Cementitious

Materials
Types of Cementitious materials:
• Hydraulic cement
• Supplementary cementitious
• materials (SCMs)
Hydraulic cement – it is a cement set and harden by
reacting chemically with water. During the reaction, which
is called hydration, heat is given off as the water-cement
paste hardens and binds the aggregate particles together.
Portland cement is the ost common hydraulic cement.

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) –

SCMs are used in conjunction with Portland cement in
concrete mixtures to improve the workability of fresh
concrete and reduce thermal cracking in massive structures
by reducing heat of hydration.

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Fly Ash – a byproduct of coal production and can be used to
replace some of the cement content in a concrete mix. It can
also increase the workability, strength, and overall chemical
resistance of concrete.

Slag Cement – can be used in combination with cement to reduce

permeability in concrete. Over time, slag continues to develop
strength and can help concrete become less vulnerable to
corrosion.

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Aggregates
What is Aggregates

 It’s a non-renewable resource which we use and benefit

from everyday.
 We live and work in buildings built with aggregate.
 Our children go to schools built with aggregate.
 We reach our destinations on roads and highways
constructed from aggregate.
 Even the water we drink is filtered and purified by
aggregate
 AGGREGATES

Aggregate is a collective term for the mineral materials such

as sand, gravel and crushed stone that are used with a
binding medium (such as 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 aggregates are generally
extracted from larger rock formations through an open
excavation (quarry). Extracted rock is typically reduced to
usable sizes by mechanical crushing. Manufactured
aggregate is often the byproduct of other manufacturing
industries.
(Alexander and Mindess, 2010).

“Understanding the role of aggregates in concrete

is fundamental to the production of good concrete
as aggregates have their greatest influence on the
performance of fresh concrete”
Uses of aggregates

The production of aggregates depends on their end

use:
 Without processing, aggregates are used for
railway ballast, golf course sand traps, beaches and
horse racing tracks.

 When mixed with a binder, aggregates are used to

create different building materials: with cement to
produce concrete, with bitumen to produce asphalt
for bridges, roads and playing fields.
 Vitruvius writes in De architectura:

“Economy denotes the proper management of materials and

of site, as well as a thrifty balancing of cost and common
sense in the construction of works. This will be observed if, in
the first place, the architect does not demand things which
cannot be found or made ready without great expense. For
example: it is not everywhere that there is plenty of pit-sand,
rubble, fir, clear fir, and marble... Where there is no pit sand,
we must use the kinds washed up by rivers or by the sea... and
other problems we must solve in similar ways”.
 Did you know?

One kilometer of railway requires 16,000 tons of

aggregates, while 1 kilometer of highway takes 30,000
tons!

In France, 1 million tons of aggregates are used daily to

build infrastructure such as roads, bridges, hospitals,
housing, schools, etc
a) According to Production Methods

 Natural Aggregates: – Taken from native deposits

without any change in their natural states during
production except for crushing, grading or washing. –
Example: sand, gravel, crushed stone, lime rock.

 • By-Product Aggregates: – Comprise blast-furnace

slags and cinders, fly ash, etc. Cinders are residue of
coal or wood after burning.
 Processed Aggregates: – Heat treated, expanded
materials with lightweight characteristics. –
Example: Perlite, burnt clays, shales, processed fly
ash.
 Colored Aggregates: – Glass, ceramics,
manufactured marble for decorative and
architectural purposes.
b) According to Petrological Characteristics

 Igneous Rocks:
Solidification of molten lava forms igneous rocks.
Example: Quartz, granite, basalt, obsidian,
pumice, tuff.
 Sedimentary Rocks:
Obtained by the deposition of weathered and
transported preexisting rocks. • Example:
Sandstone, limestone, shale. • IMPORTANT: If
these are hard and dense, OK. If not, high
absorption capacity gives unsatisfactory results
 Metamorphic Rocks:
Formed at a depth under high heat and pressure by
the alterations of either igneous rocks or
sedimentary rocks.
c) According to Particle Size

1) Fine Aggregate (sand): Fine aggregate includes

the particles that all passes through 4.75 mm sieve and
retain on 0.075 mm sieve.

