Topic 6: Highway Material

and Construction:
Aggregate
CSE29357
Highway Engineering
Dr. Yuhong Wang
Professor
Fall 2020

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 Contents
 Overview of Highway Construction Materials
 Characterization of Soils
 Characterization and Design of Bituminous
Mixture
 Aggregate
 Binder
 Mixture Design
 Highway Construction Videos

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Bituminous Mixture Components

Air voids Binder

Sufficient air voids to Sufficient binder to

accommodate ensure durable
temperature change pavement and
and further workability
compaction

Sufficient aggregates
Aggregates to ensure shear
strength and
stability

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 Characterization of Aggregate
 Aggregate Sources
 Physical Properties of Aggregates
 Aggregate Gradation

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 Aggregate Sources
 Natural sand and gravel deposits
 Crushed rocks
• Igneous rocks: granite, basalt
• Sedimentary rocks: limestone, dolomite
• Metamorphic rocks: slate, marble
 Slag and mine refuse
 Rubble
 Artificial and processed materials
 Pulverized concrete and asphalt pavements
 Other recycled and waste materials

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 Physical Properties
for Coarse and Fine Aggregates
 Toughness and Abrasion Resistance
 Particle Shape and Surface Texture
 Cleanliness and Deleterious Materials
 Specific Gravity

Or Mineral Filler
Aggregates
Coarse Fines
Fine Aggregate
Aggregate
(>4.75mm)
(4.75~0.075mm) (<0.075mm)

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 Specific Gravity, G
 Ratio of the mass to volume of an object to
that of water at the same temperature
MassSolid
s Volume
G  
w o
MassWater @ 23 C
Volume
s = unit weight of stone w = unit weight of water

w = 1000 kg/m3 =1.000 g/cm3

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 Bulk Specific Gravity
Mass of aggregate (oven dry)
Ws
Surface Voids Gsb 
(Vs  Va ) w

Vol. of solids: Vs

Vol. of water-permeable voids: Va

Bulk density means sample contains more

than one mass and/or volume
Apparent Specific Gravity
Ws
Gsa 
Vs   w

Vol. of solids: Vs
Effective Specific Gravity
Ws
Gse 
(Vs  Va  Vap ) w
Vol. of voids absorbing asphalt: Vap

Vol. of solids: Vs

Vol. of water-perm. Voids: Va

Surface Voids
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Specific Gravity Tests for Aggregates
 Two tests are needed
 Coarse aggregate (retained on the 4.75
mm sieve)
 Fine aggregate (passing the 4.75 mm
sieve)

11 Aggregates
 Coarse Aggregate Specific Gravity
 ASTM C127
 Dry aggregate (approximately 5kg)
 Soak in water for 24 hours
 Decant water
 Use pre-dampened towel to get saturated surface
dry (SSD) condition
 Determine mass of SSD aggregate in bucket
 Determine mass under water
 Dry to constant mass
 Determine oven dry mass

12 Aggregates
Coarse Aggregate Specific Gravity

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Coarse Aggregate Specific Gravity

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Coarse Aggregate Specific Gravity
Calculations
 Gsb = A / (B - C)
 A = mass oven dry
 B = mass SSD
 C = mass under water
 Gsa = A / (A - C)
 Water absorption capacity, %
 Absorption % = [(B - A) / A] * 100

15 Aggregates
 Fine Aggregate Specific Gravity
 ASTM C128
 Dry aggregate (about 1000g.)
 Soak in water for 24 hours
 Spread out and dry to SSD
 Add 500 g of SSD aggregate to pycnometer of known
volume
• Pre-filled with some water
 Add more water and agitate until air bubble have been
removed
 Fill to line and determine the mass of the pycnometer,
aggregate and water
 Empty aggregate into pan and dry to constant mass
 Determine oven dry mass
16 Aggregates
Fine Aggregate Specific Gravity

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Fine Aggregate Specific Gravity

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Fine Aggregate Specific Gravity

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 Fine Aggregate Specific Gravity
Calculations
 Gsb = A / (B + S - C)
 A = mass oven dry
 B = mass of pycnometer filled with water
 C = mass pycnometer, SSD aggregate and
water
 S = mass SSD aggregate
 Gsa = A / (B + A - C)
 Water absorption capacity, %
 Absorption % = [(S - A) / A] * 100

20 Aggregates
Mix of Different Aggregates

100
G
P1 P2 P3 Pn
  
G1 G2 G3 Gn

 G = average specific gravity

 Pi = weight percentages of fractions
 Gi = specific gravity for fractions

21 Aggregates
 Aggregate Gradation
 Dense-graded

 Gap-graded

 Open-graded

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 Blending of Aggregates
 Reasons for Blending
 Obtain desirable gradation
 Single natural or quarried material not
enough
 Economical to combine natural and
processed materials

