Civil Planets

What is Crushed Sand?

The crushed sand is artificial sand which is manufactured by crushing granite stone. It is manufactured artificially, so it is also called M sand or manufactured sand.

Contents of the Article show

1. Difference between crushed sand and river sand

2. Is crush sand good for construction?

Difference between crushed sand and river sand

Parameters	Crushed Sand	River Sand
Cost	The crushed sand is manufactured from available rock stone, and the price will vary based on material availability. It can be produced near to the construction by the raw material.	Due to the lack of availability, the price of river sand is high.
Silt Content	In crushed sand, the possibility of silt content is less than 2%.	5% to 10% of silt particles present in river sand.
Source	It is manufactured from rock stones.	Naturally available in the riverbank by transportation. (Transported Soil)
Quality	We can expect a good quality of material since it is produced from a factory.	The quality is low because sometimes other types of sand can be mixed with River Sand.
Density	The density of M Sand – 15540 to 1650 Kg/Cum	The density of river sand – 1400 to 1700 Kg/Cum
Impact on the Environment	Less impact on the environment as compared to sand.	Excavation of river sand will reduce the groundwater level.
Marine Impurities	Free from marine impurities.	Other than silt, impurities like coal, mica may be available in sand.
Strength	As above said it is manufactured from rock so the strength is high.	The strength is low compared to M sand.
Moisture Content	Moisture content is only available when the sand is washed by water.	Naturally moisture content is available.
Size of Material	No oversize particles since it is artificially manufactured.	More than 5% of oversize particles
Application	It can be suitable for concrete, filling material, etc.,	It can be used for concrete, plastering & filler material, etc.
Shape	The M sand is a cubical shape & has a rough texture surface.	The natural sand is round in shape & smooth.
Workability	Due to the cubical shape & rough texture, little strain while mixing with other ingredients.	Due to the smoothness of sand, mixing with other materials is easy compared with M sand.
Transportation	Since it is manufactured material, we can produce it inside of a construction site by raw material.	The riverbank may be far from many construction sites. So we may face little difficulties & have to pay more costs.

Is crush sand good for construction?

Obviously Yes!.

The crushed sand is the best substitute for river sand. The strength of the concrete is increasing while using crushed sand instead of river sand.

Even though now P sand (Plastering Sand) is available especially for plastering work. The P sand also a type of crushed sand and the particle size lesser than the normal M sand, which is suitable for plastering work.

The river sand is in very short supply, and also the excavation of river sand causes the groundwater level, and it is very harmful to the environment.

Happy Learning 🙂

Bala

Bala is a Planning Engineer & he is the author and editor of Civil Planets.