International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 11, Issue 10, October-2020

ISSN 2229-5518 117

Study on Waste Marble as Partial

Replacement of Coarse Aggregate in
Concrete
Sarath Sunil, Nisha Varghese
Abstract— Marble wastes is an industrial waste produced from cutting of marble stone for usage in various construction applications in
India. Also, a large amount of marble is accumulating in the environment due to demolition of old structures having marble. This causes
environmental pollution. Also, the process of manufacturing of natural aggregates uses a lot of energy and causes pollution. The use of
waste marble as coarse aggregate in concrete reduces the amount of natural aggregate required. This work is concerned with studying the
feasibility of partial replacement of coarse aggregates with marble. Varying percentages of replacement is considered (0%, 25%, 50%,
75% and 100%) for the cube specimens and the optimum percentage of replacement is found out.

Index Terms—- Coarse Aggregate, Waste Marble

——————————  ——————————

1 INTRODUCTION
Marble waste is produced from marble industries as a result
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
of production. More production equals more waste, more waste
creates environmental contamination. A high volume of marble 2.1 GENERAL

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production has generated a considerable amount of waste Literature survey is done by referring and going through articles
materials; almost 70% of the minerals gets wasted in the mining, and journals published in the related area of the studies to get
processing and polishing stages which have a serious impact on detailed subject knowledge. Literature review refers to review of
the environment. Also, a large amount of marble is accumulating scholarly articles and journal papers. It helps us to evaluate and
in the environment due to demolition of old structures having understand about previous findings in the topic of study.
marble. This causes environmental pollution. An economically
viable solution to this problem should include utilization of these 2.2 LITERATURE SURVEY
waste materials for new products especially in construction Kore Sudarshan Dattatraya (2016) In this work, the impact of
applications which in turn minimizes the heavy burden on the marble waste as a partial replacement for conventional coarse
nation’s landfills, saves natural resources, energy and reduces aggregate on the properties of concrete mixes such as workability,
environmental pollution. compressive strength, permeability, abrasion, etc. was evaluated.
If the waste product of one industry is recycled as a substitute for Coarse aggregate (75% by weight) was replaced by aggregate
the raw material of another industry, it will thereby reduce the obtained from marble mining waste. The test results revealed that
environmental impact of both. Use of recycled aggregate in the compressive strength was comparable to that of control
concrete can be useful for environment protection. Recycled concrete. Other properties such as workability of concrete
aggregates are the materials for the future. Many countries are increased, water absorption reduced by 17%, and resistance to
giving infrastructural laws relaxation for increasing the use of abrasion was marginally increased by 2% as compared to that of
recycled aggregate. The use of marble chips as coarse aggregate control concrete.
in concrete reduces the amount of natural aggregate required.
Jay P. Chotaliya et al. (2015) The objective of this study is to
This displaces mining process of natural aggregate, an
provide a more scientific evidence to support the reuse of
energetically expensive and environmentally problematic
accumulated marbles waste in India by investigating into the
process, while reducing both the need for land area for extracting
following hardened properties of concrete with waste marble
resources and amount of industrial waste that must be disposed
chips - compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexure
of. Now, waste marble has been found to be more useful and
strength. These properties were studied by casting cube
research has been conducted to examine their application. Waste
specimens, cylindrical specimens and beam specimens. Waste
marble is well usable instead of the usual aggregate in the
marble chips are fully replaced with natural coarse aggregate. The
concrete paving block production also.
water cement ratio used was 0.45% by weight.
2.3 OBJECTIVE
————————————————
The objective of project is to find out the suitability of using
 Sarath Sunil is currently pursuing masters degree program in
marble as partial replacement for coarse aggregate in concrete.
Structural Engineering in Vidya Academy of Science and
Technology,APJ Abdul Kalam University, India. E-mail: Also, the optimum percentage of replacement is found out by
[email protected] casting cubes for different percentages of replacement and finding
out their compressive strength.
 Nisha Varghese, Asst, Professor, Vidya Academy of Science and
Techonolgy, Thrissur. E-mail: [email protected]

