Aggregate

Dr. Syed K.K Hussaini

Assistant professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Patna
Introduction
 They are granular materials that used for many construction applications, including concrete, asphalt, and
road bases. Aggregates are classified based on size, origin, and material type.
 The classification of aggregate size as per the Indian Standard (IS) Code, specifically IS 383:2016
(Specifications for Coarse and Fine Aggregates from Natural Sources for Concrete), is as follows:
1. Coarse Aggregates
Aggregates retained on a 4.75 mm IS sieve are classified as coarse aggregates. Coarse aggregates are
further subdivided into specific nominal size ranges: 10 mm; 20 mm; 40 mm
The size range for coarse aggregates typically falls between 4.75 mm to 80 mm.
Introduction cntd…
2. Fine Aggregates
Aggregates passing through a 4.75 mm IS sieve and retained on a 75 µm (micron) IS sieve are classified
as fine aggregates.
Fine aggregates include natural sand, crushed stone sand, and manufactured sand.

Cobble: A particle with a diameter between 80 mm and 300 mm

Boulder: A particle with a diameter greater than 300 mm
 Cobble: A particle with a diameter between 80 mm and 300 mm

 Boulder: A particle with a diameter greater than 300 mm

Introduction cntd…
 Aggregates are the important constituents in concrete.
 Earlier, aggregates were considered as chemically inert materials but now it has been recognized
that some of the aggregates are chemically active and also that certain aggregates exhibit
chemical bond at the interface of aggregate and paste.
 The aggregates occupy 70–80 per cent of the volume of concrete, their impact on various
characteristics and properties of concrete is undoubtedly considerable.
 Factors effecting the aggregates properties: (a) Source (b) Size (c) Shape (d) Texture (e )
Strength (f) Specific gravity and bulk density (g) Moisture content (h ) Bulking factor ( i)
Cleanliness (j) Soundness (k ) Chemical properties (l) Sieve analysis (m) Grading
Source
 Almost all natural aggregate materials originate from bed rocks. There are three kinds of rocks,
namely, igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
 The concrete making properties of aggregate are influenced to some extent on the basis of
geological formation of the parent rocks together with the subsequent processes of weathering and
alteration.
 Igneous rocks are formed by the cooling of molten magma or lava at the surface of the crest (trap
and basalt) or deep beneath the crest (granite).

Igneous rock
formation
Sedimentary rock formation
 The sedimentary rocks are formed originally below the sea bed and subsequently lifted up.
Metamorphic rock formation
 Metamorphic rocks are originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks which are subsequently metamorphosed due
to extreme heat and pressure.
Aggregates from Igneous
Rocks
 Most igneous rocks make highly
satisfactory concrete aggregates
because they are normally hard,
tough and dense.
 The igneous rocks have massive
structure, entirely crystalline or
wholly glassy or in combination in
between, depending upon the rate at
which they were cooled during
formation.
Aggregates from Sedimentary Rocks
 Igneous rocks or metamorphic rocks are subjected
to weathering agencies such as sun, rain and wind.
These weathering agencies decompose,
fragmentize, transport and deposit the particles of
rock, deep beneath the ocean bed where they are
cemented together by some of the cementing
materials.
 The deposited and cemented material gets subjected
to static pressure of water and becomes compact
sedimentary rock layer.
 The deposition, cementation and consolidation
takes place layer by layer beneath the ocean bed.
These sedimentary rock formations subsequently
get lifted up and becomes continent.
 The quality of aggregates derived from sedimentary rocks will vary in quality depending upon the cementing
material and the pressure under which these rocks are originally compacted.
 Some siliceous sand stones have proved to be good concrete aggregate. Similarly, the limestone also can yield
good concrete aggregate.
Aggregates from Metamorphic
Rocks
 Metamorphic rocks show foliated structure.
If the thickness of this foliation is less, then
individual aggregate may exhibit foliation
which is not a desirable characteristic in
aggregate.
 However, many metamorphic rocks
particularly quartzite and gneiss have been
used for production of good concrete
aggregates.
Shape
 The shape of aggregates is an important characteristic since it affects the workability of
concrete.
Shape
 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,
excessively flaky aggregate makes very
poor concrete.
Texture
 Surface texture is the property, the measure of which depends upon the relative degree to which
particle surfaces are polished or dull, smooth or rough.
 Surface texture depends on hardness, grain size, pore structure, structure of the rock, and the
degree to which forces acting on the particle surface have smoothed or roughened it.
 As surface smoothness increases, contact area decreases, hence a highly polished particle will
have less bonding area with the matrix than a rough particle of the same volume.
 A smooth particle, however, will require a thinner layer of paste to lubricate its movements with
respect to other aggregate particles.

