When you are looking for a substitute for river sand, there is nothing better than manufactured sand also known as M-sand. This type of sand is particularly used in the construction industry for producing concrete and mortar mix.
Manufactured sand is crushed fine aggregate that’s produced from materials that are suitable for strength and durability as characteristics.
If you crush the stones with general methods by using jaw crushers, it will produce a poor and weak particle. This is why they are further crushed in a vertical shaft impact crusher that eliminates impurities from the manufactured fine particles.
Properties of manufactured sand –
The shape of the sand is cubical, with controlled gradation, particle passing is around 75 microns. There should be no impurities present in the finished products. The specific gravity needs to be between 2.5 to 2.9 approximately.
Requirements for manufacturing M-Sand:
- Every sand particle has to have crushing strength.
- The texture of the surface needs to be smooth.
- Edges of the particle have to be grounded.
- The fines that are lower than 600 microns in the sand should be 30 per cent at most.
- The sand should not have any impurities.
- The percentage of silt should be less than 2 per cent.
Advantages of M-sand
Manufactured sand is highly cohesive and compressive in strength. Due to the low number of impurities present in the manufactured sand, the concrete produced with the help of m-sand is of better quality.
There are case studies present that revealed that if you use manufactured sand in place of river sand, you get six to nine per cent higher compressive strength and twelve to fifteen per cent better flexural strength compared to other types of sand.
Even the masonry strength is increased by 30 per cent compared to other types out there.
The M-sand need a low ratio of water and cement, that results in getting better characteristics when the concrete is in the hardened state. Manufactured sand can also eliminate any impact that can occur in river sand when lifting it from the river bed.
What is its cost in comparison to river sand?
Generally, manufactured sand has different costs based on the location it has to be used. For example, if you take Kolkata, the m-sand costs much more than the river sand. This is because river sand is readily available as compared to other places like Bangalore or Mumbai.
Uses of Manufactured Sand in real estate
If you are building in real estate, it is recommended that you use Manufactured sand for better results. This is the best substitute for river sand since it creates a better result when mixed with mortar.
This allows the manufactured sand to be used in multiple places when it comes to industrial or real estate places.
If you take cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and other metropolitan cities, they have already switched from river sand to manufactured sand for construction activities.
Manufacturing process
The manufactured sand is produced by multiple sets of steps that include, crushing then screening and then washing the outcome. Ince that’s done, they can then separate the fraction and the recombine and blend as per their requirements.
Crushing
Unlike the river sand Manufactured sand or M-sand is produced by placing the stones that are of different sizes into multiple crushers that are jaw crusher and a cone crusher.
Screening and Washing
One that’s done the manufactured sand, such as robo sand for construction , is sent for washing. Once all the steps are done, you get manufactured sand ready.