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 International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 11, Issue 10, October-2020
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2.4 SCOPE especially for decorative purposes for centuries. Disposal and re-
using of the waste materials of the marble industry is one of the
The scope of the study is to research about sustainable concrete by
environmental problems all over the world. As a solution to these
incorporating waste marble as coarse aggregate. Using waste
negative effects, the literature suggests that the marble waste can be
marble as aggregate will reduce the amount of natural aggregate
used in the construction industry as partial percent substitutes for
required. It will displace the mining process of natural aggregate.
aggregate. Waste Marble Coarse Aggregate (WMCA) used is shown
It will utilize the marble waste which is usually dumped in
in Figure 1.
landfills, thus providing possible solution to environmental
contamination. It will reduce the overall cost of construction.

3 Methodology
Literature review of available journals on the topic is studied.
Then, the first process of the project is the determination of the
properties of materials by carrying out preliminary tests. Then,
mix design of concrete is done. Slump tests are also carried out.
Casting of cube specimens is done. Compression tests are carried
out on the cast cubes. The last step of the project is the analysis
and discussion of results.

4 Material Properties

This chapter is an introduction to the materials and their properties,

used in the study. Properties of material used in this study were Figure 1 : WMCA

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obtained either by testing of the material as per relevant BIS
standards or were taken from the users manuals provided by the
4.3.1 Specific Gravity (IS:2386-1963)
manufacturers
Specific gravity of aggregate is the ratio of the weight of given
4.1 CEMENT volume of aggregates to the weight of equal volume of water.
Portland Pozzolona Cement (PPC) is used for this study. Unlike Take about 500 g of sample and place it in the pycnometer
Ordinary Portland Cement, Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) is and weigh. Pour distilled water into it until it is full. Eliminate
the entrapped air by rotating the pycnometer on its side, the
manufactured by combination of pozzolanic materials. Pozzolana is
hole in the apex of the cone being covered. Wipe out the outer
an artificial or natural material which has silica in it in a reactive
surface of pycnometer and weigh it (W4). Transfer the
form. Along with pozzolanic materials in specific proportions, PPC
contents of the pycnometer into a tray, care being taken to
also contains OPC clinker and gypsum. These pozzolanic materials
ensure that all the aggregate is transferred. Fill the
include volcanic ash, calcined clay or silica fumes and fly ash which
pycnometer with distilled water to the same level. Find out
make around 15 percent to 35 percent of cement weight. It has low
the weight (W2). Drain water from the sample through alter
initial setting strength compared to OPC but hardens over a period
paper. Place the sample in oven in a tray at a temperature of
of time with proper curing. Specific gravity of cement is determined.
100°C to 110°C for 24 hours, during which period, it is stirred
Siliceous material is added to concrete mixtures, to potentially lower
occasionally to facilitate drying. Cool the sample and weigh it
the mix cost without harming the performance characteristics.
(W3). Weight of pycnometer noted as (W1).
(W3-W1)
4.2 AGGREGATE Specific gravity of aggregate =
(W2-W1) - (W4-W3)
The role of the aggregate is to provide much better dimensional
stability and wear resistance. Also, because they are less expensive
than Portland cement, aggregates lead to the production of more
economical concretes. Fine and coarse aggregates are the one of the
major constituents in concrete. Manufactured sand (M-Sand) was
used as fine aggregate for the test. Due to fast growing construction
industry, the demand for sand has increased tremendously, causing
deficiency of suitable river sand in most part of the word. M-Sand is
a substitute of river sand for concrete construction and it is
produced from hard granite stone by crushing. Crushed rock of 10-
20 mm size is used as coarse aggregates. Specific gravity, water
absorption, sieve analysis tests were conducted to determine the
properties. Figure 2 : Le- Chatelier Apparatus

