Normal Aggregate

DR. Khalid Alshafei

 • 75% of volume of concrete is
occupied by aggregate → coarse &
fine aggregates
Hence → aggregate affect the
properties of concrete i.e. its
physical, thermal & chemical
properties influence the performance
of concrete.
Normal • Formation of aggregate: 1)Natural
aggregate is found in nature thru the
Aggregate process of weathering and abrasion
or from crushing large mass of rock.
2) Artificial aggregate: ex. broken
bricks and concrete blocks, however
these are not good for making
concrete.
 Properties of
aggregate
• Properties of aggregate: These
properties influence
performance of concrete(
strength, durability & structural
performance)
- chemical & mineral composition
- physical: shape, size, texture
- specific gravity
- hardness
- strength
- absorption
 • How you determine good
aggregate: by testing, strength test
and absorption test.
• Strength of aggregate should not be
less than the concrete strength.
strength of aggregate should be
more than strength of concrete
Aggregate Reason: to avoid concrete failure in
aggregate.
• Classification of aggregate:
1. Size classification;
2. petrographic or geological
classification
3. Shape & texture classification
 • Size classification
- coarse aggregate ranges between
10mm to 50mm, typically 20mm.
- fine aggregate: sand ≈0.07 mm
- silt: between 0.06- 0.02 mm
Aggregate - Smaller particles termed as clay.
classification
• Petrographic / geological
classification: It is the
classification of aggregate
according to its common
characteristics found in several
groups of rock. ( table 3.1)
 Shape & Texture
classification(External
charecteristics)
- The external shape of aggregate
and surface texture affect the
properties of concrete.
- Aggregate come in different shapes:
Aggregate rounded, irregular, angular, flaky(
thickness is smaller relative to two
other dimension
• Common minerals found in
aggregate;
- Silica, carbon, sulphate, iron
sulphate, iron oxide.
 Aggregate
- Surface texture classification: Surface texture of aggregate
is based on the degree to which the particle surfaces are
polished or dull, smooth or rough. Example: Glassy(ex.
Slag),
Smooth(water worn), granular( fracture), rough,
crystalline(contain crystal), honeycomb(contain pores &
cavities).
- The shape & surface texture have a strong influence on the
water requirement of the mix.
- Surface texture depends on hardness, grain size and pore
characteristics of parent material.
 Aggregate
• Mechanical Properties
1. Bond: refers to bond of cement paste and aggregate.
rough texture result in greater adhesion or bond
between the aggregate particles and cement.
- Quality of bond can be determined as good when
crushed concrete specimen contain some aggregate
particles broken right through the aggregate.
- larger surface area of amore angular aggregate
provide greater bond.
Aggregate
• Strength: compressive strength of
concrete cannot exceed the contained
aggregate. This is because of the failure of
the bond of the cement and other particles
in the concrete.
.
3. Toughness: It is the resistance of
aggregate to failure by impact. The
aggregate impact value is determined by
the crushing value. ( refer to book for test
procedure).
- Hardness: resistance to wear. It is assessed
by using
“ the aggregate abrasion value”
 Aggregate
• Physical Properties
1. Specific gravity ( or relative density)
It is the ratio of mass of a unit volume of material to the
mass of the same volume of water at the stated
temperature.
2. Porosity and absorption
- Porosity: the ability to absorb water.
- Permeability: the capability of porous material to permit
the flow of fluids through its pores spaces.
- The Porosity, permeability, and absorption of aggregate
influence the bond between it and the cement paste.
Moisture
content
 3. Moisture Content
It is the water in excess of the
saturated and surface-dry
condition. Hence the total
Aggregate water content of a moist
aggregate is equal to the
sum of absorption and
moisture content.
 - Water absorption is determined by
measuring the decrease in mass of
saturated & surface dry sample
after oven drying for 24 hours. The
ratio of the decrease in mass to the
mass of the sample expressed as a
percentage is termed absorption.
Water
absorption - The actual water absorption of the
aggregate has to be deducted from
the total water requirement of the
mix to obtain the effective
water/cement ratio, which controls
both the workability and the
strength of concrete.
 • Sea aggregate may contain
shells whose content need
to be controlled because
they are britle and they also
Aggregate reduce the workability of
the mix.

