Compressive Strength Behaviour of Stone Dust and EPS Beads-Based Material

Large quantities of industrial wastes are being generated worldwide due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. In India, aggregate crusher units produce enormous quantities of stone dust, a by-product produced during crushing of stone. Stacking or disposal of such large quantities of stone dust in open areas is not an environment friendly solution. Utilization of this by product in civil engineering applications is likely to provide an acceptable solution. Efforts are underway to utilize stone dust in civil engineering construction industries so that minimizing the threat caused to environment in the direction of sustainable development. In this direction, present paper pertain the results of the compressive strength experimental study carried out on material prepared using stone dust and expanded polystyrene(EPS) beads. The experiments were conducted by adding EPS beads with different mix proportions with respect to the weight of stone dust. The mix ratio percentages used in the present study are 0.033, 0.066, 0.099, 0.132, and 0.165. Density of EPS beads used in the study is 16 kg/m³. Cubical specimen of size 70 mm × 70 mm × 70 mm was used for evaluating the compressive strength of material for curing periods of 7 and 14 days. The results indicate that the compressive strength, density and stress-stress pattern of the prepared material was significantly influenced by the curing period and mix ratios. For a particular mix ratio value, compressive strength of material increased with increasing curing period and for a particular curing period value it decreased with increasing mix ratios. The density of the material is decreased with increasing mix ratio values. The relationship between stress and strain was observed to be nonlinear.