Notre Dame University – Louaize

Faculty of Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Spring 2013 CEN 431: Concrete & Pavement Design LAB

By: Eng. N. Beshara

Sampling & Preparation of Aggregates

1. What are Aggregates:

The word aggregate is a collective term for the mineral materials such as sand, gravel
and crushed stone that are used with a binding medium (like water, bitumen, Portland
cement, lime, etc.) to form compound materials such as asphalt concrete and Portland
cement concrete. Aggregate is also used for base and sub-base courses for both flexible
and rigid pavements.
Aggregates can either be natural or manufactured. Natural ones are generally extracted
from larger rock formation through an open excavation (quarry). Extracted rocks are
typically reduced to usable sizes with means of mechanical crushing. Manufactured
aggregates are often the byproducts of other manufacturing industries.

2. Definitions:

• Aggregate: is a granular material used in construction. Aggregates may be natural,

manufactured, or recycled.
• Natural Aggregate: is the aggregate from mineral sources which has been subjected
to nothing more than mechanical processing.
• All-in aggregate: an aggregate that consists of a mixture of course and fine
aggregates.
• Manufactured aggregate: an aggregate of mineral origin resulting from an industrial
process involving thermal or other modifications.
• Recycled aggregate: an aggregate resulting from the processing of inorganic
material previously used in construction.
• Fine aggregate: designation given to the smaller aggregate sizes passing the 3/8in
(9.5mm) sieve and almost entirely passing the 4.75mm (No. 4) sieve and
predominantly retained on the 75 µm (No. 200) sieve.
• Coarse aggregate: designation given to the larger aggregate sizes predominantly
retained on the 4.75mm (No. 4) sieve.
• Light weight aggregate: it is when the unit weight of aggregate is less than 1120
Kg/m3. The corresponding concrete has a bulk density less than 1800kg/m3
• Normal weight aggregate: the aggregate has a unit weight of 1520-1680 kg/m3. The
concrete made from this type of aggregate has a bulk density of 2300-2400 kg/m3.
• Heavy Weight aggregate: the unit weight is greater than 2100 kg/m3. The bulk
density if the corresponding concrete is greater than 3200 kg/m3.

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3. Sampling Methods:

The objective behind sampling is to obtain a bulk sample that is representative of the
average properties of the batch, it is important to remember that information obtained
from test samples is only as representative of the material as the samples on which the
tests are undertaken.
Bulk samples can be reduced to sample sizes suitable for testing by two principle
methods, by using a riffle box or by coning and quartering.

3-a. Method A – Mechanical Splitter (Riffling method)

This method is conducted with the use of a riffle box; there are various sizes of riffle
boxes to suite different sizes of aggregate, one of which is illustrated in figure 1. The box
consists of an even number of chutes discharging in alternate directions. The material is
passed through the riffle box, which divides it into two portions, one of which is
discarded. The other portion is passed through again and the same process repeats until the
sample reaches the required size. Note that a riffle box can be only used on dry material.

3-b. Method B – Conning & Quartering

In this method of sample reduction, the apparatus shall consist of a straight-edged

scoop, shovel, or trowel; a broom of brush.
The procedure followed in this sample is as follows: The original sample is placed on
hard, clean, level surface where there will be neither loss of material nor the accidental
addition of foreign material.
The material is mixed thoroughly by turning the entire sample over three times. With the
last turning, the entire sample is shoveled into a conical pile by depositing each shovelful
on top of the preceding one.
Consequently, the conical pile is flattened into a uniform thickness and diameter by the
apex being pressed down with a shovel so that each quarter sector of the resulting pile will
contain the material originally in it.
The flattened mass is then divided into 4 equal quarters with a shovel or trowel, of which
two diagonally opposite quarters are discarded. The process is illustrated in figure 2.

Figure 1: A Riffle Box

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 Figure 2: Quartering Process on Hard, Clean level Surface

Cone Sample on a Hard Clean Surface Mix by Forming a New Cone Flattening of Cone

Dividing Sample into Quarters Discarding of Diagonally Opposite

Quarters and Retaining the Other Two

4. References:

- Annual Book of ASTM standards, Section 4 “Construction” Volume 04.02 “Concrete

and Aggregates”
- ELE International, Section 42; AGGREGATES, “Sampling and Preparation” p. 120-
123

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