AGGREGATE GRADATION

Definition

 The largest portion of the mixture’s resistance to the applied

traffic loads is provided by the aggregate structure. Aggregate
is expected to provide a strong stone skeleton to resist
repeated load applications (Alshamsi. 2006).

 Asphalt Institute in MS-2 (1997), aggregate gradation is the

distribution of particle sizes expressed as a percent of the total
weight. Gradation is determined by passing the material
through a series of sieves stacked with progressively smaller
openings, and weighing the material retained on each sieve.

 The gradation is determined by sieve analysis and is expressed

as a total percent passing each sieve size in descending order.
(Lavin. 2003). The aggregates in a dense graded asphalt
mixture have the most significant contribution in the load
bearing capacity of an asphalt mixture.

 The gradual gradation in size from coarse to fine is a key

property of aggregates. Aggregate gradation affects the
workability of Portland cement concrete mixes and the stability
and durability of bituminous concrete mixes. (Derucher, et.al.
1998).
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 The gradation specification for highway bases, concrete, and

asphalt mixes require a grain-size distribution that will provide
a dense, strong mixture. Strength or resistance to shear
failure, in road bases and other aggregate layers that carry
load is increased greatly if the mixture is dense graded. The
larger particle are in contact with each other, developing
frictional resistance to shearing failure, and tightly bound
together due to the interlocking effect of the smaller particles
(Atkins. 1997).

Atkins (1997) also said that high-density mixtures are also

important for the purpose of economy. In concrete and asphalt
mixtures, the cementing agent must coat each particle and fill
most of the voids between particles to give strong mixture. If the
relatively cheaper portion of the mix-that is, the aggregates-fills
most of voids between large particles, a more economical mix is
possible.

Certain description terms used in referring to aggregate

gradations are as follows (Asphalt Institute MS-2 and Ministry of
Public Works (2007);

1. Coarse aggregate, all the material retained on the 2.36 mm

(No.8) sieve

2. Fine Aggregate, all the material passing the 2.36 mm (No.8)

sieve
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3. Mineral filler, fine aggregate, at least 70% of which passes the

75 μm (No.200) sieve.

Whiteoak (1990), the composition of aggregate for each type of

gradation shows as follows:

Table: Type of Gradations

Coated Dense Gap
No Aggregate Unit Mastic
Stone Graded Graded
A. Percentage by Weight
1 Coarse % 86.0 52.0 30.0 30.0
2 Fine % 7.0 38.0 53.0 26.0
3 Filler % 3.0 5.0 9.0 32.0
4 Asphalt % 4.0 5.0 8.0 12.0
B Percentage by Volume
1 Coarse % 64.5 44.1 25.7 27.5
2 Fine % 5.1 32.2 46.0 18.9
3 Filler % 2.1 4.2 7.8 27.0
4 Asphalt % 8.3 11.5 17.5 26.6
C Void % 20.0 8.0 3.0 <1.0
D Asphalt Pen 100-300 100-200 35-100 15-25
Grade
Source : Whiteoak, 1990
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Effect of gradation on the strength of

aggregate mixture

(a) dense graded (b) open graded (b) excessive fines

Source : (Atkins, 1997, p:137)

Figure: Aggregate gradation

Atkins (1997): the strength of the mixtures would then

depend only on friction between the small particles, which is
much less than between large particles. For these reason, the
percentage of fines is very important in the quality control of
aggregate.

Derucher, et.al. (1998): aggregate may be dense, gap

graded, uniform, well graded, or open graded. The term of
“dense” and “well graded” are essentially the same, as are the
“gap”, “uniform”, and “open graded”. The five types of gradation
as shown in figure below
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Source : Derucher, et.al. (1998)

