Wikipedia.

org Aggregates for Concrete

Chapter 05

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 1
 What is Aggregate?

 Aggregates are the natural or artificial inorganic

granular materials used with a cementing medium
to form mortar or concrete.
 In concrete, the cement paste covers the
aggregate particles surfaces, fills the voids
between them, and bonds the particles together.
 The aggregate occupies ~70-75% of the volume
of concrete, so its quality is of great importance.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 2
Aggregate uses in civil engineering
 Under foundations and pavements
• Stability
• Drainage
 As fillers
• Portland Cement Concrete
• 60-75% of volume
• 80-85% of weight
• Hot Mix Asphalt
• 80%-90% of volume
• 90-96% of weight
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 3
Importance of
general aggregate
properties in different
CE applications
(Meininger and
Nichols, 1990)

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 4
Role of Aggregates in Concrete
-serve as an inexpensive filler
-impart higher volume stability by restricting
shrinkage of the paste to a certain extent.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 5
Aggregate greatly affect the durability and
structural performance of concrete.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 6
 Aggregate Properties Affecting
Concrete Properties
- Grading (Particle Size Distribution)
- Maximum aggregate size (Dmax)
- Shape and surface texture of the particles
- Water absorption capacity
- Unit weight
- Specific gravity
- Mechanical properties (strength, hardness, E modulus, etc.)
- Thermal properties
- The amount of deleterious materials in the aggregates.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 7
Classification of Aggregates

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 8
 Source
Natural Aggregates are taken from native deposits
with no change in their natural state during
production other than crushing, grading, or washing
e.g. sand, gravel, crushed stone, pumice
Artificial Aggregates are those materials obtained
either as a by-product of an unrelated industrial
process or by a special manufacturing process like
heat treatment. e.g. blast-furnace slag, expanded
perlite, expanded vermiculite, burned clay.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 9
 Natural:
• natural sand & gravel pits, river rock
• quarries (crushed)
 Artificial aggregates:
• pulverized concrete & asphalt
• steel mill slag
• steel slugs
• expanded shale
• styrofoam
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 10
Aggregate stokpilling
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 11
 NATURAL ARTIFICIAL

Gravel Crushed stone Expanded clay Slag

Natural sand Expanded perlite

Crushed sand
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 12
Concrete with gravel aggregates Concrete with crushed stone aggregates

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 13
Specific Gravity or Unit Weight
Normal-weight aggregates: 2.4 < Specific Gravity< 2.8.
Lightweight aggregates: Specific Gravity< 2.4.
e.g. expanded perlite, pumice……
Heavyweight aggregates: Specific Gravity > 2.8.
e.g. crushed hematite and magnetite (Heavyweight
concrete is used for radiation shielding).
The dry loose unit weight of normal-weight aggregates
ranges from 1120 to 1760 kg/m3.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 14
 Size of Particles
According to Turkish Standards: (TS 706 EN 12620)
fillers < 63 μm < fine aggregates < 4 mm < coarse aggregate
< 63 mm
According to American Standards: (ASTM C33)
fillers < No.100 (0.149 mm) < fine aggregates < No.4
(4.75 mm) < coarse aggregate < 4 inch (100mm)
Aggregates consisting of both coarse and fine particles are
called combined or mixed aggregates. Natural mixed
aggregates taken from the deposits and used as they
occur are called all-in aggregates or pit-run aggregates.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 15
 Size of Particles
 Fine aggregate material passing a sieve with 4 mm (4.75
mm in ASTM standards) openings.
 Coarse aggregate material retained on a sieve with 4mm
(4.75 mm in ASTM standards) openings.

• Maximum aggregate size – the

largest sieve size that allows all
the aggregates to pass
• Nominal maximum aggregate
size – the first sieve to retain
some aggregate, generally less
than 10%

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 16
Coarse 15-25 mm Coarse 5-15 mm Fine 0-4 mm Filler <0.063 µm
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 17
 Particle shape and surface
texture
The shape and surface texture of the individual aggregate
particles determine how the material will pack into a dense
configuration and also determines the mobility of the stones
within a mix.