4.3 WASTE MARBLE COARSE AGGREGATE (WMCA)

Marble has been used as an important building material,

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International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 11, Issue 10, October-2020
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4.3.2 Water Absorption of Aggregate (IS:2386-1963) The results should be calculated and reported as:
Water absorption gives an idea on the internal structure of i. The cumulative percentage by weight of the total
aggregate. Aggregates having more absorption are more porous sample
in nature and are generally considered unsuitable, unless found ii. Percentage by weight of total sample passing
to be acceptable based on strength, impact and hardness tests. through one sieve and retained on next smaller
Specific gravity test of aggregates is done to measure the sieve, to nearest 0.1 percent.
strength or quality of the material while water absorption test
The results of the sieve analysis may be recorded graphically
determines the water holding capacity of the coarse and fine
on a semi-log graph with particle size as abscissa (log scale) and
aggregates. The sample should be thoroughly washed to the percentage smaller than the specified diameter as ordinate.
remove particles and dust, drained and then placed in the wire
basket and immersed in distilled water at a temperature
between 22°C and 32°C. After immersion, the entrapped air 4.3.4 Properties of Aggregates
should be removed by lifting the basket and allowing it to drop The properties of aggregates taken are shown in Table 1.
25 times in 25 seconds. The basket and sample should remain Table 1: Properties of Aggregates
immersed for a period of 24 hrs afterwards. The basket and
aggregates should then be removed from the water, allowed to
Properties Fine Coarse WMCA
drain for a few minutes, after which the aggregates should be
aggregate aggregate
gently emptied from the basket onto one of the dry clothes and
gently surface dried with the cloth, transferring it to a second Specific 2.69 2.74 2.72
dry cloth when the rest would remove no further moisture. The gravity
aggregates should be spread on the second cloth and exposed to Water 0.806% 0.6% 0.5%
the atmosphere away from direct sunlight till it appears to be absorption
completely surface- dry. The aggregates should be weighed Sieve Zone II

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(Weight W1). The aggregates should then be placed in an oven analysis
at a temperature of 100°C to 110°C for 24 hrs. It should then be
removed from the oven, cooled and weighed (Weight W2).
(W2-W1) 4.4 WATER
Water absorption = ×100%
W2 Water is an important ingredient of concrete. It chemically
4.3.3 Sieve Analysis of Aggregates (IS:2386 (Part I) 1963) participates in the reactions with cement to form the hydration
Sieve analysis helps to determine the particle size product, C-S-H gel. The strength of cement mortar depends
distribution of the coarse and fine aggregates. In this we use mainly from the binding action of the hydrated cement paste gel.
different sieves as standardized by the IS code and then pass Potable drinking water having pH value ranging between 6 and 8
aggregates through them and thus collect different sized can be used for construction. The quantity and quality of water
particles left over different sieves. The test sample is dried to a should be very carefully inspected and it should be free from any
constant weight at a temperature of 110 degree celsius and foreign materials. The strength of cement mortar depends mainly
weighed. The sample is sieved by using a set of IS Sieves. On from the binding action of the hydrated cement paste gel. The
completion of sieving, the material on each sieve is weighed. attention is required to see that the initial hydration rate of cement
Cumulative weight passing through each sieve is calculated as a should not be significantly affected. Potable water from the source
percentage of the total sample weight. Fineness modulus is was used for mixing and curing of concrete. Water used was free
obtained by adding cumulative percentage of aggregates from any impurities and amount of acid, alkali, salt, organic
retained on each sieve and dividing the sum by 100. materials etc. are within limit.

4.5 SUPER PLASTICIZER

Super plasticizers are admixtures for concrete, which is added
in order to reduce the water content in a mixture or to slow the
setting rate of the concrete while retaining the flowing properties
of a concrete mixture. Ceraplast is one of the examples for super
plasticizer.

Figure 3 : Particle Size Distribution of Fine Aggregates

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 International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 11, Issue 10, October-2020
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1000 = 210 + (467/2.92) + (CA/2.74*(1/0.63)) +

