Concrete Technology

Aggregates

Prof. Dr. Tek Raj Gyawali

School of Engineering
Pokhara University
 Definition
 Aggregates are defined as inert, granular, and inorganic materials that normally consist of stone or stone-like solids.

 Aggregates can be used alone (in road bases and various types of fill) or can be used with cementing materials (such as
Portland cement or asphalt cement) to form composite materials or concrete.

 he most popular use of aggregates is to form Portland cement concrete.

 Approximately three-fourths of the volume of Portland cement concrete is occupied by aggregate. It is inevitable that a
constituent occupying such a large percentage of the mass should have an important effect on the properties of both the
fresh and hardened products.

 As another important application, aggregates are used in asphalt cement concrete in which they occupy 90% or more of the
total volume.

 Aggregates can largely influence the composite properties due to its large volume fraction
 Types of Aggregates
Aggregates can broadly be categorized as natural and artificial aggregates with respect to source and method of preparation.
Natural: Sand, gravel, crushed rock as Granite, Quartzite, Basalt, Sandstone
Artificial: Broken brick, Air-cooled slag, Sintered Fly ash, Bloated clay, Iron and glass balls/powder
Aggregates can also be classified into different categories in accordance with different parameters:

(a) In Accordance with Sources

 Naturally occurring concrete aggregates are a mixture of rocks and minerals.
 A mineral is a naturally occurring solid substance with an orderly internal structure and
a chemical composition that ranges within narrow limits.
 Rocks, which are classified as igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic, depending on
origin, are generally composed of several minerals. Fine Aggregate
 For example, granite contains quartz, feldspar, mica, and a few other minerals; most
lime stones consist of calcite, dolomite, and minor amounts of quartz, feldspar, and
clay.
 Weathering and erosion of rocks produce particles of stone, gravel, sand, silt, and clay.
 Crushed air-cooled blast-furnace slag is also used as fine or coarse aggregate
 Recycled concrete, or crushed waste concrete, is a feasible source of aggregates and an
economic reality where good quality aggregates are scarce
 Various light weight materials such as expanded shale, clay, slate, and slag are used as Course Aggregates (left: rounded
aggregates for producing lightweight concrete gravel, right: crushed stone)
 Types of Aggregates
(b) In Accordance with Unit Weight
Aggregates to be used for normal weight concrete (2200~2400kg/m3) can be prepared by following methods:
(1) Naturally occurring concrete aggregates are a mixture of rocks and minerals
(2) Crushed aggregate is produced by crushing quarry rock, boulders, cobbles, or large size gravel.
(3) Crushed air-cooled blast-furnace slag is also used as fine or coarse aggregate.
(4) Recycled concrete, or crushed waste concrete, is a feasible source of aggregates and an economic reality where good
quality aggregates are scarce.

The following aggregates may also be used for other types of concrete:
(1) Various light weight materials such as expanded shale, clay, slate, and slag are used as aggregates for producing
lightweight concrete (1350 to 1850 kg/m3).
(2) Other lightweight materials such as pumice, scoria, perlite, vermiculite, and diatomite are used to produce insulating
lightweight concretes (250 to 1450 kg/m3).
(3) Heavy weight aggregates such as barlite, magnetite and iron are used to produce heavy weight concrete and radiation-
shielding concrete (>3200 kg/m3).
 Types of Aggregates
(c) In Accordance with Size
In order to make good quality of concrete, aggregates are classified into two broad categories, as given below:

Fine Aggregate: Aggregates passing No.4 (4.75 mm) sieve and predominately retained on the No. 200 (75 μm) sieve.

Coarse Aggregate: Aggregates predominately retained on the No. 4 (4.75 mm) sieve. For mass concrete, the maximum size can
be as large as 150 mm.

