Concrete Technology

Lecture 4
AGGREGATES
Contents
 Aggregates
 Classification of Aggregates
 Mechanical Properties of Aggregates
 Physical Properties of Aggregates
 Gradation
 Quality of Water
Aggregates
 Aggregates are an important
constituent in concrete.
Aggregate are granular material,
derived on the most part from
the natural rocks, crushed
stones, or natural gravels and
sands.
 Aggregate generally occupy about
70% to 80% of the volume of
concrete and can therefore be
expected to have an important
influence on strength, durability
and even structural performance
of concrete
 Aggregates give body to concrete,
reduce shrinkage and effect
economy
Aggregate Classification
 Classification based on unit weight
 Classification based on source
 Classification based on size
 Classification based on shape
 Classification based on texture
Classification based on unit weight
 Aggregates are classified as Light-weight, Heavy-weight
and Normal-weight aggregate depending on weight and
specific gravity.
AGGREGAT SPECIFIC UNIT BULK EXAMPLE
E GRAVITY WEIGHT DENSITY
(kN/m3) (kN/m3)
normal-weight 2.5-2.7 23-26 15.20-16.80 Sand, Gravel,
Crushed stone
heavy-weight 2.8-2.9 25-29 >20.80 Iron. Barite.
Limonite etc
light-weight 12 <11.20 Shale. Clay.
Slate. slag
 Normal Aggregates vs Light weight
Aggregates
Normal Aggregates Light weight Aggregates
(Gravel) (Shale)
Heavy Weight Aggregates

Barite Aggregates Hematite Aggregates

Normal weight aggregate are further
classified as
 Natural Aggregates
 Sand, Gravel,
 Crushed Rock such as Granite, Quartzite, Basalt,
Sandstone
 Artificial Aggregates
 Broken Brick,
 Air-cooled Slag.
 Sintered fly ash
 Bloated clay
Natural Aggregates
Natural Gravel Crushed Granite

Sand Stone Aggregates

Artificial Aggregates
Brick Chips Air cooled Slag
Classification based on source
 All natural aggregates originate from bed rocks. There are
three kinds of rocks namely Igneous, Sedimentary, and
Metamorphic rocks.
 Igneous rocks are formed by cooling down of the magma or
lava at surface of crest or beneath the crest. Aggregates from
these rocks are hard, tough and dense. However, sometimes
they tend to react with alkalis in cement. Trap, Basalt and
Granite are some examples.
 Sedimentary rocks are originally formed below the sea bed by
sedimentation. Some of these rocks yield flaky aggregates.
Sedimentary rocks vary from soft to hard, porous to dense,
and light to heavy. Examples are Limestone and Shale.
 Metamorphic rocks are either Igneous or Sedimentary, that are
altered either by extreme heat or pressure below the earth’s
surface. Aggregates like quartzite and gneiss are considered of
good quality.
Classification based on size
Coarse aggregate:
Aggregate which retained on the No.4 (4.75mm)
sieve. The function of the coarse aggregate is to act as the
main load-bearing component of the concrete. Maximum
size of coarse aggregate is up to 80mm.
Fine aggregate:
Aggregate passing No.4(4.75mm) sieve and
predominately retained on the No.200 (75µ) sieve. The
lower limit on sand particles is 0.06mm. The fine aggregate
serve the purpose of filling all the open space in between
the coarse particles.
Coarse vs Fine aggregates

Fine Aggregates Coarse Aggregates

Classification based on shape
 The shape of aggregates is an important characteristic,
since it affects the workability of concrete.

CLASSIFICATION EXAMPLE

Rounded River or seashore gravels

Irregular Flint

Angular Crushed Rocks

Flaky Laminated rocks

Elongated
Classification based on Shape (Cont’d)
 From the standpoint of economy in cement requirement
for a given water/cement ratio, rounded aggregates are
preferable to angular aggregates. On the other hand, the
additional cement required for angular aggregate is offset
to some extent by the higher strengths and sometimes by
greater durability as a result of the interlocking texture of
the hardened concrete and higher bond characteristic
between aggregate and cement paste.
 Flat particles in concrete aggregates will have particularly
objectionable influence on the workability, cement
requirement, strength and durability. In general, flaky
aggregate in excess of 10 to 15% of the mass of C.A
makes very poor concrete.
 Rounded vs Angular Aggregates

Rounded Aggregate Angular Aggregate

Flaky vs. Elongated Aggregates
Classification based on texture
 Surface
texture is a measure of the smoothness and
roughness of aggregate. The grouping of aggregate is
broad and is based on visual examination of the specimen.