2) Coarse Aggregate (gravel): Coarse aggregate

includes the particles that retain on 4.75 mm sieve.
Silt: sizes 0.002-0.075 mm
Clay: sizes smaller than 0.002 mm
d) According to Their Unit Weights:

1) Normal Weight Aggregates:

• Sand, gravel and crushed stone.
• Concrete produced by these aggregates:2160 to
2560 kg/m3.

2) Light Weight Aggregates:

• Slag, slate and other light stones. • Concrete
produced by them: 240 to 1440 kg/m3. • This
concrete is normally used for insulation purposes.

3) Heavy Weight Aggregates:

• Hemotite, barite magnetite, steel and iron
punchings.
• Concrete produced by them: 2800 to 6400
kg/m3.
Physical Properties of Aggregates
• Porosity
• Absorption
• Permeability
• Texture
• Strength
• Particle Shape
• Hardness
• Density and Specific Gravity
• Porosity
Volume of pores to the total volume of water is
called porosity. If the rock pores are not connected, a rock
may have high porosity and low permeability.

• Absorption:
The ability of aggregate to absorb water is called
absorption. The water absorption of aggregate is
determined by measuring the increase in mass of an oven
dried sample when immersed in water for 24 hours (the
surface water being removed). The ratio of the increase in
mass to the mass of the dry sample, expressed as
percentage, is termed as absorption.
• Permeability:
The ability of aggregate to pass water through it is called
permeability. If the rock pores are not connected, a rock
may have high porosity and low permeability.

• Texture:
It is relative roughness and smoothness of aggregate.
Surface texture of the aggregate affects its bond to the
cement paste and also influence the water demand of the
mix, especially in the case of fine aggregate. It seems that
the shape and surface texture of aggregate influence
considerably the strength of aggregate.
• Strength:
It is ability to resist crushing. The strength of
aggregate depends on its composition, texture and
structure. Thus, a low strength may be due to the weakness
of constituent grains or the grains may be strong but not
well knit or cemented together. A good average value of the
crushing strength of aggregate is about 200 MPa
(30000psi) but many excellent aggregates range in strength
down to 80 MPa (12000psi).

Particle Shape:
The shape of particle in aggregate is known as
shape of aggregate. The shape of the aggregate particles
affects such things as:1) The asphalt demands of hot mix
asphalt2) The workability and the strength of both port land
cement concrete and asphalt pavements
• Hardness:
The resistance of aggregate to degradation is called
hardness. Soft aggregate particles are composed of minerals
with a low degree of hardness. Weak particles have poor
cementation. Neither type is acceptable.

• Density and Specific Gravity:

The weight per unit of volume of a substance makes
the density while specific gravity is the ratio of the density
of the substance to the density of water. The density and the
specific gravity of an aggregate particle depend on the
density and specific gravity of the minerals making up the
particle and also on how porous the particle is.
The substances that are harmful to concrete performance are:

 Clay lumps and other friable particles

Clay may coat the surface of aggregates which impair
bond strength between aggregate and cement paste.
Other particles may be in the form of
-silt
-crushed dust

The impacts on concrete are:

1. Upon breaking while mixing increase water requirements
2. Impair wear resistance
3. Reduce durability
4. May result popouts
 Materials that are finer than 75µm (No. 200 sieve)

These materials can affect concrete by

1. Increasing water demand
2. Effects bond strength (aggregate and cement paste)
3. Affects of air-entrainment

 Lignite and coal

These materials may

1. Result detrimental straining on concrete
2. Cause popouts
3. Impair ability to air entrainment
 Soft particles

Results
1. popouts
2. less durability
3. less resistance to wear

 Lightweight chert

Lightweight means having specific gravity of less than 2.40.

They may result
1. reduced durability
2. popouts
 Soft particles

Results
1. popouts
2. less durability
3. less resistance to wear

 Lightweight chert

Lightweight means having specific gravity of less than 2.40.

They may result
1. reduced durability
2. popouts