Strength
 The test for strength of aggregate is required :
(i ) For production of high strength and ultra high strength concrete.
(ii ) When contemplating to use aggregates manufactured from weathered rocks.
(iii ) Aggregate manufactured by industrial process.
Bulk Density
 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 of aggregates is made use of in design calculations of concrete mixes.
 Average specific gravity of the rocks vary from 2.6 to 2.8.
Absorption and Moisture Content
 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.
 The porosity of aggregate will also affect the durability of concrete when the concrete is subjected
to freezing and thawing and also when the concrete is subjected to chemically aggressive liquids.
Bulking of Aggregates
 The free moisture content in fine aggregate results in bulking of volume.
 Free moisture forms a film around each particle. This film of moisture exerts what is known as
surface tension which keeps the neighboring particles away from it.
 The extent of surface tension and consequently how far the adjacent particles are kept away will
depend upon the percentage of moisture content and the particle size of the fine aggregate.
Bulking of Aggregates
 The bulking increases with the increase in
moisture content up to a certain limit and beyond
that the further increase in the moisture content
results in the decrease in the volume and at a
moisture content representing saturation point, the
fine aggregate shows no bulking.
 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.
Cleanliness
 The concrete aggregates should be free from impurities and deleterious substances which are
likely to interfere with the process of hydration, prevention of effective bond between the
aggregates and matrix.
 The impurities sometimes reduce the durability of the aggregate. Generally, the fine aggregate
obtained from natural sources is likely to contain organic impurities in the form of silt and clay.
 Coarse aggregate stacked in the open and unused for long time may contain moss and mud in the
lower level of the stack.
Soundness of Aggregate
 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 extraneous matters undergo
excessive volume change when subjected to the above conditions. 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.
Grading of Aggregates
 The particle size distribution of an aggregate as determined by sieve analysis is termed as
gradation of aggregates.
 If all the particles of an aggregate are of uniform size, the compacted mass will contain more
voids whereas aggregate comprising particles of various sizes will give a mass with lesser voids.
 The particle size distribution of a mass of aggregate should be such that the smaller particles fill
the voids between the larger particles.
 Aggregate comprises about 55 per cent of the volume of mortar and about 85 per cent volume of
mass concrete.
 The grading of aggregate is plotted in a semi-logarithmic graph to get the particle size
distribution curve which is in form of ‘S’.
 The curve showing the cumulative percentages of the material passing the sieves represented on
the ordinate with the sieve openings to the logarithmic scale represented on the abscissa is termed
as Grading Curve.
 The grading curve for a particular sample indicates whether the grading of a given sample
conforms to that specified, or whether it is too coarse too fine, or deficient in a particular size.
Types of Grading of Aggregates
1. Dense- or well-graded aggregate – Has gradation close to the FWHA maximum density
grading curve.
2. Gap-graded aggregate – Has only a small percentage of particles in the mid-size range.
3. Uniformly graded aggregate – Composed mostly of particles of the same size.
4. Open-graded aggregate – Contains only a small percentage of small-size particles.
Desirable properties
 Strength
 The aggregates used in top layers are subjected to
i. Stress action due to traffic wheel load,
ii. Wear and tear,
iii. crushing.
 For a high quality pavement, the aggregates should posses high resistance to crushing, and to
withstand the stresses due to traffic wheel load.
 Hardness
 The aggregates used in the surface course are subjected to constant rubbing or abrasion due to moving
traffic.
 The aggregates should be hard enough to resist the abrasive action caused by the movements of traffic.
 Toughness
 Resistance of the aggregates to impact is termed as toughness.
 Aggregates used in the pavement should be able to resist the effect caused by the jumping of the steel
tyred wheels from one particle to another at different levels causes severe impact on the aggregates.
Desirable properties cntd…
 Shape of aggregates
 Aggregates which happen to fall in a particular size range may have rounded, cubical, angular, flaky or
elongated particles.
 It is evident that the flaky and elongated particles will have less strength and durability when
compared with cubical, angular or rounded particles of the same aggregate.
 Hence too flaky and too much elongated aggregates should be avoided as far as possible.
 Durability
 The property of aggregates to withstand adverse action of weather is called soundness.
 The aggregates are subjected to the physical and chemical action of rain and bottom water, impurities
there-in and that of atmosphere, hence it is desirable that the road aggregates used in the construction
should be sound enough to withstand the weathering action.
 Freedom from deleterious particles
 The aggregates to be clean, tough and durable in nature and free from excess amount of flat or
elongated pieces, dust, clay balls and other objectionable material.
 Similarly aggregates used in Portland cement concrete mixes must be clean and free from deleterious
substances such as clay lumps, silt and other organic impurities.
Aggregate tests
 In order to decide the suitability of the aggregate for use in pavement construction, following
tests are carried out:
 Sieve Analysis
 Crushing test
 Abrasion test
 Impact test
 Soundness test
 Shape test
 Specific gravity and water absorption test
Sieve Analysis
 The sieve analysis is conducted to determine the particle size distribution in a sample of aggregate,
which we call gradation.
 The aggregates used for making concrete are normally of the maximum size 80 mm, 40 mm, 20
mm, 10 mm, 4.75 mm, 2.36 mm, 600 micron, 300 micron and 150 micron.
 The aggregate fraction from 80 mm to 4.75 mm are termed as coarse aggregate and those fraction
from 4.75 mm to 150 micron are termed as fine aggregate.
Test Procedure for Coarse and Fine Aggregate
 The sample shall be brought to an air-dry condition before weighing and sieving. This may be
achieved either by drying at room temperature or by heating at a temperature of 100 to 110°C.
 The air-dry sample shall be weighed and sieved successively on the appropriate sieves starting
with the largest.
 Each sieve shall be shaken separately over a clean tray until not more than a trace passes, but in
any case for a period of not less than two minutes.
 The shaking shall be done with a varied motion, backwards and forwards, left to right, circular
clockwise and anti-clockwise, and with frequent jarring, so that the material is kept moving over
the sieve surface in frequently changing directions.
 Material shall not be forced through the sieve by hand pressure, but on sieves coarser than 20
mm, placing of particles is permitted.
 Lumps of fine material, if present, may be broken by gentle pressure with fingers against the
side of the sieve. Light brushing with a soft brush on the under side of the sieve may be used to
clear the sieve openings.
All-in-Aggregate
 If combined aggregates are available they need not be separated into fine and coarse.

