Influence of Stone Powder Content from Manufactured Sand Concrete on Shrinkage, Cracking, Compressive Strength, and Penetration

The market demand for manufactured sand has grown rapidly, and the solution to the problem of optimum stone powder content from manufactured sand concrete is imminent. The workability, early age shrinkage strain and cracking, strength, chloride ion penetration, and pore structures of concrete with different stone powder contents were tested to study the influence of stone powder content from manufactured sand concrete. The test results show that the addition of stone powder is beneficial in improving the working performance of manufactured sand concrete. But at the same time, it will increase the amount of concrete water reducer and the total shrinkage strain at an early age. The workability and durability of manufactured sand concrete can be significantly improved by adding an appropriate stone powder. However, excessive stone powder will lead to a reduction in the strength and durability of manufactured sand concrete. It is suggested that the best stone powder content of concrete with a water/cement ratio of 0.32 is 10%, and that of concrete with a water/cement ratio of 0.45 should be less than 20%.