Foundry sand consists primarily of clean, uniformly sized, high-quality silica sand or lake sand that is bonded to form molds for ferrous (iron and steel) and nonferrous (copper, aluminum, brass) metal castings.

In the late 1980’s, some soil scientists and commercial topsoil suppliers became convinced that it would be necessary to design and manufacture soils for general landscaping purposes as well as specialized soil applications.  Human activity over the past 200 years has degraded most natural topsoll to the point that it no longer adequately supports plant growth.  The state of soil science has now progressed to the point that most topsoil sold in urban and suburban markets is manufactured soil. 

Foundry sand has been used as a substitute for fine aggregate in asphalt paving mixes. It has also been used as a fine aggregate substitute in flowable (or controlled density) fill applications. Prior to use, spent foundry sand requires crushing or screening to reduce or separate oversized materials that may be present. Stockpiles of sufficient size typically need to be accumulated so that a consistent and uniform product can be produced. The course material is based entirely on the FHWA-IF-04-004 Foundry Sand Facts for Civil Engineers.

At the conclusion of this course, the learner will have a better understanding of the procedures for the sealing and filling of cracks in asphalt surfaced pavements as well as the following: 

• Knowledge of procedures of crack treatment in asphalt pavement
• Understands need for crack treatment
• Understands about material that can be used for seal or fill of cracks
• Know how to plan and design the repair operation
• Understands process of construction
• Knowledge of cost effectiveness calculations and finishing methods
• Knowledge of traffic control procedures during crack repair operation
• Know how to do performance evaluation of surface treatment