Figure: The five types of gradation

Elliot et al. (1991) conducted an investigation to evaluate

the effect of different aggregate gradations on the properties of
asphalt mixtures. The aggregate blends include coarse, fine, and
medium gradations and two poorly graded. From this
investigation, they concluded that variations in gradation have the
greatest effect when the general shape of the gradation curve is
changed (i.e., coarse-to-fine & fine-to-coarse gradations). Fine
gradation produced the highest Marshall stability, while the fine-
to-coarse poorly graded gradation (with hump at sand sized)
produced the lowest Marshall stability.
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Krutz, et. al. (1993) evaluated the effects of aggregate

gradation on permanent deformation of hot mixed asphalt
mixtures. They utilized four different gradations, two aggregate
sources, and two sources of asphalt cement AC-20 asphalt
cement. Two of the gradations were labeled as extreme fine and
extreme coarse with 60% and 43% passing sieve No. 4,
respectively. The middle gradations had 52% and 54% passing
sieve No. 4. The Hveem mixture design method was followed to
design the asphalt mixtures. Repeated load triaxial test was used
to evaluate all the mixtures. The key findings of this research are
that the best aggregate gradations depend on the type and
source of aggregate and that coarse aggregate gradations
performed the worst and fine aggregate.
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Existing Aggregate Blending and

Evaluation Methods
The importance of aggregate gradation and the need for
understanding the interlocking mechanism of aggregates have
been a topic of interest by several researchers. Gradation is
considered the most important property of an aggregate. It
affects the engineering properties of a HMA such as stability,
durability, permeability, and fatigue resistance (Roberts et al.,
1996). Herewith, some popular methods commonly used to blend
the aggregate are such as Metcalf, Fuller, Power Law, and Cooper
methods:

1. Metcalf Method

dn
pP
D
Where, n = an exponent number
d = Small sieve size
p = Passing percentage of aggregate at d (%)
D = Big sieve size
P = Passing percentage of aggregate at D (%)
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2. Fuller – Thompson Method

Fine aggregate is considered as material to reduce the voids

developed in the coarse aggregate and to reduce the asphalt
cement content to a desirable amount without an excessive
increase in coarse aggregate voids. In general, the method is
based on the maximum density concept proposed by Fuller
and Thompson for concrete mixtures (Fuller et al, 1907)

Fuller proposed in 1907 that the best gradation for giving

the highest strength in Portland cement concrete is one that
provides the densest particle packing. The statement can also be
made for dense graded HMA. Fuller developed an aggregate
maximum density curve by his equation. An empirical formula
that can be used to determine the gradation :

d n
P  100 ( )
D
Where, P = the total percent passing the particular sieve (%)
d = the particular sieve size opening diameter
D = the maximum size of the aggregate

Studies have shown that when n = 0.5, the maximum

particle density or maximum packing of smooth spheres will be
achieved. However, further studies determined that the 0.45
power in order to allow some minimal room in the aggregate for
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the asphalt binder compared to what was determined by Fuller

with n = 0.5.

Figure 2.4 shows a typical plot utilizing this equation (2.2) at

value of n equal to 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7. The maximum size of the
aggregate is 1 in. (2.54 cm). Notice that a fine gradation is
represented by n = 0.3 and a coarse-graded material is
represented by n = 0.7. Therefore a dense material would be n
=0.5 as the Fuller-Thompson experiments indicate.
Percentage by weight

Source : Derucher, et.al. (1998)

Figure: Fuller-Thompson Curves

Figure above: illustrates maximum density curves

determined from the maximum density equation with particle
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sizes raised to the n=0.45 power and plotted on the Federal

Highway Administration (FHA) grading chart (based on a scale
raising sieve openings to the 0.45 power). Grading that closely
approach this straight line usually must be adjusted away from it
within acceptable limits to increase the VMA values. This allows
enough asphalt to be used to obtain maximum durability without
the mixture flushing (Asphalt Institute in MS-21997).

Since the maximum grading density of the aggregate does

not have sufficient room for the asphalt binder and the mixture
air voids, it is desirable to have the mixture aggregate gradation
either coarser or finer than the grading or the maximum density
line. In the other words, gradations of maximum density may not
provide sufficient void space in the aggregate for enough asphalt
cement to expand at a certain temperature.

A grading selected on a line approximately parallel to the

maximum density line will produce a uniformly graded mixture
that will have little tendency to segregate. Segregate means a
concentration of each either the coarse or fine aggregates solely
among them, and it will affect to the poor durability and structural
characteristics. But, a gap graded also has a potential to
segregate. A fine texture mixture is desired, the mixture gradation
should be approximately 2-4% above the maximum density line
and if a coarse mixture gradation is desired, the mixture
gradation should be approximately 2-4% below the maximum
density line (Lavin. 2003).
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100

Percent Passing

Sieve Size (mm)

Source : Derucher, et.al. (1998)

Figure: Maximum density curves with particle sizes raised to the

n=0.45

To help specify a proper aggregate gradation, there are two

additional features to the traditional 0.45 power chart: control
points and a restricted zone.

