Determining the characteristics of dune sand used in the building of different sites for the desert environment.

Abstract In earlier research, it was found that the characteristics of all types of natural sands must be identified in order to know the extent to which they can be used in the desired field. This study is based on the identification of the physical and chemical characteristics of 24 dune sands located in southwest Timimoun and Adrar The majority of the dunes are classified as particles sands. Sand has been used as a building material since antiquity, especially in Saharan regions where dunes are present. According to sand equivalence tests, all sands are extremely clean, which is confirmed by the fineness modulus of the sand. The chemical properties of the different dune sands were analyzed in the laboratory. The chemical analysis showed that the dune sands of these regions are siliceous sands; the lowest dose of siliceous component is 84%, while the maximum concentration of limestone is 9.55%. The sulfate content does not exceed 1.15 meq/l, which confirms the classification of dune sands as inert material. The use of these sands as raw materials in industry is therefore closely controlled. Moreover, this encourages us to further study these sands and use them as granular construction materials.