(d) In accordance with Shape

The shape acquired by aggregates cannot be defined by any regular geometry shape, but with words as feeling by visual.

a) Round: Aggregate with round particles, directly obtained from river or quarries without any processing. Due to its minimum
surface area these type of aggregate gives good workability with lower W/C ratio also & require minimum cement paste for
bonding. But due to its poor interlocking, it is unsuitable for high strength concrete.

b) Angular: Aggregate with angular particles, obtained by manual or machine crushing. Due to its angular & rough surface
gives good interlocking bond. But gives less workability & requires more cement paste due to its greater surface area. Suitable
for high strength concrete.
 Types of Aggregates
Roundness measures the relative sharpness or angularity of the edges and corners of a particle. Roundness is controlled largely
by the strength and abrasion resistance of the parent rock and by the amount of wear to which the particle has been subjected. In
the case of crushed aggregate, the particle shape depends not only on the nature of the parent material but also on the type of
crusher and its reduction ratio, i.e. the ratio of the size of material fed into the crusher to the size of the finished product.
Shape can also be expressed mathematically called as angularity number. In this method, voids ratio of 33% is considered for
rounded aggregates and voids above this represents the angularity number as follows.
𝐵𝑢𝑙𝑘 𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑛𝑜. = 67 − × 100
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦
Here, 67 represent the solid volume of round aggregates. Higher the angularity number means more angular aggregates

The number 67 in the expression for the angularity

number represents the percentage solid volume of the
most rounded gravel, so that the angularity number
measures the percentage of voids in excess of that in
the rounded gravel (i.e. 33). The higher the number the
more angular the aggregate, the range for practical
aggregate being between 0 and 11. The test for
angularity is rarely used.
 Types of Aggregates
Another aspect of the shape of coarse aggregate is its sphericity,
defined as a function of the ratio of the surface area of the
particle to its volume. Sphericity is related to the bedding and
cleavage of the parent rock, and is also influenced by the type of
crushing equipment when the size of particles has been
artificially reduced. Particles with a high ratio of surface area to
volume are of particular interest as they increase the water
demand for a given workability of the concrete mix.
That the shape of fine aggregate particles influences the mix
properties is without doubt, angular particles requiring more
water for a given workability, but an objective method of
measuring and expressing shape is not yet available despite
attempts using measurement of the projected surface area and
other geometrical approximations.
d) Flaky: Aggregate having its least dimension less than 0.6
times its mean dimension. Relatively comprising thin particles.
Due to its poor bonding & low strength is not considered
suitable for medium or high strength concrete.
e) Elongated: Aggregate having its larger dimension greater than 1.8 times its mean dimension. Relatively comprising long
particles. Due to its poor bonding character is not considered suitable for medium or high strength concrete.
 Types of Aggregates

In accordance with Surface Texture

The surface texture, also called surface roughness, of particles is the sum of their minute surface features. It is an inherent and
specific property that depends on the texture, the structure, and the degree of weathering of the parental rock. According to
surface texture, aggregates can be divided as:
a) Glassy: Aggregate having glassy surface. Eg, black flint
b) Smooth: Aggregate with smooth surface texture. Eg, chert, slate, marble etc
c) Crystalline: Aggregate with crystalline surface texture. Eg, basalt, dolerite, granite etc
d) Granular: Aggregate formed essentially with granular material. Eg, sand stone, oolite etc
e) Honeycombed or porous: Aggregate with porous surface texture. Eg, pumice
 Types of Aggregates
It seems that the shape and surface texture of aggregate influence considerably the strength of concrete. The flexural strength
is more affected than the compressive strength, and the effects of shape and texture are particularly significant in the case of
high strength concrete. S
The full role of shape and texture of aggregate in the development of concrete strength is not known, but possibly a rougher
texture results in a larger adhesive force between the particles and the cement matrix. Likewise, the larger surface area of
angular aggregate means that a larger adhesive force can be developed.