1. The control points perform as ranges through which gradations

must pass. Their functions are: to maximize the size of

aggregate; to balance the relative proportion of coarse

aggregate and fine aggregate; and to control the amount of

dust.
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2. The restricted zone is placed along the maximum density

gradation between intermediate size and the 0.3 mm size. It

was introduced to avoid mixtures that have a high proportion

of fine sand relative to the total sand. It also avoids gradations

that follow the maximum density, which do not have adequate

voids in the mineral aggregate.

Source : Lavin. (2003)

Figure: Example of control point and restricted zone for aggregate

gradation

3. The Power Law Method

Ruth, et al. (2002) suggested an approach to determine

the slope and intercept (constant) of the coarse and fine
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aggregate portions of the conventional gradation curve using

power law regression analyses as shown in Figure 2.7. The
format of the power law is:

PCA  aCA (d ) nCA

and

PFA  aFA (d ) nFA

Where:
PCA and PFA = percent by weight passing a given sieve that has
an opening of width d
aCA = intercept constant for the coarse aggregate
aFA = intercept constant for the fine aggregate
d = sieve opening width, mm
nCA = slope (exponent) for the coarse aggregate
nFA = slope (exponent) for the fine aggregates
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Source : Ruth et al. (2006)

Figure:Power law gradation evaluation

Ruth, et al. (2002): specifically, gap graded or gradations

with an excess amount of aggregate retained on a sieve did
not yield properties equivalent to well balanced, continuously
graded, aggregate blends. Greater asphalt content and percent
passing the 4.75-mm sieve resulted in greater tensile strength.
Another key finding was that the surface areas (SA) of the
aggregate blends were found to be related to the aggregate
characterization factors (percent aggregates passing the 2.36
mm sieve, nCA , nFA ). The study suggests using SA
predictions based on gradation factors and effective asphalt
content to estimate film thickness.
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4. Cooper Method

Based on the Cooper, et al. (1985), the equation is used

for maximum aggregate packing of continuously graded
mixtures and based on the maximum aggregate size, the
amount of added filler and the constant n.

(100  F ) (d n  0.075n )
P  F
( D n  0.075n )

Where:
P = Percentage passing a sieve d, mm
D = maximum aggregate size, mm
F = Filler content (%) (Material passing 0.075 mm sieve)
n = an exponent between 0 and 1 (n indicates the fineness of
the aggregate gradation, the higher the value of n, the
coarser the aggregate gradation.)

Cooper, et al. (1991) proposed a mixture design method

that utilizes the percentage refusal density (PRD) apparatus for
specimen compaction. The suggested mixture design
procedure is based on three factors: gradation, binder content,
and compaction level. The design process involves determining
a suitable gradation and binder content for optimum
mechanical properties at a target compaction level. For a
gradation, the concept of equivalent fine content (EFC) was
used. To define a target gradation, a modification of the
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convention power law method was made. The modification was

enabling gradation, and thus EFC, to be varied whilst
maintaining filler material (minus 200 sieve) at a pre-selected
and practical level.

Cooper, et. al (1991) found that exponents of 0.5, 0.6, and

0.7 were the most appropriate for base course materials used
in his study in terms of having adequate voids in the mineral
aggregates VMA.

Table below shows the results of grading analysis of the

waste LDPE granulates by using Cooper Formula which the
maximum aggregate size is 14 mm.

Table: Aggregate gradation with maximum aggregate size 14 mm

Percentage passing
Sieve size
Cooper’s formula
(mm)
n=0.3 n=0.4 n=0.45 n=0.5 n=0.6
14 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
10 89.1 87.1 86.0 85.0 82.8
6.3 75.8 71.9 70.0 68.0 64.2
5.0 69.8 65.3 63.1 60.9 56.6
2.36 53.0 47.7 45.2 42.8 38.2
1.18 40.4 35.5 33.2 31.1 27.2
0.6 30.5 26.4 24.6 23.0 20.1
0.4 25.4 22.1 20.6 19.3 17.1
0.15 15.5 14.1 13.5 12.9 12.1
0.075 10 10 10 10 10
Source : Suparma (2001)