Comparative study on the use of quarry waste and river sand as fine aggregates in pervious concrete performance
Abstract
This study examines the use of quarry waste as a partial replacement for coarse aggregate in pervious concrete, aiming to enhance its mechanical strength, permeability, and durability while promoting sustainability in construction. Various pervious concrete mixes were prepared with different levels of river sand and quarry waste replacements (4%, 8%, and 12%) and tested for compressive strength, flexural strength, impact strength, permeability, porosity, and abrasion resistance. The results indicate that quarry waste significantly enhances mechanical properties, with the 12% replacement mix showing a 49.1% increase in compressive strength (8.04 MPa) compared to the 5.39 MPa of the control mix. Additionally, quarry waste led to a notable reduction in porosity, reaching 0.318 at the 12% level compared to 0.343 for the control. While both materials reduced permeability, quarry waste maintained higher values than river sand, with the optimal 8% replacement (Q8) providing a permeability of 4.77 cm/s, which is 25% higher than the 3.79 cm/s observed for the R12 river sand mix. Furthermore, quarry waste-based mixes exhibited improved abrasion resistance, with weight loss as low as 36.7% at 200 revolutions. This study shows that using 8% quarry waste in concrete results in a 31% strength increase while keeping its hydrological performance high. It highlights that quarry waste is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to river sand, improving both strength and durability. The findings offer valuable insights into the use of quarry waste in sustainable construction and lay the groundwork for future research into optimizing pervious concrete mixes for specific applications.
Keywords
References
Al-Kharabsheh BN, Arbili MM, Majdi A, Ahmad J, Deifalla AF, Hakamy A, Alqawasmeh HM (2022). Feasibility study on concrete made with substitution of quarry dust: a review. Sustainability, 14(22), 15304.
Altheeb A (2022). Quarry dust waste-based cementitious composites - a comprehensive review. Construction and Building Materials, 350, 128817.
ASTM C78/C78M-21 (2021). Standard Test Method for Flexural Strength of Concrete (Using Simple Beam with Third-Point Loading). ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, USA.
ASTM C642-21 (2021). Standard Test Method for Density, Absorption, and Voids in Hardened Concrete. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, USA.
ASTM C1747/C1747M-13 (2013). Standard Test Method for Determining Potential Resistance to Degradation of Pervious Concrete by Impact and Abrasion. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, USA.
ASTM D2434-22 (2022). Standard Test Methods for Measurement of Hydraulic Conductivity of Coarse-Grained Soils. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, USA.
BS EN 12390-3 (2019). Testing Hardened Concrete - Compressive Strength of Test Specimens. British Standards Institution, London, UK.
Coughlin JP, Campbell CD, Mays DC (2012). Infiltration and clogging by sand and clay in a pervious concrete pavement system. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 17(1), 68-73.
de Azevedo ARG, Marvila MT, da Silva Barroso L, Zanelato EB, Alexandre J, de Castro Xavier G, Monteiro SN (2019). Effect of granite residue incorporation on the behavior of mortars. Materials, 12(9), 1449.
Dinh HL, Liu J, Ong DEL, Doh JH (2022). A sustainable solution to excessive river sand mining by utilizing by-products in concrete manufacturing: a state-of-the-art review. Cleaner Materials, 6, 100140.
Elango KS, Gopi R, Saravanakumar R, Rajeshkumar V, Vivek D, Raman SV (2021). Properties of pervious concrete - a state of the art review. Materials Today: Proceedings, 45, 2422-2425.
Febin GK, Abhirami A, Vineetha AK, Manisha V, Ramkrishnan R, Sathyan D, Mini KM (2019). Strength and durability properties of quarry dust powder incorporated concrete blocks. Construction and Building Materials, 228, 116793.
Gunasekaran V, Sathiparan N (2024). Combine the use of rice husk ash and quarry waste for sustainable masonry blocks: mechanical characteristics, durability and eco-benefits. Journal of Building Engineering, 98, 111194.
Hamada HM, Shi J, Abed F, Al Jawahery MS, Majdi A, Yousif ST (2023). Recycling solid waste to produce eco-friendly ultra-high performance concrete: a review of durability, microstructure and environment characteristics. Science of The Total Environment, 876, 162804.
He S, Jiao C, Li S (2023). Investigation of mechanical strength and permeability characteristics of pervious concrete mixed with coral aggregate and seawater. Construction and Building Materials, 363, 129508.
Hong S, Ren H, Hou D, Dong B, Fan S (2023). Investigating mechanism for mortar-porous aggregate interfacial bond improvement based on coupled XCT-DVC analysis. Journal of Building Engineering, 80, 107952.
Islam MMU (2023). A study on the integrated implementation of supplementary cementitious material and coarse aggregate for sustainable concrete. Journal of Building Engineering, 73, 106767.
Ismail MK, Hassan AAA, Lachemi M (2019). Performance of self-consolidating engineered cementitious composite under drop-weight impact loading. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 31(3), 04018400.