CLASSIFICATION EXAMPLES

Glassy Black flint

Smooth Gravel, Marble

Granular Sandstone

Rough Basalt

Crystalline Granite

Honeycombed & Porous Brick, slag

Classification based on texture
 Surface texture depends upon the hardness, grain size,
and pore characterizes of the parent rock.
 Hard, dense and fine grained rocks usually have smooth
surface.
 Surface texture influence the water requirement for the
mixture.
 Rough surface provides more contact area for cement
paste and hence a stronger bond but require more paste.
Therefor the final concrete is less dense.
 Smooth surface provide thin cement paste layer resulting
in dense packing.
Smooth vs. Rough Texture Aggregates
Mechanical Properties of Aggregates
 Bond
 Strength
 Toughness
 Hardness
Bond
 Both the shape and the surface texture of aggregate
influence considerably the strength of concrete
 Rougher texture results in a greater adhesion or bond
between the particles and the cement matrix compared
to smooth texture.
 Likewise, the larger surface area of a more angular
aggregate provides a greater bond compared to rounded
aggregates
 The determination of the quality of bond is rather difficult
and no accepted test exists.
Strength
 The compressive strength of concrete cannot significantly
exceed that of the major part of the aggregate contained
therein.
 The required information about the aggregate particles has to
be obtained from indirect tests: crushing strength of prepared
rock samples, crushing value of bulk aggregate, and
performance of aggregate in concrete.
 The aggregate crushing value (ACV) test is prescribed by BS
812-110: 1990 and BS EN 1097-2: 1998, and is a useful guide
when dealing with aggregates of unknown performance
 The aggregate crushing value gives a relative measure of
resistance of an aggregate to crushing under a gradually
applied compressive load
Toughness
 Toughness can be defined as the resistance of aggregate
to failure by impact, and it is usual to determine the
aggregate impact value of bulk aggregate and is measured
by Impact value test
 The aggregate impact value gives a relative measure of the
resistance of an aggregate to sudden shock or impact.
 The impact value is some times used as an alternative to
its crushing value.
Hardness
 Hardness, or resistance to wear, is an important property
of concrete used in roads and in floor surfaces subjected
to heavy traffic.
 It is measured by aggregate abrasion value test
 The aggregate abrasion value gives a relative measure of
resistance of an aggregate to wear when it is rotated in a
cylinder along with some abrasive charge
 Los Angeles Abrasion Test.
Physical Properties
 Bulk Density
 Specific Gravity
 Porosity and Absorption
 Moisture Content
 Bulking of Aggregates
 Soundness
Bulk Density
 The bulk density or unit w eight of an aggregate gives valuable
information regarding the shape and grading of the aggregate.
 The bulk density of aggregate is measured by filling a container
of known volume in a standard manner and weighing it.
 Bulk density shows how densely the aggregate is packed when
filled in a standard manner.
 The bulk density depends on the particle size distribution and
shape of the particles.
 The higher the bulk density, the lower is the void content to
be filled by sand and cement.
 The sample which gives the minimum voids or the one which
gives maximum bulk density is taken as the right sample of
aggregate for making economical mix.
Specific Gravity
 Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the density of a
material to the density of distilled water at a stated
temperature; hence, specific gravity is dimensionless
 Specific gravity of aggregates is made use of in design
calculations of concrete mixes.
 Similarly, specific gravity of aggregate is required to be
considered when we deal with light weight and heavy
weight concrete. Average specific gravity of the rocks vary
from 2.6 to 2.8.
Porosity and Absorption
 Some of the aggregates are porous and absorptive. Porosity
and absorption of aggregate will affect the water/cement ratio
and hence the workability of concrete as well as the bond
between it and cement paste.
 The porosity of aggregate will also affect the durability of
concrete when the concrete is subjected to freezing and
thawing
 The porosity of normal rocks vary from 0 to 50%.
 The water absorption of aggregate is determined by measuring
the increase in weight of an oven dry sample when immersed
in water for 24 hours.
 The ratio of the increase in weight to the weight of the dry
sample expressed as percentage is know n as absorption of
aggregate
Moisture Content
 Moisture content as the water in excess of the saturated and
surface-dry condition.
 Thus, the total water content of a moist aggregate is equal to
