Establishment of water retention properties of granite saw dust using ultracentrifuge

Abstract

Granite Saw Dust (GSD) is produced during the process of cutting/sawing of large granite blocks and polishing of granite slabs. It mostly contains finely crushed rock substance that is treated as waste material and disposed off on topsoil, indiscriminately. As a result, it significantly affects the geotechnical and geochemical properties of topsoil. Thus, its existence becomes a cause of environmental concern. Although, GSD can be used as the resource material in construction works, lack of data on its physical, chemical and geotechnical properties becoming an impediment factor for its usage. This paper deals with to the establish Water Retention Curve (WRC) of GSD and locally available sand by employing an ultracentrifuge device. When compared the resultant WRCs of these materials, it has been found that the behaviour of GSD similar to that of sand. Thus, granite saw dust could be used as a replacement for sand, however, in applications where flow properties play a dominant role. In addition, it has also been observed that the rate of capillary rise in GSD is almost ten times lesser than that of conventional sand. � 2014 Taylor & Francis Group.