Techno Press
Techno Press

Structural Engineering and Mechanics
  Volume 98, Number 2, April25 2026 , pages 171-188
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/sem.2026.98.2.171
 


Mechanical properties of concrete containing natural river sand and crushed stone sand
Fidan Güzel, Yunus Dere, Yasin Onuralp Özkiliç

 
Abstract
    Excessive extraction of river sand has led to the depletion of natural sand reserves and causes environmental problems in limited riverbeds. Consequently, there has been sustained interest in identifying alternatives to river sand for concrete production. Crushed sand, in this context, is considered as a feasible substitute for natural river sand. In this study, the performance of concrete produced with river sand and crushed stone sand is evaluated. Specifically, the compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of concrete were examined at different watercement (w/c) ratios: 0.45, 0.5, and 0.6. Additionally, the resistance of concrete to freeze-thaw cycles was assessed for both types of sand. The results indicate that concretes produced with river sand and crushed sand exhibit similar trends with changes in w/c ratio. More precisely, the compressive strength increased from 25.69 to 30.21 MPa for crushed sand concrete and from 19.78 to 33.65 MPa for river sand concrete as the w/c ratio decreased from 0.6 to 0.5. Moreover, concrete with crushed stone sand showed higher splitting tensile strength than that with river sand, as well as superior resistance to freeze-thaw cycles. Finally, the flexural strengths of concrete beams containing either river sand or crushed sand decreased similarly with increasing w/c ratio.
 
Key Words
    concrete compounds; crushed stone sand; mechanical properties of concrete; river sand
 
Address
Fidan Güzel: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Igdir University, Igdir 76000, Türkiye
Yunus Dere: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya 42000, Türkiye
Yasin Onuralp Özkiliç: Department of Technical Sciences, Western Caspian University, Baku, 1001, Azerbaijan
 

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