Module - I

AGGREGATES

Lecture #1

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DEFINITION
 Aggregate is a granular material, such as sand,
gravel, crushed stone, crushed hydraulic-cement
concrete, or iron blast-furnace slag, used with a
hydraulic cementing medium to produce either
concrete or mortar.
 Derived from Igneous or Metamorphic rock
 A combination of different sizes and shapes,
normally of stones. Maximum size is 75 mm.
 They occupy 70 – 80 % of the volume of concrete.

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USES OF AGGREGATES

 As an underlying material for foundations and

pavements
 As an ingredients in Portland cement concrete and
asphalt concrete.

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 Selection of aggregates

• Aggregates shall be hard, durable and clean

and free from adherent coatings and organic
matter and shall not contain appreciable
amount of clay.
• Aggregates shall not contain harmful
impurities such as iron pyrites, alkalis, salts,
coal, mica, shale or other materials which will
affect hardening and attack reinforcement.

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 Classification of aggregates
1. Based on size:
Classified into 2 categories:
• Fine aggregates - those aggregates which
pass through 4.75 mm sieve or aggregates with
size less than 5 mm.
• Coarse aggregates – those aggregates
Passing through 75 mm sieve and entirely
retained on 4.75 mm sieve OR those
aggregates with size greater than 5 mm.

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 Classification of aggregates
• Graded aggregate :
 Aggregate most of which passed through a particular
size of sieve.
 Graded aggregate of nominal size 20 mm means an
aggregate most of which passes through 20mm IS
Sieve
• All-in-aggregate :
 Naturally available aggregate of different fractions of
fine and coarse sizes
 Not recommended for quality concrete

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 Classification of aggregates
2. Based on geological origin or method of
manufacture:
Classified into 2 categories:
• Natural aggregate/uncrushed aggregate- Those
from the river beds, river sand and ex-mines.
Normally rounded in shape and have smooth
surface texture.
• Manufactured aggregate / crushed aggregate –
those obtained by mechanically crushing rocks,
boulders, or cobbles. Normally angular in shape
and have rough surface texture
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Classification of aggregates
3. Based on Shape :
• Rounded aggregate

 Obtained from river or sea shore and produce

minimum voids in concrete
 They have minimum ratio of surface area to the
volume and require minimum cement paste
 Poor interlocking makes it unsuitable for high
strength concrete

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Classification of aggregates
• Irregular aggregate
 They have voids about 36% and require more
cement paste as compared to rounded aggregates
 They develop good bond due to irregular shape and
is suitable for ordinary concrete.
• Angular aggregate
 They have sharp edges having maximum voids 40
percentage.
 They develop very good bond and are most suitable
for high strength concrete and pavements.

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Classification of aggregates
• Flaky aggregate
 The least lateral dimension of flaky aggregates
should be less than 0.6 times the mean dimension
 They generally orient in one plane with water and air
voids underneath
 They adversely affect durability and are restricted to
maximum of 15 %
• Elongated aggregate
 The length of aggregates is 1.8 times the mean
dimension

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 Classification of aggregates
4.Based on Density:
 Based on specific gravity or density measured in
bulk, aggregate is divided into 3 types:

• Normal-weight aggregate
• Lightweight aggregate
• Heavyweight aggregate

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Normal-weight aggregate
 Crushed stone, gravel and ordinary sand are
examples of normal weight aggregate.
 They are commonly used in manufacture of normal
weight concrete, asphalt concrete and roadway sub-
base.
 The average values of sp.gr. for sand and gravel are
2.6 and 2.65 respectively.
 Bulk density of normal weight aggregate is around
1520 to 1680kg/m3.

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Lightweight aggregate
 Lightweight fine aggregate is any aggregate with
bulk density less than 1120kg/m3 and lightweight
coarse aggregate is any aggregate with bulk density
less than 880kg/m3.
 They are commonly used as ingredients in the
manufacture of lightweight concrete, for making
lightweight masonry blocks (to improved their
thermal and insulating properties and nailing
characteristic), and lightweight floor and roof slabs.
 2 types of lightweight aggregate:
• Natural lightweight aggregates (eg: palm oil shell, rice husk,
etc)
• Manufactured (also called synthetic) lightweight aggregates.

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Heavyweight aggregate
 Those aggregate with high density and is used
primarily in the manufacture of heavyweight
concrete, employed for protection against nuclear
radiation and as bomb shelter.
 The unit weight of heavyweight concrete varies from
2400kg/m3 with sp.gr range from 4.0 to 4.6.(eg:
mineral ores and barite)

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Classification of aggregates

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 Physical properties of
aggregates
 Strength
 Hardness
 Toughness
 Durability
 Porosity
 Water absorption

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Strength of aggregates
 In practice, majority of normal aggregates are
considerably stronger than concrete
 Generally, strength should be equal to half of the
concrete
 A good average value of crushing strength of
aggregates is 200N/mm2.

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Hardness of aggregates
 Hardness of aggregates is the ability of the
aggregate to withstand wear or load or applied
pressure.
 This hardness is depending on the type of parent
rock
 The test that can obtain the hardness is the abrasion
test.
 A satisfactory aggregate should have an abrasion
value of not more than 30% for aggregates used for
wearing surfaces and 50% for aggregates used for
non wearing surfaces.

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Toughness

 Is the resistance of aggregate to failure by impact.

 This can be determined by aggregate impact test.

 The aggregate impact value shall not exceed 45%

by weight for aggregate used for concrete other than
those used for wearing surfaces and 30% for
concrete for wearing surfaces.

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Durability of aggregates

 Durability is ability of the aggregate to withstand

external or internal damaging attack or in other
words the soundness of aggregate.

 This can be obtained by carrying out the Soundness

test.

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Porosity
 Aggregate normally have pores of various sizes.
 Aggregates will absorb water when it is dry but
normally release water in the concrete mix when it is
wet.
 The amount of water and its rate of permeation
depends on the size and volume of aggregate
 Since the aggregate comprises on an avg. of 75% of
the concrete volume, it is essential to note that
porosity of an aggregate contribute to the overall
porosity of concrete.

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