DEFINATION OF AGGREGATE:

Aggregates are raw materials that are produced from natural sources and extracted from pits and
quarries, including gravel, crushed stone, and sand. When used with a binding medium, like water,
cement, and asphalt, they are used to form compound materials, such as asphalt concrete and Portland
cement concrete.

Aggregates must have predictable, uniform, and consistent materials properties. They
must be dry and clean before they can be used. Aggregates are only as good as their processing.
They are mined, crushed, washed, and separated. The successful outcome of each step( the
processing of a good aggregate), depends on the success of the previous step. That success
depends on the hardworking men and women in the aggregates industry, men and women who
often go overlooked and underappreciated in the construction industry.

Aggregates are here to stay. Today’s machines are high performance, low maintenance, and
energy efficient machines. They allow the men and women in that industry to work quickly and
safely while producing high quality materials.

PROPERTIES OF AGGREGATE

Aggregate was viewed as an inert material dispersed throughout the cement paste largely for
economic reasons. However, aggregate is not truly inert and its physical, thermal and
sometimes chemical properties influence the performance of concrete.

The properties of aggregate affect concrete properties such as:

 Durability of concrete.
 Structural performance of concrete.
 The obtained strength of concrete

 Why the use of aggregate in concrete is useful?

(1) Aggregate is cheaper than cement.
(2) Aggregate provides technical advantages such as: higher volume stability and better
durability than hydrated cement made alone.

General classification of aggregates:

 The size of aggregate used in concrete ranges from 10mm down to particles less than in cross-
section.
  Sieve No.4 (ASTM) or 5 mm is deciding the fine and coarse aggregate: Coarse aggregate:
Aggregates predominately retained on the No. 4 (4.75 mm) sieve.
 Fine aggregate (sand): Aggregates passing No.4 (4.75 mm) sieve and predominately retained on
the No. 200 (75 μm) sieve.
 Natural aggregates: have been fragmented by natural processing of weathering and abrasion or
artificially by crushing.

Many properties of aggregates depend upon the properties of the parent rock (rock from
which it is obtained) like:
 Chemical and mineralogical composition.
 Specific gravity
 Hardness
 Strength
 Physical and chemical stability.
 Pore structure.
 Color
 Petrological character

WEIGHT CLASSIFICATION OF AGGREGATES

 Heavy weight ,normal weight and light weight

(4) Surface texture:

a) glassy.

b) smooth.

c) granular.

d) rough

e) crystalline.

f) honey-combed.

 The properties of the rock which affect the properties of aggregate.

1) Chemical composition.

2) Specific gravity.

3) Hardness.

4) Strength.

5) Chemical stability.
The properties of aggregates which do NOT depend upon the properties of the rock

1) particle size.

2) Particle shape.

3) Absorption.

4) Surface texture

Surface texture of aggregates:

Surface texture of aggregates affects the bond between the cement paste and the aggregates.

The main effects of surface texture of aggregate on concrete properties are:

1) Water demand of the mix.

2) Workability of the mix.

3) The transition zone (region between the mortar and the coarse aggregates).

4) Strength of concrete.

Factors that govern the classification of surface texture of the aggregate :

1) Hardness of the parent material.

2) Grain size of the parent material.

3) Pore characteristics (porosity) of the parent materials.

TEST FOR CLEANLINESS

Aggregates must be relatively clean when used in HMA or PCC. Vegetation, soft particles, clay lumps,
excess dust and vegetable matter are not desirable because they generally affect performance by
quickly degrading, which causes a loss of structural support and/or prevents binder-aggregate bonding.