Engineering Materials

Fine and Coarse aggregates

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 Content
• Definition and Introduction of aggregates
• Types of Aggregate
• Sources of aggregate
• Properties of aggregate (Physical and
Mechanical)
• Importance, and methods of grading of aggregates
• Uses of Aggregate

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 Aggregates:
•By dictionary definition, aggregates are a
combination of distinct parts gathered into a mass or
a whole
Aggregate: the inert filler materials, such as sand or
stone, used in making concrete/asphalt.
•Coarse Aggregates
•Fine aggregates
 Aggregates in Composites
• 60-70% of Concrete Volume
• 80-90% of Asphalt Volume
• 95% of Polymer Concrete
 Classification
• Based on size
• Based on geological footprint
• Based on weight
• Based on sources

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 Definition
• Generally, in civil engineering the term
aggregate means a mass of crushed stone,
gravel, sand etc.
Classification Based on Size

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 Geological Classification
Igneous Rock source

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 Minerals in Aggregates
• Silica and Silicates • Carbonates
– Quartz SiO2 – Calcite CaCO3
• hard, strong, insoluble
• limestone
• usually igneous
• softer, strength variable
– Opal
• poor crystallinity – Dolomite
• hydrous silicate (3-9%) • dolomitic limestone
– Feldspar • 1CaCO3 + 1MgCO3
• hard, strong, variable • softer, strength variable
composition
 Aggregates
• Silicious Gravels • Chert
– excellent strength and – dense strong aggregate
hardness – many types are reactive
– avoid contamination with alkalies
with silts, shale and • Limestone + Dolomite
clay – Lower modulus than
• Sandstone silicates (softer)
– porosity and absorption
– variable strength and
vary considerably
durability with
porosity, absorption – good aggregate source
Classification based on weight
 Examples of Uses for the
Weight
Aggregates Used Concrete

can be sawed or nailed,

ultra-lightweight vermiculite, ceramic also used for its
insulating properties

used primarily for making

expanded clay, shale or lightweight concrete for
lightweight
slate, crushed brick structures, also used for its
insulating properties

crushed limestone, sand,

river gravel, used for normal concrete
normal weight projects
crushed recycled
concrete
used for making high
steel or iron shot; steel density concrete for
heavyweight shielding against nuclear
or iron pellets
radiation
 Aggregate Sources
• 1. Natural sources for aggregates include
gravel pits, river run deposits, and rock
quarries. Generally, gravel comes from pits
and river deposits, whereas crushed stones
are the result of processing rocks from
quarries. Usually, gravel deposits must also
be crushed to obtain the needed size
distribution, shape, and texture
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 Aggregate Sources
• 2. Manufactured aggregates can use slag
waste from iron and steel mills and
expanded shale and clays to produce
lightweight aggregates. Heavyweight
concrete, used for radiation shields, can use
steel slag and bearings for the aggregate.

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 Aggregate Sources

• Crushed Stone:
– Quarried from a
ledge rock

Gravel:
◼ Mined or dredged from
natural deposits

Crushed stone is generally limestone, dolomite, sandstone, shale, chert, opa

(sedimentary)
Granite, rhyolite, basalt, Diorite, Gabbro, Andesite (igneous)
Quartzite(metamorphosed sandstone), marble (meta.. Limestone), slate (meta… shale)
 Processing

• Mining
• Crushing
– Primary
– Secondary
• Sizing
– Gradation
– Fines
• Testing (QC/QA)
 Other Aggregate Sources
• Recycled Concrete:
– Quarried from
pavements or other
sources

Slag or Foundry
Sand:
◼ Mined from industrial
stockpiles
Properties of Aggregate

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 Particle Shape of Coarse
Aggregates
• Angular, rounded, flaky, elongated,
and flaky and elongated. Flakiness,
also referred to as flat and elongated
• Under the traditional definition, a flat
particle is defined as one where the
ratio of the “middle” dimension to the
smallest dimension of the particle
exceeds the 3 to 1.
• An elongated particle is defined as
one where the ratio of the longest
dimension to the middle dimension of
the particle exceeds the 3 to 1.
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 Elongation/Flatness

• Under the Superpave

criteria, particles are
classified as “flat and
elongated” if the ratio of the
largest dimension to the
smallest dimension exceeds
5 to 1.

D 4791 Elongation test

 Shrinkage of Aggregates:
Large Shrinkage = fine grained sandstones, slate,
basalt, trap rock, clay-containing

Low Shrinkage = quartz, limestone, granite, feldspar

What happens if abnormal aggregate
shrinkage occurs?

• Excessive cracking
• Large deflection of reinforced beams and slabs
• Some spalling (chipping or crumbling)

If more than 0.08 percent shrinkage occurs, the aggregate

is considered undesirable.
Moisture Conditions of Aggregates:
The amount of water the aggregates absorb is important
in the design of portland cement concrete, since
moisture captured in the aggregate voids is not
available to react with the cement or to improve the
workability of the plastic concrete.

1. Oven dry- fully absorbent

2. Air dry- dry at the particle surface but containing
some interior moisture
3. Saturated surface dry (SSD) –neither absorbing
water nor contributing water to the concrete
mixture.
4. Wet or moist- containing an excess of moisture
on the surface
Absorption Capacity: maximum amount of water aggregate can
absorb
• Absorption Capacity (%) = [(WSSD – WOD)/WOD] X 100

Surface Moisture: water on surface of aggregate particles

• Surface Moisture (%) = [(WWET – WSSD)/WSSD] X 100

Moisture Content: of an aggregate in any state

• Moisture Content (%) = [(WAGG – WOD)/WOD] X 100
WAGG=weight of aggregate
WWET=moist weight of aggregate

WSSD=Saturated surface dry weight of aggregate

WOD= oven dried weight of aggregate
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 Unit Weight
(unit mass or bulk density)
-The weight of the aggregate
required to fill a container of a
specified unit volume.
-Volume is occupied by both the
aggregates and the voids between
the aggregate particles.
-Depends on size distribution and
shape of particles and how densely
the aggregate is packed
-Loose bulk density
-Rodded or compact bulk density

Normal-weight concrete… bulk density of aggregate is

approximately 75-110 lb per cubic foot.
 Voids
•Void content affects mortar requirements in mix design; water
and mortar requirement tend to increase as aggregate void
content increases.

