Sand is a granular substance composed of finely divided powdery rock and mineral particles. Sand is a major ingredient of mortar, plaster, concrete, and asphalt paving. Bricks made of clay mixed with sand are harder and will bear a greater weight than bricks composed of clay only. Molds used in foundries for casting metal are made of sand with a clay binder.
Sand is commonly used in agriculture, landscape and building materials, including concrete. Sand is used in aquariums, creating artificial reefs, and in man-made beaches.Because it fills the gap between silt and coarse aggregate. It also fills gaps between coarse aggregate particles in concrete, reducing the amount of cement paste necessary, and thus reducing drying shrinkage and cost.
Sand and gravel in concrete serve several purposes. Because they act as a filler, they also add more volume to the concrete. More volume means less air and a stronger product. The size of the gravel also helps to determine the concrete’s strength. Sand is one of the three core ingredients in concrete, and its strength plays a huge role in determining the strength of the resultant concrete mixture as well. Sand is also used in a mixture along with cement as a binding mixture while building walls, arches as well as domes in simple as well as elaborately designed buildings. The fine grade of the sand, as well as its binder quality, ensures that the individual blocks/bricks come together to act as a single element and provide strength to the building. It is similarly used to bind tiles and other cladding with the walls and floor surfaces.
Sand and gravel are used for road construction, for mixing with asphalt, as construction fill, and in the production of construction materials like concrete blocks, bricks, and pipes. Sandy soils have very little clay to retain nutrients and so are not fertile. Sandy soil is usually dry, nutrient and fast draining. It is used for plowing, planting and cultivating. The useful vegetables like potatoes, grams, tomatoes etc require a minimal percentage of soil for a specific period. Sand can be used for cleaning up oil leak or any spill by dredging sand on that spill. The material will form clumps by soaking up, and we can quickly clean the mess.
Sand helps to improve resistance (and thus traffic safety) in icy or snowy conditions.
We need sand in the beaches where tides, storms or any form of preconceived changes to the shoreline crumble the first sand.
Sand containing silica is used for making glass in the automobile and food industry- even household products for the kitchen.
