Name: Marc Reniel D.

Mulano Instructor: Professor Razon Domingo

Group No.: 3 Date of Performance: March 21, 2024

Laboratory Exercise No. 3

Moisture Content of Aggregates

Reference:

AASHTO T 255-00, ASTM C 566-97

Objective:

To determine the total evaporable moisture content of aggregate samples by drying.

Equipment/Apparatus:

➢ Balance (with accuracy to 0.001 g)

➢ Source of heat (oven or hot plate)
➢ Sample container (metal bowl)
➢ Container-handling apparatus (gloves, tongs
or any suitable holder)
➢ Miscellaneous: scoop, spatula, etc.

Figure 3-1: Apparatus for Determining

Moisture Content of Aggregates

Procedure:

(1) Weigh about 2.5 kg to 3.0 kg of coarse aggregate and about 0.75 kg to 1.0 kg of fine aggregate
in separate containers. Record the actual weight of each sample of aggregate plus the weight of
the container after taking the empty weight of the container.
(2) Dry the aggregate samples using either the oven or hot plate and allow to cool to constant
weight.
(3) After cooling, weigh the aggregate samples and record the dried weight plus the container

Data/Calculation:

Data collected should include the following:

Mass of container, Mc
Mass of container and wet specimen, Mcw
Mass of container and oven-dried specimen, Mco

The water content of the aggregate sample can be calculated as follows:

𝑀𝑐𝑤 − 𝑀𝑐𝑜 𝑀𝑤
𝑤= × 100 = × 100 (3-1)
𝑀𝑐𝑜 − 𝑀𝑐 𝑀𝑠

Where: w = water content, %

Mw = mass of water, g or kg
Ms = mass of aggregate particles, g or kg

Data Collected:
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝐹𝐴 = 0.835𝑘𝑔
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝐶𝐴 = 1.614𝑘𝑔
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑂𝐷 𝐹𝐴 = 0.731𝑘𝑔
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑂𝐷 𝐶𝐴 = 1.585 𝑘𝑔

Computation:

(𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝐶𝐴 − 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑂𝐷 𝐶𝐴)

𝑀𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝐴 = × 100
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑂𝐷 𝐶𝐴

1.614𝑘𝑔 − 1.585𝑘𝑔
𝑀𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐶𝐴 = × 100 = 1.83%
1.585𝑘𝑔

(𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝐹𝐴 − 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑂𝐷 𝐹𝐴)

𝑀𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐹𝐴 = × 100
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑂𝐷 𝐹𝐴

0.835𝑘𝑔 − 0.731𝑘𝑔
𝑀𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐹𝐴 = × 100 = 14.23%
0.731𝑘𝑔
Discussion/Conclusion:

In this experiment, me and my groupmates prepared 1 sack of coarse aggregates and 1 sack
of fine aggregates and soaked it in water for 24 hours. Following the procedure given by our
professor we weighed 1.614kg of wet coarse aggregates and 0.835kg of fine aggregates. After
taking the wet weight of each aggregate, we put the fine aggregate followed by the coarse
aggregate on the stove and started drying it. By putting it on the stove, the moisture inside the
aggregates slowly evaporated.

After drying the aggregates, we let it cool down and weighed it again to take the oven-dried
weight of fine and coarse aggregates so that we can determine the moisture content of each
aggregate. The oven-dried weight of the coarse aggregate is 1.585kg and the oven-dried weight of
the fine aggregate is 0.731kg. With this data, we solved the moisture content of the aggregates.
The Moisture content of the coarse aggregates is 1.18% and the fine aggregates is 14.23%.

In conclusion, after executing the laboratory exercises to determine the moisture content
of coarse and fine aggregates we conclude that fine aggregates absorb more water than coarse
aggregates.