• Void content between aggregate particles increases with

increasing aggregate angularity.

• Void contents range from 30-45% for coarse

aggregates to about 40-50% for fine aggregates.

• Total volume of voids can be reduced

by using a collection of aggregate
sizes.
 Specific Gravity
• Ratio of the weight
of an object to the
weight of an equal
volume of water (at
std. temp. &
pressure).
Gradation -Sieve Analysis
• For a basic understanding of the nature of
aggregate, the distribution of the grain size
present in a given aggregate mass must be
known.
• The grain-size distribution of coarse-and
fine grained aggregates (gravelly and/or
sandy) is determined by sieve analysis.
Sieve Analysis
 Sieve numbers correspond to how many of that size
sieve squares can be lined up to make a 1" line. So a
#4 sieve screen uses 4 squares to make up a 1" line.
You can see what I mean in the picture
 Particle Size Distribution Curve:
• Information obtained from the grain size analysis is
presented in the form of a curve, on a semi logarithmic plot.
The aggregate weight, as a percentage of the total weight, of
all grains smaller than any given diameter (percentage finer)
is plotted on the ordinate using an arithmetic scale, while
the size of a soil particles, in millimeters, is plotted on the
abscissa which uses a logarithmic scale.
Types of gradation

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UNIFORM GRADED AGGREGATE
• It refers to a gradation that contains most of
the particles in a very narrow size range. In
essence, all the particles are the same size.
The curve is steep and only occupies the
narrow size range specified.
• Narrow range of sizes.
• Grain-to-grain contact.
• High void content.
• High permeability.
• Low stability.
• Difficult to compact. 63
• OPEN GRADED AGGREGATE
• In this type of gradation of aggregates, only
a small percentage of aggregate particles are
in the small range. This results in more air
voids because there are not enough small
particles to fill in the voids between the
larger particles. The curve is near vertical
in the mid-size range, and flat and near-zero
in the small-size range.

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• GAP GRADED AGGREGATE
• Gap-graded aggregate contains only a small percentage of
aggregate particles in the mid-size range. The curve is flat in
the mid-size range. Some PCC mix designs use gap graded
aggregate to provide a more economical mix since less sand
can be used for a given workability. When gap-graded
aggregate are specified, certain particle sizes of aggregate are
omitted from the size continuum. Gap-graded aggregate are
used to obtain uniform textures in exposed aggregate
concrete. Close control of mix proportions is necessary to
avoid segregation.
• Missing middle sizes.
• No grain-to-grain contact.
• Moderate void content.
• Moderate permeability.
• Low stability.
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• Easy to compact.
• DENSE GRADED AGGREGATE
• A dense gradation refers to a sample that is
approximately of equal amounts of various
sizes of aggregate. By having a dense
gradation, most of the air voids between the
materials are filled with particles. A dense
gradation will result in an
even curve on the gradation graph.
• Wide range of sizes.
• Grain-to-grain contact.
• Low void content.
• Low permeability.
• High stability.
• Difficult to compact. 38
Mechanical Properties

– Compressive strength
– Tensile strength
– Toughness
– Abrasion resistance
• Powder or fracture
– Modulus
– Coefficient of thermal
expansion
 Strength of Aggregates
• The strength of portland cement concrete and asphalt
concrete cannot exceed that of the aggregates. It is
difficult and rare to test the strength of aggregate
particles. However, tests on the parent rock sample or a
bulk aggregate sample provide an indirect estimate of
these values.
• Shale and Sandstone: 35-90 MPa (5-13 ksi)
• Limestone: 48-270 MPa (7-39 ksi)
• Granite: 27-275 MPa (4-40 ksi)
• Pumice: 2 MPa (300 psi)
• Traprock: 105-235 MPa (15-34 ksi)
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 Abrasion Resistance
• The ability of aggregates to resist
the damaging effect of loads is
related to the hardness of the
aggregate particles and is
described as the toughness or
abrasion resistance.
• ASTM C131 (LA Abrasion)
• Special gradation of material is
used
• 445g spheres added
• 500 revolutions WNo.12 sieve after test
• Sieve and wash to determine
% Loss =
WOriginal sample
material greater than No. 12
sieve.
 Chemical Properties
– Solubility
– Electrical conductivity
– Asphalt affinity
– Reactivity to alkalies
– Reactivity to CO2
– Chemical stability
 Storage and Transportation
• Aggregates must be handled and stockpiled in
such a way as to minimize segregation,
degradation, and contamination.
• Segregation
– mostly a problem in Coarse Aggregate
– dry fine aggregate may lose fines
– Rounded particle more prone
• Moisture content
– mostly a problem in Fine Aggregate
– M.C. of stockpiles should be stabilize
• Contamination
– avoid silts, clay, carbon contamination
 Storage and Transportation
• Trucks, conveyors, rail,
• Cleanliness
• Covered
• Paved area for storage
 Thanks
• Please read chapter 5 of Materials for Civil
and Construction Engineers by Mamlouk

• Assignment 1: Laboratory Measuring

Devices (page 32-44 of aforementioned
book)

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