IRC 383:2016-Coarse and Fine Aggregate for Concrete — Specification

Crushing test
 The pavement material can fail is by crushing under compressive stress. A test is standardized by
IS:2386 part-IV and used to determine the crushing strength of aggregates.
 The aggregate crushing value provides a relative measure of resistance to crushing under gradually
applied crushing load. The test consists of subjecting the specimen of aggregate in standard mould to a
compression test under standard load conditions.
 Dry aggregates passing through 12.5 mm sieves and retained 10 mm sieves are filled in a cylindrical
measure of 11.5 mm diameter and 18 cm height in three layers.

Aggregate crushing value test apparatus

Crushing test cntd….
 Each layer is tampered 25 times with at standard tamping rod. The test sample is weighed and placed in
the test cylinder in three layers each layer being tampered again.
 The specimen is subjected to a compressive load of 40 tonnes gradually applied at the rate of 4 tonnes
per minute.
 Then crushed aggregates are then sieved through 2.36 mm sieve and weight of passing material (W1) is
expressed as percentage of the weight of the total sample (W2) which is the aggregate crushing value.

 A value less than 10 signifies an exceptionally strong aggregate while above 35 would normally be
regarded as weak aggregates.
 The crushing value of aggregate is restricted to 30 per cent for concrete used for roads and pavements
and 45 per cent may be permitted for other structures.
Abrasion test
 The cylinder is then locked and rotated at the speed of 30-33 rpm for a total of 500 -1000 revolutions
depending upon the gradation of aggregates.
 After specified revolutions, the material is sieved through 1.7 mm sieve and passed fraction is
expressed as percentage total weight of the sample. This value is called Los Angeles abrasion value.
 A maximum value of 40 percent is allowed for WBM base course in Indian conditions. For bituminous
concrete, a maximum value of 35 is specified.