The shape and texture of fine aggregate have a significant Average Relative Importance of the Aggregate Properties
effect on the water requirement of the mix made with the Affecting the Strength of Concrete
given aggregate. If these properties of fine aggregate are
expressed indirectly by its packing, i.e. by the percentage
voids in a loose condition
Flakiness and the shape of coarse aggregate in general have an
appreciable effect on the workability of concrete.
An increase in angularity from minimum to maximum would
reduce the compacting factor by about 0.09 but, in practice,
clearly there can be no unique relation between the two
factors because other properties of aggregate also affect the
workability.
 Properties of Aggregates
Aggregates properties significantly affect the workability of plastic concrete and the durability, strength, thermal properties,
and density of hardened concrete. Aggregates give stable volume of concrete because these occupy maximum space in total
volume of concrete. Due to hardened properties of aggregates, their presence in concrete causes the reduction of volume
changes and provides abrasion resistance.
Voids and Void Ratio:
Small numbers of pores exit inside each aggregate thoroughly called as voids. The voids are filled with air in completely dry
condition and filled with water in case of saturated condition. Void ratio is defined as the volume of voids to the volume of
solids, as given below:

𝑉𝑣
𝑒=
𝑉𝑠
Where, e is the void ratio expressed in decimal, Vv is the volume of voids and Vs is the volume of solids
Porosity
Porosity is defined as the ratio of voids to the total volume, as given below:

𝑉𝑣
𝑛=
𝑉
 Properties of Aggregates
Where, n is the porosity expressed in percentage and V is the total volume, i.e. sum of the volume of voids and solid.
Interrelation between voids and porosity can be expressed in the following terms:
𝑒
𝑛=
1+𝑒
And,
𝑛
𝑒=
1−𝑛
Degree of Saturation
The Degree of Saturation, S, is defined as the ratio of water, Vw, to the volume of voids, Vv, as follows:

𝑉𝑤
𝑆=
𝑉𝑣
 Properties of Aggregates
Percentage Air voids
Percentage air voids, na is the ratio of the volume of air, Va, to the total volume of aggregates, V, as follows:

𝑉𝑎
𝑛𝑎 =
𝑉
Air Content
Air content, 𝑎𝑐 , is defined as the ratio of the volume of air to the volume of voids, expressed in percentage.

𝑉𝑎
𝑎𝑐 =
𝑉𝑣
Aggregate is said to be saturated when both air contents and air voids are zero.
Inter-relationship between air content and percentage air void can be expressed as:

𝑉𝑎 𝑉𝑎 𝑉𝑣
𝑛𝑎 = = × = 𝑎𝑐 × 𝑛
𝑉 𝑉𝑣 𝑉
Thus,
𝑛𝑎 = 𝑛𝑎𝑐
 Properties of Aggregates
Absorption and Moisture conditions
The moisture condition of aggregates refers to the presence of water in the pores and on the surface of aggregates. There are four
different moisture conditions: Absorbed Water Free Water

Surface Air Dry Saturated and Wet

Surface Dry
a) Oven Dry (OD):
This condition is obtained by keeping aggregates at temperature of 1100C for a period of time long enough to reach a
constant weight.
b) Air Dry (AD):
This condition is obtained by keeping aggregates under room temperature and humidity. Pores inside the aggregate are
partly filled with water.
c) Saturated Surface Dry (SSD):
In this situation the pores of the aggregate are fully filled with water and the surface is dry. This condition can be
obtained by immersion in water for 24 hours following by drying of the surface with wet cloth.
d) Wet (W):
The pores of the aggregate are fully filled with water and the surface of aggregate is covered with a film of water.
 Properties of Aggregates
With the evaluation of aggregates with above condition absorption and moisture content, or water content, of aggregates can
be calculated.
Absorption represents the water contained in aggregate in saturated and surface dry condition. It means absorption is total
amount of water filled in all pores and voids of aggregates. Aggregates having more pores and voids have more absorption
capacity.
The moisture content of aggregate is defined as the excess of water in aggregate to that of saturated surface dry condition.