There are two considerations in the shape of the material:

angularity and flakiness.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 18
 Angular Rounded Flaky

Elongated Flaky & Elongated

19
Shape:

Rounded particles have no original

faces left; they are fully water-worn or
completely shaped by attrition, e.g.
river gravel.
Angular particles possess well-defined
edges; they show little evidence of
wear, e.g. crushed stone.
Flaky particles are those which have
small thickness relative to the other
two dimensions.
Elongated particles are those which
have lengths considerably larger than
the other two dimensions.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 20
 Surface Texture
This affects the bond to the cement paste & also influences
the water demand of the mix.
Smooth: Cement paste & agg bond is weak, less
water demand for same workability
Rough: Cement paste & agg bond is strong, more
water demand for same workability

Surface texture is not a very important property from

compressive strength point of view but aggregates
having rough surface texture perform better under
flexural & tensile stresses.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 21
SMOOTH ROUGH

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 22
 Aggregate Standards
The requirements for normal weight
aggregates are given in below standards:
 TS 706 EN 12620- Aggregates for Concrete

 ASTM C33 Concrete Aggregates

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 23
 Sampling of Aggregates
A sample is a representative small portion from a larger
whole or group of materials.
It is essential that a truly representative sample of the
material be obtained for testing purposes. Sampling is
as important as testing.
Relatively large aggregate samples are obtained from a
stockpile and represent the whole supply of aggregates
are called field samples or main samples.
Field samples should consist of accumulations of a
number of small portions, called sample increments,
that are taken at random from different parts of the
whole mass.
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 24
 Sampling of Aggregates
Too fine
particles

Sampling

Too coarse
particles

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 25
 Field Sample vs Test Sample
 Field samples are supposed to be sufficiently
large amounts of aggregates for full
representation of the whole supply.
Specifications require only a portion of the
field sample for the test sample.
 The large field sample has to be properly
reduced to a convenient size for conducting
tests on the aggregates (test sample).

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 26
 Amount of Field Samples
For fine aggregate; min 10-15 kg (various
standards)
For coarse aggregate; coarse aggregate
sample size (in kg) ≥ 2 x Dmax (in mm)
Acc. to Turkish standard: M = 6√Dmaxρb
ρb : loose bulk density (t/m3)
M: mass of sample (kg), Dmax : max. agg. size

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 27
Reducing Field Samples to Test
Samples

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 28
 Splitting Method
A sample splitter divides the aggregate into two equal sizes.
A box with even number of chutes alternatively discharging to the
left and to the right. The chutes have equal widths (>1.5 Dmax).
The aggregate sample that is discharged into the splitter is
collected in two receptacles, one on each side. One half of the
aggregate is discarded and the other half is used as the test
sample or for further splitting.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 29
 Quartering Method
Mix the field sample over three times on
a level surface.
Shovel the sample to a conical shape.
Press the apex & flatten the conical
shape.
Divide them into four equal quarters.
Discard two diagonally opposite
quarters & use the remainder.
If this remainder is still too large follow
the same path.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 30
 GRADING (PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION)
Grading particle size distribution.
Grading of aggregates is dividing aggregate sample into various size fractions.
The presence of different size groups in an aggregate provides more
compact fitting of the particles in concrete. In other words, the void spaces
between the particles are reduced.
1. 2. 3.
8 large
8X8X8=512 200 small
2D
spheres

Vsphere=4/3(D/2)3 =0.52D3 Vsphere=4/3(D/8)3 Voccupied=(4.2+1.6)D3= 5.8D3

Vocc.=8 x 0.52D3= 4.2D3 =8.18x10-3 D3 Vtotal = 8D3
Vtotal=(2D)3=8D3 Vocc=512(8.18x10-3D3)=4.2D3 Vvoids=(8-5.8)D3 = 2.2D3
Vvoids=(8-4.2)D3=3.8D3 Vtotal=(2D)3=8D3
Vvoids=(8-4.2)D3=3.8D3