(0.35*467/(1.15X100))
CA = 1085 kg
Mix proportion; 0.45: 1:1.34:2.33
II. 100 % replacement of coarse aggregate with WMCA:
Water content, w = 210 L
Cement content, c = 210/0.45 = 467 kg
Super plasticizer = 0.35 % (Cement)
Volume of coarse aggregate = 0.63
Figure 4 : Super Plasticiser
Volume of fine aggregate = 0.37
1000 = W + C/SC + F.A/SFA +C.A/SCA + P.A/SPA
4.6 REINFORCEMENT BAR
Thermally and Mechanically Treated bars (TMT) of grade Fe 1000 = 210+ (467/2.92) + (FA/2.69*(1/0.37)) +
500 is used as longitudinal and transverse reinforcement. For (0.35*467/(1.15*100))
longitudinal reinforcement 10 mm diameter bars are used. 6 FA = 626 kg
mm diameter bars are used as stirrups. 1000 = 210 + (467/2.92) + (CA/2.72*(1/0.63)) +
(0.35*467/(1.15*100))
CA = 1077 kg
Mix proportion; 0.45: 1:1.34:2.30

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Similarily, for 25%, 50%, and 75%, the required
quantities of materials was found out and shown in
Table 2.

Table 2 : Quantities of Materials for Mix

WMC
Figure 5 : Reinforcement bars tied with stirrups Replace FA CA
w/c Water Cement A
ment (kg/m (kg/
ratio (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3
(%) 3) m3)
5 MIX DESIGN )
In this study, the waste marble aggregate was varied as 0%, 0 210 467 626 1085 0
25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%.
25 210 467 626 808 270
Mix design parameters
Control mix: 50 210 467 626 539 539
0.45
For M20 Concrete,
75 210 467 626 270 808
Target Strength, f = fck + 1.65*S
= 20+ (1.65*4)
100 210 467 626 0 1077
= 26.6 N/mm2
I. 0 % replacement or standard mix :
6 WORKABILITY OF THE MIX
Water content, w = 210 L
Workability of concrete is the property of freshly mixed
Cement content, c = 210/0.45 = 467 kg concrete which determines the ease and homogeneity with which
Super plasticizer = 0.35 % (Cement) it can be mixed, placed, consolidated and finished. Workability is
directly proportional to water cement ratio. An increase in water-
Volume of coarse aggregate = 0.63
cement ratio increases the workability of concrete. It also related
Volume of fine aggregate = 0.37 compaction as well as strength of concrete.
1000 = W + C/SC + F.A/SFA +C.A/SCA + P.A/SPA After actually mixing concrete in the mix proportion, the
1000 = 210+ (467/2.92) + (FA/2.69*(1/0.37)) + workability is checked in the wet stage. For the water cement ratio
(0.35*467/(1.15X100)) 0.45 and water content of 210 litres, the slump is found to be 75
mm. The slump obtained, 75 mm, is less than 90 mm. As per IS
FA = 626kg 7320: 1974, the slump value 75 mm is taken for medium

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International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 11, Issue 10, October-2020
ISSN 2229-5518 121

workability (60 to 90mm).

7 TESTING OF CUBES
Casting of concrete specimens is done as per Indian
Standards. M20 mix is chosen and mix design is done. Mix ratio
obtained is 0.45: 1: 1.34: 2.29. Compressive strength of concrete
is determined by making cubes of size 150 mm x 150 mm x 150
mm. Cubes are made by finding out the required amount of
quantities of materials using mix proportion. Mixing of concrete
is carried out manually. Figure 8 : Cube placed in CTM for loading
First, the coarse aggregate and fine aggregate are mixed.
After that, the cement is poured into the mixer. Required
amount of water is added. And the resulting concrete with
uniform appearance is transferred to moulds. In assembling the
mould for use, the joints between the sections of mould is thinly
coated with mould oil and a similar coating of mould oil is
applied between the contact surfaces of the bottom of the mould
and the base plate in order to ensure that no water escapes
during the filling.

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Figure 9 : Cube specimen after failure

Figure 6 and Figure 7 show the unmolded cubes for testing.

After 28 days of curing, the compressive strength of cubes were
found out. The test is done in Compressive Testing Machine
(CTM).