the sum of absorption and moisture content
 Aggregate exposed to rain collects a considerable amount of
moisture on the surface of the particles, and, except at the
surface of the stockpile, keeps this moisture over long periods
 In concrete, the water absorbed by aggregate in time interval
equal to the final setting is of importance which is 10 to 30
minutes rather than 24 hours.
 This is particularly true of fine aggregate, and the moisture
content must be allowed for in the calculation of batch
quantities and of the total water requirement of the mix
 Can be determined by buoyancy meter test
Diagrammatic representation of moisture in
aggregates
Bulking of Aggregates
 The free moisture content in fine aggregate results in
bulking of volume i.e. increase in the volume of a given
mass of fine aggregates caused by the films of water
pushing the aggregate particles apart
 Due to the bulking, fine aggregate shows completely
unrealistic volume. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary
that consideration must be given to the effect of bulking
in proportioning the concrete by volume.
 It will also affect the yield of concrete for a given cement
content.
Plot between volume change and moisture
content of aggregates
Soundness
 Soundness refers to the ability of aggregate to resist excessive
changes in volume as a result of changes in physical conditions.
 These physical conditions that affect the soundness of aggregate
are the freezing the thawing, variation in temperature, alternate
wetting and drying under normal conditions and wetting and
drying in salt water.
 Aggregates which are porous, weak and containing any undesirable
deleterious matter undergo excessive volume change when
subjected to the above conditions.
 Aggregates which undergo more than the specified amount of
volume change is said to be unsound aggregates.
 If concrete is liable to be exposed to the action of frost, the
coarse and fine aggregate which are going to be used should be
subjected to soundness test.
Unsoundness due to impurities
 Sometimes aggregates fail to maintain their integrity
owing to the non-durable impurities.
 Shale and other particles of low density are considered
unsound and so are soft inclusions such as clay lumps,
wood and coal as they lead to scaling.
 Mica, gypsum and other sulphates and sulphides should
also be avoided.
Gradation
 Aggregates in concrete are of various uses, this particle
size distribution in concrete is termed as “Gradation”
 The particle size distribution is determined by sieve
analysis
 Proper gradation is one of the most important factors in
producing workable concrete.
Gradation (Cont’d)
 There are 3 main types
 Well Graded: Well graded aggregate has a gradation of
particle size that fairly evenly spans the size from the finest
to the coarsest which means particles are densly packed
together leaving little or no voids. Represented by S shape in
gradation curve
 Poorly Graded: Contains particle distribution of similar
sizes which means particles pack together leaving large voids
in concrete mass. Represented by Steep curve
 Gap Graded: Aggregates consist of particles in which
some intermediate size particles are missing. Characterized
by a gradation curve with hump in between
Figure Showing Gradation of Aggregates
Gradation Curves
Quality of Water
 The quality of the water is important because impurities
in it may interfere with the setting of the cement, may
adversely affect the strength of the concrete or cause
staining of its surface, and may also lead to corrosion of the
reinforcement. For these reasons, the suitability of water
for mixing and curing purposes should be considered.
Clear distinction must be made between the effects of
mixing water and the attack on hardened concrete by
aggressive waters because some of the latter type may be
harmless or even beneficial when used in mixing.
Mixing Water
 In many specifications, the quality of water is covered by a
clause saying that water should be fit for drinking
 Such water very rarely contains dissolved solids in excess
of 2000 parts per million (ppm), and as a rule less than
1000 ppm
 The criterion of potability of water is not absolute:
drinking water may be unsuitable as mixing water when
the water has a high concentration of sodium or
potassium and there is a danger of alkali-aggregate
reaction
Limits of Impurities in Mixing Water in mg/l
Curing Water
 Any water suitable for mixing, or even slightly inferior in
quality, is acceptable for curing. However, it is essential
that curing water be free from substances that attack
hardened concrete. For example, concrete is attacked by
water containing free CO,. Flowing pure water, formed by
melting ice or by condensation, and containing little C02,
dissolves Ca(OH)2 and causes surface erosion
THE END