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 31
Reduction of Voids

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 32
Why grading is needed?
1) concrete should have sufficient strength and
acceptable durability during service life,
2) concrete should possess the desired amount
of workability, i.e. concrete should be
sufficiently plastic (in fresh state) to be easily
mixed, transported, placed, compacted, and
finished without segregation.
3) concrete should be economical.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 33
Why we need grading?
The function of the cement paste in a concrete is;
- covering the surfaces of the aggregate particles,
- filling the spaces between them,
- binding the particles together.
Therefore, a compact fitting of aggregate particles
reduces the paste requirement and leads to
economical concrete with high strength and
durability.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 34
 Why we need grading?
If the aggregates do not have good grading, the
desired workability cannot be achieved. In such a
case, if the amount of water is increased with the
purpose of having more workable concrete, then
the W/C ratio of the mix will be increased, causing
the strength and durability of the concrete to be
decreased.
So the grading of the aggregate particles affects the
water requirement and the workability of fresh
concrete; it also affects the strength and durability
of hardened concrete.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 35
 Test Sieves
Grading of aggregate is determined by sieve analysis using
standard wire mesh sieves with square openings.
Standard test sieves according to Turkish standards (TS EN 933-1):
63 mm, 31.5 mm, 16 mm, 8 mm, 4 mm, 2 mm, 1 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.25 mm
and 0.125 mm
Standard ASTM sieves (ASTM C33):
90 mm (3.5 in.), 75 mm (3 in.), 63 mm (2.5 in.), 50 mm (2 in.), 37.5 mm
(1.5 in.), 25 mm (1 in.), 19.5 mm (3/4 in.), 12.5 mm (1/2 in.), 9.5 mm
(3/8 in.), 4.75 mm (No.4), 2.38 mm (No.8), 1.19 mm (No.16),
0.595 mm (No.30), 0.297 mm (No.50), and 0.149 mm (No.100).
These sieves have square openings, too. The numbers by which some
of the ASTM sieves are designated indicate the number of openings
per linear inch, e.g. a No.100 sieve has 100 x 100 openings per
square inch. (1 inch = 25.4 mm.)
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 36
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 37
 Sieve Analysis
The material is sieved through a series of sieves that
are placed one above the other in order of size with
the largest sieve at the top.
To avoid lumps of fine aggregate classified as large
particles and also to prevent clogging of the finer
sieves the aggregates should be dried before
screening.
A shaker is usually used for the shaking operation.
The mechanical sieving operation takes 10-15 min.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 38
At the end of the sieving operation, the fractions of the
aggregate sample retained on each sieve are weighed and
calculations are made as follows:

Standard sieve Weight Percent Cumulative

size (mm) Retained (g) Retained % Retained % Passing
63,0 0 0,0 0,0 100,0
31,5 5200 26,0 26,0 74,0
16,0 2220 11,1 37,1 62,9
8,0 4580 22,9 60,0 40,0
4,0 1780 8,9 68,9 31,1
2,0 2020 10,1 79,0 21,0
1,0 1200 6,0 85,0 15,0
0,5 1400 7,0 92,0 8,0
0,25 1020 5,1 97,1 2,9
0,125 350 1,8 98,9 1,2
Pan 230 1,2 100,0 0,0
Total 20000

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 39
In the grading curve, the vertical axis represents the % passing,
and the horizontal axis represents the sieve openings (in
logarithmic scale).

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 40
 GRADING

A good aggregate grading is the one that leads to

-workable,

- dense,
- uniform concrete,
without any segregation of the particles.
There is no single "ideal" grading curve that can
provide all of the required properties for a concrete
satisfactorily.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 41
 Fineness Modulus

The fineness modulus of an aggregate sample

is an empirical factor obtained by adding the
cumulative percentages of aggregates
retained on each of a specified series of
standard sieves and dividing by 100
FM = Cumulative % Retained on Standard Sieves
100

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 42
 Standard sieves for determination of FM

For fine aggregate

Metric sieves: 0.125, 0.25, 0.50, 1, 2, 4 mm
ASTM sieves: No.100, No.50, No.30, No.16, No.8, No.4
For coarse aggregate (or combined aggregate)
Metric sieves: Fine set + 8, 16, 32, 63 mm
ASTM sieves: Fine set + 3/8”, 3/4”, 1 ½”, 3”

