Brands and Types of Construction Sand and Their Characteristics
The term “sand” is commonly used to describe substandard bulk materials used at various stages of construction. Sand includes various types of bulk substrates with different production methods, fractions, and amounts of impurities.
Article Contents:
structural sands can be natural or artificial. The former is formed by the disintegration of rock. It is found naturally and is extracted by mining sand and sandstone deposits.
In the latter case, the raw materials used are granite, marble, tuff, and limestone, which are crushed to achieve the desired structure. This type of sand is used in the creation of textured mortars. When purchasing from PRODostavka, the price for sand in Kaliningrad is displayed on the company’s website Grades and Fractions the strength of sand is determined by the stability of the rock used for its production.
Brands and Fractions
Grade 800, corresponding to igneous rocks;
Grade 400, denoting metamorphic rocks;
- Grade 300, belonging to sedimentary rocks.
- These designations are used to label construction sands intended for exterior and interior work related to finishing concrete and reinforced concrete structures.
- The most important indicator characterizing the quality of this material and its suitability for use in various industries is the sand group, which is determined by its fineness and grain size, including division into the following fractions:
Coarse, with a particle size of 2. 0 to 5. 0 mm.
Medium, with grain sizes ranging from 0. 5 to 2. 0 mm.
- Fine, with grain sizes up to 0. 5 mm.
- Sand grain size is a fundamental factor that directly impacts the subsequent use of this material. Based on this parameter, all structural sands are divided into two main classes: first and second.
- Medium-grain sand is often used in various mortars, while coarse sand is a key component of concrete and is used in the construction of building foundations.
Classification of sands by type and their characteristics
The main technical parameters characterizing the quality and composition of this material include the following
Classification of Sands by Type and Their Characteristics
This indicator reflects the size of sand separation points and includes the following varieties
Fineness Modulus
Fine sand, the grain size of which is from 1. 5 to 2. 0 mm.
- Medium-sized, which includes fractions from 2 to 2. 5 mm.
- Large, having grains of 2. 5 – 3. 0 mm.
- Increased coarseness – from 3. 0 to 3. 5 mm.
- Very large, having grains measuring 3. 5 mm or more.
- This is what quartz sand of a fraction of 1-2 mm looks like.
- Filtration coefficient
Another important physical and technical property of the material is the filtration coefficient. This parameter indicates the amount of water required to pass through one cubic meter of sand per unit of time (hour). The porosity of the material directly affects the value of this indicator.
Filtration Coefficient
The value of this indicator for materials of natural origin is approximately 130-1500 kg/m? Changes in humidity lead to changes in their volume, which directly affects the bulk density. At the same time, regardless of the origin and production method, construction sand must meet the requirements of GOST 8736-93.
Bulk Density
Radioactivity class;
The amount of dust, clay and silt impurities present.
- To ensure the quality of the material and the possibility of its subsequent use as a binder in mortars, there are very strict requirements for the amount of impurities in the material.
- In particular, the presence of impurities of dust, clay and silt in amounts of up to 3% in the total mass of sands of medium, coarse and larger sizes is allowed. For fine and very fine sands this figure is 5%.
Artificial origin
Unlike natural varieties, artificial sands are produced using special equipment through mechanical action on rock. Artificial sands are divided into variants of sedimentary and volcanic origin.
Artificial Origin
Thermosite or porous sand from slag melts, obtained from materials with a porous structure, such as slag pumice. They are considered one of the most economical types, as they are produced primarily from industrial waste.
Perlite sand. These are produced by heat treatment from crushed volcanic glass, known as perlite and obsidian. They are white or light gray in color and have a minimum bulk density of 75-250 kg/m². They are used in the production of thermal insulation.
- Quartz. This type of sand is also often called “white” due to its characteristic milky white hue. However, a more common type of quartz sand is yellowish quartz, which contains a certain amount of clay impurities. Due to its versatility and high quality, this type of sand is widely used in various industries, including water treatment systems, glass production, and porcelain manufacturing.
- Expanded clay. Expanded clay gravel is produced primarily by crushing with a roller crusher and firing in a fluidized bed or rotary kiln.
- Marble. One of the rarest types. It is used in the production of ceramic tiles, mosaics, and roofing tiles.
- The main advantages of artificial sand over its natural counterpart are that it contains minimal impurities and is uniform in composition. This improves the quality of the final product produced with it.
- If we evaluate this material on a standard five-point scale, its cost, practicality, and appearance would be a solid “5.” The radioactivity of artificial sand is much higher than that of natural sand, so only the environmental friendliness of this type is questionable.
Types of Construction Sand
Natural Types
By extraction method and origin, natural construction sands are usually divided into several main groups. These include:
Natural Types
Navigation. This type of sand also has minimal contamination caused by the accumulation of salt present in seawater, most of which is removed in a two-stage cleaning system. Very high-quality sea sand can be used in many aspects of construction, including cleaning industrial tools with sandblasting machines and installing screeds.
- Gorges and Mountains. These types are characterized by the presence of clay, which somewhat reduces the strength of the mortar and is therefore not used as often.
- Carriers. Also one of the most commonly used types due to its low cost, although it contains a significant amount of clay and dust. For example, carrier sand is widely used in house and road construction, for the “ground work,” as well as for site preparation and backfilling.
- Characteristics of Regular River Sand
- Technical Specifications
Indicator
Dry River Sand DensityDensity of river sand under natural moisture conditions1. 45 g/cm3Moisture content of river sand4. 00%Content of dust, clay, and silt particles in river sand0. 7% by weightSpecific gravity of river sand2. 65 g/cm3Clay lumps present in river sand, loam, and other impurities0. 05% by weightGravel particles in river sand > 10 mm in ballastRiver sand1. 680%In addition to this gradation, sand gravel is divided into the following subgroupsWashed (washed)
| 1. 5 kg/m3 |
Extracted from a quarry using a special technology using large quantities of water and a device called a decanter, which protects the sand mass and removes waste liquid from the sediment. This process removes clay and dust particles present in the bulk of the material. This type of sand is characterized by the presence of very fine fractions with an average size of approximately 0. 6 mm. It is used in the production of mortar and concrete, road construction, etc.
Alluvial (Washed)
This type is also mined in quarries and, after reaching the surface, undergoes mechanical processing, which results in the presence of foreign bodies such as dust particles and clay.
Screened
Using the five-point scale above to evaluate this material, a “five” would be given for its low cost, practicality, ease of use, and accessibility, as well as its excellent environmental properties.
Grades and types of construction sand, their characteristics
Grades and types of construction sand, their characteristics