23 Aggregates
 Blending of Aggregates
 Numerical Method
 Trial and Error
 Basic Formula

24 Aggregates
 Blending Stockpiles
 Plot individual gradations
 Plot specification limits

 Can be used for initial assessment

 Can blend be made from available

materials?
 Identification of critical sieves
 Est. trial proportions

25 Aggregates
Possible combinations

Percent Passing, %
100
90
Gradation B
80
70
60
50
40
30
20 Gradation A
10
0
0.075 0.3 1 .18 4.75 9.5 12.5 19
Sieve Size, mm
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Possible Combinations
Percent Passing, %

100
90
Gradation A
80
70
60 Gradation B
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.075 0.3 1 .18 4.75 9.5 12.5 19

Sieve Size, mm

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 Trial and Error Steps
 Select critical sieves in blend
 Determine initial proportions which will meet
critical sieves
 Check calc. blend against specification
 Adjust if necessary and repeat above steps

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 Blending of Aggregates
· P = Aa + Bb + Cc + ….
 Where:
• P = % of material passing a given sieve for the
blended aggregates A, B, C, …
• A, B, C, … = % material passing a given
sieve for each aggregate A, B, C, …..
• a, b, c, …. = Proportions (decimal fractions) of
aggregates A, B, C, … to be used in Blend

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 Blending of Aggregates
Material Agg. #1 Agg. #2
% Used Blend Target
Sieve Size % % % %
(mm) Passing Batch Passing Batch
9.5 100 100 100
4.75 90 100 80 - 100
2.36 30 100 65 - 100
1.18 7 88 40 - 80
0.6 3 47 20 - 65
0.3 1 32 7 - 40
0.15 0 24 3 - 20
0.075 0 10 2 - 10

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 Blending of Aggregates
Material Agg. #1 Agg. #2 First Try
(remember trial & error)
% Used 50 % 50 % Blend Target
Sieve Size % % % %
(mm) Passing Batch Passing Batch
9.5 100 50 100 100 * 0.5 = 50 100
4.75 90 45 100 90 * 0.5 = 45 80 - 100
2.36 30 15 100 30 * 0.5 = 15 65 - 100
1.18 7 3.5 88 7 * 0.5 = 3.5 40 - 80
0.6 3 1.5 47 3 * 0.5 = 1.5 20 - 65
0.3 1 0.5 32 1 * 0.5 = 0.5 7 - 40
0.15 0 0 24 0 * 0.5 = 50 3 - 20
0.075 0 0 10 0 * 0.5 = 0 2 - 10

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 Blending of Aggregates
Material Agg. #1 Agg. #2
% Used 50 % 50 % Blend Target
Sieve Size % % % %
(mm) Passing Batch Passing Batch
9.5 100 50 100 50 100 100
4.75 90 45 100 50 95 80 - 100
2.36 30 15 100 50 65 65 - 100
1.18 7 3.5 88 44 47.5 40 - 80
0.6 3 1.5 47 23.5 25 20 - 65
0.3 1 0.5 32 16 16.5 7 - 40
0.15 0 0 24 12 12 3 - 20
0.075 0 0 10 5 5 2 - 10

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 Blending of Aggregates
Material Agg. #1 Agg. #2
% Used 50 % 50 % Blend Target
Sieve Size % % % %
(mm) Passing Batch Passing Batch
9.5 100 50 100 Let’s Try50 100 100
4.75 90 45 100 and get 50 95 80 - 100
2.36 30 15 a little closer
100 50 65 65 - 100
1.18 7 3.5 to
88the middle44 of 47.5 40 - 80
the target values.
0.6 3 1.5 47 23.5 25 20 - 65
0.3 1 0.5 32 16 16.5 7 - 40
0.15 0 0 24 12 12 3 - 20
0.075 0 0 10 5 5 2 - 10

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 Blending of Aggregates
Material Agg. #1 Agg. #2
% Used 30 % 70 % Blend Target
Sieve Size % % % %
(mm) Passing Batch Passing Batch
9.5 100 30 100 70 100 100
4.75 90 27 100 70 97 80 - 100
2.36 30 9 100 70 79 65 - 100
1.18 7 2.1 88 61.6 63.7 40 - 80
0.6 3 0.9 47 32.9 33.8 20 - 65
0.3 1 0.3 32 22.4 22.7 7 - 40
0.15 0 0 24 16.8 16.8 3 - 20
0.075 0 0 10 7 7 2 - 10

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