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 43
The higher the fineness modulus, the coarser the aggregate.
Two aggregates with the same fineness modulus can have quite
different gradation curves.
The fineness modulus of fine aggregates is used in calculating
the proportions of the materials in a concrete mix since the
gradation of fine aggregate has the largest effect on
workability of fresh concrete. A fine sand (low fineness
modulus) requires much more paste for good workability.
The practical limits for FM are as follows:
2-3.5 for fine aggregate
5.5-8.0 for coarse aggregate
4-7.0 for combined aggregate

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 44
 Example 1
A 500 g sample of an aggregate was sieved to obtain the
following. Determine the FM of the aggregate.
Sieve Amount % retained % cum. %
size retained on (g) on retained on passing
3/8” 0 0 0 100
#4 30 6 6 94
#8 80 16 22 78
#16 100 20 42 58
#30 120 24 66 34
#50 125 25 91 9
#100 35 7 98 2
Pan 10 2 100 0

FM = Cum. % Retained = 6+22+42+66+91+98 =3.25

100 100

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 45
 Example 2
A 1000 g of a coarse aggregate sample was sieved to obtain the following.
Determine the FM of the aggregate.
Sieve size Amount retained % retained % cum. %
on (g) on retained on passing

2” 70 7 7 93
1½” 230 23 30 70
¾” 350 35 65 35
3/8” 250 25 90 10

No. 4 100 10 100 0

Standard sieves for

sand

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 46
 Example-3
How much aggregate of example 1 should be added to the
aggregate of example 2 to end up with a combined aggregate of FM
of 6.8.
Lets assume that x = weight of FA in 1 kg of the combined
aggregate
3.25(x)+7.85(1-x)=6.8
X=0.23 or 23% of the combined aggregate is FA
77% of the combined aggregate is CA
23 77
X 100/X=30% By weight of CA, FA should be mixed with it.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 47
 Maximum Aggregate Size (Dmax)
Dmax is determined from the sieve analysis; it is the smallest
sieve size through which the entire amount of the aggregate
particles can pass.
Conforming the standard grading limits, it is advantageous to
use an aggregate with the largest Dmax. Because,
- Water requirement of concrete decreases; (drying shrinkage
decreases)
- Cement requirement decreases; (economical concrete)
- For a specified workability and constant cement content, the
water/cement ratio decreases; therefore, strength increases.
The above listed advantages are valid when the Dmax < 40 mm.
The optimum Dmax for structural concrete is stated as 25 mm.
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 48
Moisture States & Absorption
Aggregate particles may contain two types of voids
- impermeable voids
- permeable voids
Water can get into the permeable voids, or the water in them can get
out when the ambient temperature is high.
effective absorption

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 49
Moisture Conditions of Aggregates
 Oven dry- fully absorbent
 Air dry- dry at the particle surface but
containing some interior moisture
 Saturated surface dry (SSD) –neither
absorbing water nor contributing water
to the concrete mixture
 Wet or moist- containing an excess of
moisture on the surface

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 50


Materials of Construction-Aggregates 51
 EXAMPLE
One cubic meter of a concrete mixture consists of

C=300 kg/m3
W=180 kg/m3
FA(SSD)= 700 kg/m3
CA (SSD)= 1200 kg/m3
=2380 kg/m3
The mixture conditions of the aggregates are given below. Calculate
the field weights of the ingredients for 1 m3 of the mix.

Abs. Cap. (%) Total moisture (%)

FA 2.3 4.8
CA 1.2 0.8

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 52
CA is air-dry state:
CAAD=1200(1+0.008)/(1+0.012)=1195.3 kg
1200-1195.3=4.7 kg extra water should be added to the mixing water.

FA is in wet state:
FAwet=700(1+0.048)/(1+0.023)=717.1 kg
717.1-700=17.1 kg should be subtracted from the mixing water
180+4.7-17.1=167.6 kg

Field weights
C=300 kg/m3
W=167.6 kg/m3
FA(wet)= 717.1 kg/m3
CA (air-dry)= 1195.3 kg/m3
=2380 kg/m3

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 53
 SPECIFIC GRAVITY (Particle density)

Specific Gravity = Density of substance / Density of water

= Weight of substance in air / Weight of an equal vol. water
In the metric system, the density of a substance is
numerically equal to the specific gravity.
The specific gravity is expressed as a number, with no unit
The specific gravity of aggregates are defined in four
different ways.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 54
 1) Absolute Specific Gravity
Ratio of weight of solid material to volume of solid material
excluding all of the pores.
To eliminate the effect of pores the material should be
pulverised; the test is laborious and sensitive.