 The abrasion value should not be more than 30 per

cent for wearing surfaces and not more than 50 per
cent for concrete other than wearing surface.
IS 2386-4 (1963): Methods of test for aggregates for concrete, Part
4: Mechanical properties
Impact test
 The aggregate impact test is carried out to evaluate the resistance to
impact of aggregates.
 Aggregates passing 12.5 mm sieve and retained on 10 mm sieve is
filled in a cylindrical steel cup of internal dia 10.2 mm and depth 5
cm which is attached to a metal base of impact testing machine.
 The material is filled in 3 layers where each layer is tamped for 25
number of blows. Metal hammer of weight 13.5 to 14 Kg is
arranged to drop with a free fall of 38.0 cm by vertical guides and
the test specimen is subjected to 15 number of blows.
 The crushed aggregate is allowed to pass through 2.36 mm IS sieve.
And the impact value is measured as percentage of aggregates
passing sieve (W1) to the total weight of the sample (W2).

 Aggregates to be used for wearing course, the impact value shouldn’t exceed 30 percent. For bituminous
macadam the maximum permissible value is 35 percent. For Water bound macadam base courses the
maximum permissible value defined by IRC is 40 percent. Aggregate impact value shall not exceed 45 per
cent by weight for aggregate used for concrete other than wearing surface.
Soundness test
 Soundness test is intended to study the resistance of aggregates to weathering action, by conducting
accelerated weathering test cycles.
 The Porous aggregates subjected to freezing and thawing are likely to disintegrate prematurely.
 To ascertain the durability of such aggregates, they are subjected to an accelerated soundness test as
specified in IS:2386 part-V.
 Aggregates of specified size are subjected to cycles of alternate wetting in a saturated solution of either
sodium sulphate or magnesium sulphate for 16 - 18 hours and then dried in oven at 105 - 110 oC to a
constant weight.
 After five cycles, the loss in weight of aggregates is determined by sieving out all undersized particles
and weighing.
 And the loss in weight should not exceed 12 percent when tested with sodium sulphate and 18 percent
with magnesium sulphate solution.
Shape tests
 The particle shape of the aggregate mass is determined by the percentage of flaky and elongated
particles in it.
 Aggregates which are flaky or elongated are detrimental to higher workability and stability of mixes.
 The flakiness index is defined as the percentage by weight of aggregate particles whose least dimension
is less than 0.6 times their mean size. Test procedure had been standardized in India (IS:2386 part-I).
 The elongation index of an aggregate is defined as the percentage by weight of particles whose greatest
dimension (length) is 1.8 times their mean dimension.
 This test is applicable to aggregates larger than 6.3 mm. This test is also specified in (IS:2386 Part-I).

Thickness Gauge- For Flakiness Index Length Gauge- For Elongation Index
Specific Gravity
 The specific gravity and water absorption of aggregates are important properties that are required for
the design of concrete and bituminous mixes.
 The specific gravity of a solid is the ratio of its mass to that of an equal volume of distilled water at a
specified temperature.
 Because the aggregates may contain water-permeable voids, so two measures of specific gravity of
aggregates are used: apparent specific gravity and bulk specific gravity.
 Apparent Specific Gravity, Gapp, is computed on the basis of the net volume of aggregates i.e the
volume excluding water-permeable voids. Thus

where, MD is the dry mass of the aggregate, V N is the net

volume of the aggregates excluding the volume of the absorbed
matter, W is the density of water.
 Specific Gravity cntd…
 Bulk Specific Gravity, Gbulk, is computed on the basis of the total volume of aggregates including
water permeable voids. Thus

where, V B is the total volume of the aggregates including the volume of absorbed water.
 The specific gravity of aggregates normally used in road construction ranges from about 2.5 to 2.9.
Water absorption
 Water absorption, The difference between the apparent and bulk specific gravities is nothing but the
water-permeable voids of the aggregates.
 We can measure the volume of such voids by weighing the aggregates dry and in a saturated, surface
dry condition, with all permeable voids filled with water.
 The difference of the above two is MW . MW is the weight of dry aggregates minus weight of aggregates
saturated surface dry condition. Thus

 Water absorption values ranges from 0.1 to about 2.0 percent for aggregates normally used in road
surfacing.