8 TEST RESULTS
Test results are shown in Table 3 and Table 4. Table 3 shows
the compressive strength test results of standard cubes. Table 4
Figure 6 : Standard cubes removed from mould for testing shows the compressive strength test results of cubes with WMCA.
Highest strength was obtained at 50% replacement by marble
The interior surfaces of the assembled mould are thinly aggregate.
coated with mould oil to prevent adhesion of the concrete.
Necessary compaction is given and the specimens to be tested
are stored on the site, under sacks for 24 hours from the time of Table 3 : Compressive strength test results of standard cubes
adding the water to the other ingredients. After 24 hours of air
curing, the specimens are transferred to the curing tank. C/S LOAD 28 DAY STRENGTH
CUBE No.
(mm2) (N) (N/mm2)
1 150 x 150 630000 28.00
2 150 x 150 639000 28.40
3 150 x 150 628000 27.91
Average 28.10

Figure 7 : WMCA replaced cubes out of mould for testing

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Table 4 : Compressive strength test results of cubes with 11 REFERENCES

WMCA
[1] Gupta (2019), “ Effect of Various Coarse Aggre- gate Sizes
28 day average and Different Marble Chip Proportions on Properties of Pervious
Percentage C/S Area compressive Concrete”, International Journal of Innovative Technology and
Load (N) Exploring Engineering (IJITEE) ISSN 2278-3075, Volume 8, Issue-10,
of WMCA (mm2) strength
August 2019
(N/mm2)
[2] Kok Yung Chang, Wai Hoe Kwan, Hui Bun (2018), “ The
0% 150 x 150 632000 28.10 Application of Waste Marble as Coarse Aggregate in Concrete
Production” Scientific Research Journal Vol 15 No.1 (2018)
[3] Locati Francisco, Falcone Dario, Marfil Silvina (2014)
25% 150 x 150 573000 25.46 “Dedolomitisation and Alkali-silica Reactions in Low-expansive
Marbles from the Province of Cordoba, Argentina – A
microstructural and chemical study” , Elsevier,Construction and
Building Materials 58 (2014) 171–181
50% 150 x 150 635000 28.22
[4] Hanifi Binici, Tahir Shah, Orhan Aksogan, Hasan Kaplan
(2008) “ Durability of Concrete Made with Granite and Marble as
75% 150 x 150 558000 24.80 Recycle Aggregate”, Elsevier, Journal of Materials Processing
Technology 208 (2008) 299–308
[5] Kore Sudarshan Dattatraya and Vyas A. K. (2016),
100% 150 x 150 505000 22.44 “Performance Evaluation of Concrete using Marble Mining Waste
”,SSP - Journal of Civil Engineer- ing Vol. 11, Issue 2, 2016
[6] IS 383-1970 : Specification for Coarse and Fine Aggregates From

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Natural Sources For Concrete, Bureau of Indian standards.
9 CONCLUSION
[7] IS 2386-1963(1-8) : Methods of Test for Aggregates for
The physical properties of marble (specific gravity, water Concrete, Bureau of Indian standards.
absorption, etc) satisfies the IS code specifications for coarse [8] IS 456-2000 : Plain and Reinforced Concrete - Code of Practice,
aggregates. So, marble can be used as coarse aggregate in concrete. Bureau of Indian standards.
Hardened properties such as compressive strength, split tensile [9] IS 10262-2009 : Guidelines for Concrete Mix Design
strength and flexural strength increases with increase in marble Proportioning, Bureau of Indian standards.
content upto 50%, and then shows a decreasing trend. The [10] Shetty M.S., Concrete Technology - Theory and Practice, S
compressive strength of the concrete mix containing 50% WMCA Chand Publication, 2013
is greater than that of control mix. Concluding the observations,
the optimum percentage replacement of marble waste as coarse
aggregate in concrete is 50%.

10 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I wish to record my indebtedness and thankfulness to all those
who helped me prepare this report titled “Study on Waste Marble
as Partial Replacement of Coarse Aggregate in Concrete” and
present it in a satisfactory way. First and foremost I thank God
Almighty for His providence and for being the guiding light
throughout the work.
I am thankful to Dr. Saji, Principal and Dr. C. Justine Jose,
Head of Dept. of Structural Engineering Department, for their
guidance in preparing this report. I would like to thank my guide
Mrs. Nisha Varghese, Asst. Prof., of Structural Engineering Dept.
for providing critical inputs in the preparation of this report. I
also thank all other faculty members in our department for their
guidance.
Finally, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to friends
who have always been helpful, in preparing and presenting the
report and in the discussion following the presentation.

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