Absolute specific gravity=Ws/(Vs.w)

Ws: weight of solid material
Vs: volume of solid material
w: unit weight of water (1 g/cm3)

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 55
2. Bulk Specific Gravity, Apparent

impermeable pores

Ratio of weight of oven dry aggregate

to the volume of solid material
including the impermeable pores.

Ws
BSGapp =
(Vs+ Vi). w

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 56
 3. Bulk Specific Gravity, Dry

Ratio of weight of the oven dry aggregate to volume of solid material

including both permeable and impermeable pores

impermeable pores

permeable pores

Ws
BSGdry =
(Vs+Vi+Vp).w

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 57
 4. Bulk Specific Gravity, SSD

Ratio of weight of SSD aggregate to volume of solid material

including both impermeable and water filled permeable pores

impermeable pores

permeable pores+water
-

Ws+Vp.w
BSG
ssd =

(Vs+Vi+Vp).w

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 58
Determination of CA Specific Gravity

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 59
 Determination of CA Specific Gravity
 BSG app = A / (A - C)
 BSGdry = A / (B - C)
 BSGSSD = B / (B - C)
 A = Weight of oven dry agg, in air
 B = Weight of SSD agg, in air
 C = Weight of SSD agg, in water
 Absorption capacity, % = [(B - A) / A] * 100

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 60
Determination of FA Specific Gravity

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 61
 Determination of FA Specific Gravity

BSG app = A / (A+D - C)

BSGdry = A / (B+D - C)
BSGSSD = B / (B+D - C)
A = Weight of oven dry agg, in air
B = Weight of SSD agg, in air
C = Weight of pycnometer filled with aggregate and water
D = Weight of pycnometer filled with water
Absorption capacity, % = [(B - A) / A] * 100

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 62
The specific gravity values are used in design
calculations of concrete mixtures to convert the
weight of each ingredient into its solid volume or
vice versa.
Generally, calculations with reference to concrete
aggregates are based on SSD conditions,
because the water contained in the pores of
aggregate does not take part in the chemical
reactions of cement and can therefore be
considered as a part of aggregate.

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 63
 Example 1
A 1000 g sample of coarse aggregate in SSD condition weighed
633 g when immersed in water. The sample weighed 985 g after
drying at 105C. Calculate the SSD bulk specific gravity,
absorption capacity and dry bulk specific gravity of the aggregate.
SSD bulk specific gravity=B/ (B-C)= 1000/ (1000-633)=2.72
Absorption capacity(%)=(B-A)/Ax100=(1000-985)/985x100=1.52%
Dry bulk specific gravity = SSD bulk sp. gr./(1+ab. capacity)
=2.72/1.0152=2.68

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 64
Example 2

A 500 g sample of sand in the SSD condition was placed in a

container which was then filled with water. The weight of
container filled with sample and water was 1697 g. The weight
of container filled with water only was 1390 g. Calculate the
SSD bulk specific gravity of sand.
SSD bulk sp.gr.=B/(B+D-C)=500/(500+1390-1697)=2.59

Materials of Construction-Aggregates 65
 Unit weight (Bulk density)
refers to the weight of aggregates filling up a unit
volume; i.e. the volume of the aggregate particles
packed together includes not only the solid
volume of the particles but also the spaces
between the particles.
U=Wa/V
U: Unit weight of the aggregate, in t/m3 or g/cm3,
Wa: Weight of aggregates filling up a container,
V: Volume of the container.
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 66
Unit weight of aggregate depends on:
- gradation of the aggregates,
- shape of the particles,
- moisture state of the aggregate,
- degree of compaction
Depending on the degree of compaction "loose unit weight" or
"compacted unit weight“ of aggregate can be obtained.
The unit weight reflects the void content between the particles. If
an aggregate sample has a high value as its unit weight, this
means that the amount of solids occupying a given volume is
high or that the space in between the particles is little.
% voids between the particles=[1-(U/(sp.gr.)w]x100
Materials of Construction-Aggregates 67