Absorption and Moisture (water) Content Calculation

Numbers of methods have been developed to determine the moisture content of aggregates. Simple and oldest method is to dry
the aggregates in tray by means of heat, which is called as oven dry method. Care should be taken to avoid the dry of water
filled in pores by overheating. Frying pan heating or microwave heating can also be used avoiding overheating in both cases.
In this method, water content, w, is calculated as

𝑀𝑤 𝑀2 − 𝑀3 Where, M1 =Mass of container

𝑤= = × 100
𝑀𝑠 𝑀3 − 𝑀1
M2 = Mass of container and wet aggregates
M3 = Mass of container and dry aggregates
 Properties of Aggregates
In the laboratory, moisture content can be determined by means of pycnometer. The moisture content, with this method, can be
calculated as follows:
Let,
G = Apparent specific gravity of saturated surface dry aggregates (known)
M1 = Mass of pcynometer
Now, Mass of Wet Aggregate = M2 - M1
M2 = Mass of pycnometer with aggregates sample
Mass of water
M3 = Mass of pycnometer with aggregates and full of water
𝐺
M4 = Mass of pcynometer filled with water 𝑀𝑤 = (𝑀2 − 𝑀1) − (𝑀3 − 𝑀4 )
𝐺−1
𝑀𝑠 Mass of water is
𝑀4 = 𝑀3 − 𝑀𝑠 + .𝜌
(𝐺𝜌𝑤 ) 𝑤
𝑀𝑤
𝑀𝑠 1 𝑤= × 100
𝑀4 = 𝑀3 − 𝑀𝑠 + = 𝑀3 − 𝑀𝑠 1 − 𝑀𝑠
𝐺 𝐺
i.e.
𝐺
𝑀𝑠 = (𝑀3 −𝑀4 ). 𝑴𝟐 − 𝑴𝟏 𝑮 − 𝟏
𝐺−1 𝒘= − 𝟏 × 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝑴𝟑 − 𝑴𝟒 𝑮
 Properties of Aggregates
Absolute Specific Gravity
The absolute specific gravity refers to the volume of the solid material excluding all pores, and can, there, be defined as the
ratio of the mass of the solid, referred to vacuum, to the mass of an equal volume of gas free distilled water, both taken at a
stated temperature.
The absolute specific gravity is not of much practical use, as it is difficult to differentiate between the permeable and
impermeable voids. In most cases, impermeable voids are taken as the part of solids
Apparent Specific Gravity
The apparent specific gravity is the ratio of the mass of the aggregate dried in an oven at 100 to 1100 C for 24 hours to the
mass of water occupying a volume equal to that of the solid including the impermeable pores. The apparent specific gravity
is given by

𝐷
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝐵−𝐴+𝐷
Where,
A = Mass of the vessel (pycnometer) with sample topped with water
B = Mass of vessel with full of water
D = Mass of oven dried sample
 Properties of Aggregates
In practice, aggregates with its saturated surface dry conditions are used in concrete mixing work. Therefore, Gross apparent specific gravity
is used for the mix design, which can be determined with following formula:
𝐶
𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝐵−𝐴+𝐶

Where,

C = Mass of surface dry saturated aggregate frequently used for the design of concrete.

Apparent specific gravity depends upon the specific gravity of the mineral of which the aggregate is composed and also on the amount of
voids.
Bulk Density
The mass of aggregate that would fill a container of unit volume is called as bulk density. Bulk density depends upon how densely the
aggregate is packed. It depends upon the size distribution and shape of particles.

Bulk density of spherical particles is 0.74 of the absolute density when densely packed and 0.52 of that when loosely packed. The absolute
density is similar to that of specific gravity, but it has unit. When specific gravity of any material is multiplied by unit mass of water, it gives
the absolute density.

Ratio to loose bulk density to compacted bulk density usually lies between 0.87~.961

The relation between bulk density, Db, and apparent specific gravity of saturated and surface dry aggregates, s, can be expressed with
following.

𝐷𝑏
𝑒 = 1−
𝑠 × 𝜌𝑤
Thank You !