Ji T, Chen CY, Zhuang YZ, Chen JF (2013). A mix proportion design method of manufactured sand concrete based on minimum paste theory. Construction and Building Materials, 44, 422-426.
Khankhaje E, Jang H, Kim J, Rafieizonooz M (2025). Utilizing rice husk ash as cement replacement in pervious concrete: a review. Developments in the Built Environment, 22, 100675.
Lori AR, Hassani A, Sedghi R (2019). Investigating the mechanical and hydraulic characteristics of pervious concrete containing copper slag as coarse aggregate. Construction and Building Materials, 197, 130-142.
Mahmud H, Ahmed T, Islam MS (2025). Combined effect of rice husk ash and animal bone powder on strength and permeability of concrete. Challenge Journal of Structural Mechanics, 11(1), 1-13.
Meisuh BK, Kankam CK, Buabin TK (2018). Effect of quarry rock dust on the flexural strength of concrete. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 8, 16-22.
Miah MJ, Huaping R, Paul SC, Babafemi AJ, Sharma R, Jang JG (2023). Performance of eco-friendly concrete made from recycled waste tire fine aggregate as a replacement for river sand. Structures, 58, 105463.
Nedeljković M, Visser J, Šavija B, Valcke S, Schlangen E (2021). Use of fine recycled concrete aggregates in concrete: a critical review. Journal of Building Engineering, 38, 102196.
Niroula B, Bhatt MR (2026). Mechanical properties assessment of recycled brick aggregate concrete using demolition waste from century-old masonry buildings in Nepal. Challenge Journal of Concrete Research Letters, 17(1), 41-56.
Nurul Fazita MR, Abdul Khalil HPS, Nor Amira Izzati A, Rizal S (2019). Effects of strain rate on failure mechanisms and energy absorption in polymer composites. In: Jawaid M, Thariq M, Saba N, editors. Failure Analysis in Biocomposites, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites. Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, UK, pp. 51-78.
Nune S, Dakshina Murthy NR (2021). Studies on infiltration rate of pervious concrete. In: Chandrasekaran S, Kumar S, Madhuri S, editors. Recent Advances in Structural Engineering. Springer Singapore, Singapore, pp. 21-28.
Pakkiyachandran M, Sathiparan N (2025). Comparative study on quarry waste, manufactured sand, quarry dust as river sand replacement in cement mortar: mechanical characteristics, durability, and eco-benefit. Materialia, 40, 102395.
Reddy BS, Sumetha R (2024). Evaluating the influence of fines on the characteristics of pervious concrete. MATEC Web of Conferences, 400, 01008.
Rentier ES, Cammeraat LH (2022). The environmental impacts of river sand mining. Science of The Total Environment, 838, 155877.
Santhosh KG, Subhani SM, Bahurudeen A (2021). Cleaner production of concrete by using industrial by-products as fine aggregate: a sustainable solution to excessive river sand mining. Journal of Building Engineering, 42, 102415.
Sathiparan N, Jaasim JHM, Banujan B (2022). Sustainable production of cement masonry blocks with the combined use of fly ash and quarry waste. Materialia, 26, 101621.
Sukkarak R, Jongpradist P, Voottipruex P, Jamsawang P, Keawsawasvong S, Pansuwannakun T, Meepon I (2025). Using stone dust as an improvement material for cement gravel column. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 22, e04300.
Sundaralingam K, Peiris A, Anburuvel A, Sathiparan N (2022). Quarry dust as river sand replacement in cement masonry blocks: effect on mechanical and durability characteristics. Materialia, 21, 101324.
Şamdan F, Çelikyürek İ, Canbaz M (2024). Determination of waste crushed baked clay aggregate concrete with granular composite material preparations. Challenge Journal of Concrete Research Letters, 15(4), 112-119.
Tie TS, Mo KH, Putra A, Loo SC, Alengaram UJ, Ling TC (2020). Sound absorption performance of modified concrete: a review. Journal of Building Engineering, 30, 101219.
Turan E, Alameri IA, Oltulu M (2025). Long-term durability of red mud-modified cement mortars: effects of high temperature and freeze-thaw cycles. Challenge Journal of Structural Mechanics, 11(3), 116-127.
Ünal S, Canbaz M (2025). Utilization of expired cement and aged roof tile powder in the production of sustainable geopolymer: mechanical and physical properties. Challenge Journal of Structural Mechanics, 11(2), 82-88.
Ünal S, Canbaz M (2026). Development of a sustainable geopolymer structural element with waste glass powder: mechanical characteristics. Challenge Journal of Structural Mechanics, 12(1), 22-29.
Wee Chit WP, Budiea AMA, Mohd Noh H, Muthusamy K, Bamaga SO (2025). Compressive strength and fire resistance of mortar containing spent garnet as partial sand replacement. Challenge Journal of Concrete Research Letters, 16(4), 164-172.
Zhou R, Luo Y, Ba M, Zhang Z, Fang J, Poon CS, Fang X (2024). Value-added recycling of waste concrete fines into alternative aggregates for river sand conservation. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 83, 102802.