• .
• Deleterious substances found in
aggregate
• Impurities: interfere with the
process of hydration of cement.
• Coatings: ( ex. Clay) prevent the
development of good bond
between aggregate & cement paste.
• Sulphate and chloride salts.
• 4. Organic Impurities: It consists
of products of decay of vegetables
matter & usually present in sand
rather than coarse aggregate and it
is easily removed by washing. It
interferes with hydration process.
 Aggregate
• Clay: Clay is present in aggregate in the form
of surface coating which interfere with the
bond between the aggregate and cement
paste.
- clay and very fine materials should not be
present in large quantities because, due to
their fineness and therefore large surface
area, they increase the amount of water
necessary to wet all the particles in the mix.
 • Sieve analysis: It is the
process of dividing a sample
of aggregate into fractions of
same particle size. Its purpose
is to determine the grading or
size distribution of the
Sieve aggregate.
Analysis - 5mm is the dividing line
between the fine and coarse
aggregate.
• Grading: Particle size
distribution.
-
 • Fineness modulus(FM): It is the
sum of the cumulative
percentages retained on the
sieve of the standard series ,
divided by 100.
FM is usually calculated for the
fine aggregate rather than for
Aggregate course aggregate.
- Typical values range from 2.3
and 3.0, a higher value indicate a
coarser grading. FM detects the
variation s in the aggregate from
the same source which affect the
workability of the fresh concrete.
 Main influences factors on
workability:
1. Surface area of the
aggregate: determines the
amount of water necessary
to wet all the solids.
Workability 2. The relative volume
occupied by the aggregate.
3. The tendency to
segregation.
4. The amount of fines in the
mix.
 • The workability is improved
when there is an excess of
paste to fill voids in the
sand, and also an excess of
Workability mortar to fill the voids in
the coarse aggregate
because the fine material
lubricate the larger
particles.
 • However there is a limit of
maximum aggregate size due to the
following:
1 - Decrease in water will lower
bond area and discontinuities
introduced by very large particles.
Hence concrete becomes grossly
Aggregate heterogeneous with resulting
lowering of strength.
2- In structural concrete , the
maximum size is restricted to 25
mm depending on the size of
concrete section and of spacing of
reinforcement.
•
 • Specific Surface: Surface area is
measured in terms of specific
surface i.e. the ratio of the
surface of all the particles to
their volume.
• A larger particle size has a lower
specific surface,
Aggregate • The relative volume of the
aggregate affects workability. An
economic requirement is that
the aggregate occupies as a large
a relative volume as possible
since it is cheaper than cement
paste.
 • The maximum aggregate size
should be smaller by 5 mm
than the horizontal bar
spacing and smaller than 2/3
of the vertical spacing.
• In conclusion it is important
to use aggregate with a
Aggregate grading such that a
reasonable workability and
minimum segregation are
obtained in order to produce
a strong and economical
concrete.
 • Gap-graded aggregate
Aggregate is gap-graded when
intermediate sizes are absent
from the gradation curve. On the
grading curve, gap-grading is
represented by a horizontal line
Gap graded over the range of sizes omitted(
see fig. 3.5).
aggregate
Gap-graded aggregate is distincted
from continuously graded
conventional aggregate.
Gap grading mixes are used to
obtain uniform textures of
exposed-aggregate concrete.
 • Local (white) aggregate in
Bahrain is not used in
structural concrete because
it contains high chloride
and react with alkalis like
Aggregate K₂O, Na₂O which cause
disintegration of concrete
and affect its strength. In
Bahrain we use Ras
Alkhaima(Rak) or Saudi
aggregate.
 • Sphericity is one of aspect of the
shape of coarse aggregate and
defined as a function of the ratio
of the surface area of the particle
to its volume(specific surface)
• Aggregate particle can be both
Aggregate flaky and elongated.
• Soundness of aggregate
is aggregate’s resistance to
disintegration by weathering
and, in particular, freeze-thaw
cycles.
 • Shape of aggregate , along
with grading, is the most
important consideration for a
high quality concrete
aggregate, as it effects the
workability, finishability and
Aggregate water/cement ratio of
concrete.
• Well size distribution of the
aggregate particles (smaller
particles added in the voids
between the larger ones)
increase concrete density.
Aggregate