower, the mechanical properties were basically unchanged, and the durability was slightly better. The above research results preliminarily indicate that it is feasible to use the manufactured sand produced by phonolite around Nairobi, instead of river sand, to prepare concrete. This will reduce the long-distance procurement and transportation of river sand and reduce project construction costs.