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Group 5: Specific Gravity and Absorption Characteristics of Aggregates

Abstract
Thepurposeofthislaboratoryexercisewastodeterminethespecificgravityofriversand
andcrushedlimestoneaswellasthelooseanddryroddedunitweightofthecrushed
limestone.Beforetheexperimentiscarriedout,samplesofsandandlimestoneare
gatheredandweighed.Bothsamplesareremovedfromthewaterbydifferentmethods.
Thesandmustbedrieduntilaconditionknownassaturatedsurfacedry(SSD)isreached.
OnceagainthesampleisweighedbeforeitisimmersedinwaterinordertoobtaintheSSD
volume.Specificgravityisthencalculatedusingthethreerecordedvalues.Theunit
weightofthelimestoneiscalculatedbyplacingitinacontainerofknownvolume.Thefirst
sampleislooselyplacedwhereasthesecondisroddedthreetimes.Afterthesamplesare
placedintheircontainersaccordinglytheyareweighedsoastheunitweightofthe
aggregatecanbeobtainedbydividingtheweightoverthevolume.Forriversandwefound
aspecificgravityof2.61,asaturatedsurfacedryspecificgravityof2.95,andapercent
absorptionof1.92%.Forcrushedlimestonewefoundaspecificgravityof2.695,saturated
surfacedryspecificgravityof2.724,percentabsorptionof1.06%,looseunitweightof
1.504g/cm3,dryroddedunitweightof1.62g/cm3,loosepercentvoidesof43.05%,and
dryroddedpercentvoidsof38.619%.

1.Introduction
Specificgravityandunitweightarethecalculationobjectivewithinthislaboratoryexercise.
Itisimportantforanengineertounderstandhowtocalculatethesevaluesfortheyplaya
significantroleinengineering.Constructionandstructuraldesignrequireonetoknowand
understandtheseproperties.Approachingfromthedesignaspectonemustunderstand
thesoilsandaggregatespropertiesforproperestimationsandproblemsthatmaybe
encountered.Thesepropertiesplayaroleinconstructionwhereasonemustknowthe
resultsofexcavationthelandorcompactionofaggregatesforfoundation.Asyoucansee,it
isvitalthatengineersunderstandtheseproperties.
2.Background
Thenatureofaggregatesrequirescarefulexamination.Completeunderstandingoftheir
behaviorisnecessarytoutilizethemintheengineeringfield.Asconcreteismadeupof
aggregatesmixedwithwaterandcement,materialpropertiesofaggregatesbecomevery
importantindesign.Aggregatesvaryintheirsizeandshape,thismakesthemverydifficult
toquantifyintermsofvolume.Specificgravity(equation1.)isatermusedtocomparethe
densityofagivenmaterial(inthiscaseanaggregate)tothedensityofwater.Thisvalueis
primarilyusedtocomputetheaggregatevolumetoaggregateweight.Therearedifferent
subcategoriesofspecificgravity;thenextfewparagraphsdescribethesesubcategories.

Gs = s

Group 5: Specific Gravity and Absorption Characteristics of Aggregates

Equation1SpecificGravity

where:
Gs=SpecificGravity
s=DensityofSolid
w=DensityofWater

Bulkspecificgravityreferstothespecificgravitythatisbasedonthedryweightofan
aggregate.Thevoids(withintheaggregate)areunoccupiedbywater.Thisvaluereflects
thepuresolidpartoftheaggregate.Itcanbeusedtoestimatehowmuchwaterthe
aggregatecanholdafteritissaturated.
Bulkspecificgravity(SSD)isthespecificgravitybasedonasaturatedaggregate,however
inthiscasethevoidsareoccupiedbywater.Thisvaluecanbecomparedwiththedry
specificgravitytoanalyzehowtheaggregatewillperformwithinthefreezethawcycle.If
theaggregatecanstorealargevolumeofwaterintheconfinesofitsvoids,thenitwillnot
performwellinfreezethawconditions.
Freezethawcyclereferstothetendencyofwatertoexpandduringfreezing.Thewater
penetratesrock(i.e.aggregate)andasthetemperaturedropsfreezeswithinthevoids.
Duringthefreezingitexpands,thusfurtheropeningthevoidintheaggregate.Thefreeze
thawcycleweakenstherockcausingittofracture.
InPennsylvaniathefreezethawcycleisespeciallyimportantbecauseofthemoistclimate
andtemperaturebelowthefreezingpoint.Bridges,andotherstructuresconstructedof
concrete,inPennsylvaniarequireattentionwhendiscussingthefreezethawcycle.These
structuresareunderconstantwearbythecycleandinordertoensuretheirlongevityand
safety,theaggregatefromwhichtheyareconstitutedhastobecarefullyselected.

Group 5: Specific Gravity and Absorption Characteristics of Aggregates

3.ResultsandObservations:

Table1MassofAggregatesandEquiptment

Table1:DataofFineAggregates

Description:

Mass(g)

1)MassofPyconometerFilledWith1/3rdWater

704.8

2)MassofPyconometer+1/3rdWater+SSDSand

1255.7

3)MassofEmptyDryingPan

402.0

4)MassofPanandOvenDriedSand

954.0

5)MassofPanandOvendriedsand

943.6

B)MassofVolumetricFlaskFilledwithWatertoCalibrationMark

1430.0

C)MassofPyconometer+SSDSand+watertocalibrationmark

1794.6

Table2CharacteristicsofFineAggregates

Table2:Calculations

A)MassofOvenDriedSand(g),=(5)(4)

541.6

S)MassofSSDSand(g),=(2)(1)

552.0

Gb=A/(B+SC)

2.61

GbSSD=S/(B+SC)

2.95

PercentAbsorption(%)=[(SA)/(A)]x100%

1.92%

Thefollowingequations(equation2,3,&4)wereusedtocalculatethespecificgravity,SSD
specificgravity,and%absorptionoffineaggregates.Allparametersintheequationsare
definedintable1and2
Gb =

A
B+ S C

Equation2SpecificGravityFineAggregates

Group 5: Specific Gravity and Absorption Characteristics of Aggregates

Equation3SSDSpecificGravityFineAggregates

Equation4%AbsorptionFineAggregates

Table3MassofCoarseGrainAggregatesandEquipment

Description:

Mass(g)

1)MassofEmptyPan

250.8

2)MassofSSDAggregate+Pan

1595.8

3)MassofPanandOvenDryAggregate

1434.0

4)MassofWireBasketinWater

909.6

5)MassofWireBasketandAggregateinWater

1760.8

Table4CharacteristicsofCoarseGrainAggregates

A)MassofOvenDriedSampleinAir,=(3)(1)

1330.9

B)MassofSSDSampleinAir,=(2)(1)

1345.0

C)MassofAggregateinWater=(5)(4)

851.2

Gb=A/(BC)

2.695

GbSSD=B/(BC)

2.724

PercentAbsorption=[(BA)/(A)]x100%

1.06%

Group 5: Specific Gravity and Absorption Characteristics of Aggregates

Thefollowingequations(equation5,6,&7)wereusedtocalculatethespecificgravity,SSD
specificgravity,and%absorptionofcoarseaggregates.Allparametersintheequationsare
definedintable3and4.

Equation5SpecificGravityCoarseGrainAggregates

Equation6SSDSpecificGravityCoarseGrainAggregates

Equation7%AbsorptionCoarseGrainAggregates

Table5displaysdatausedforunitweightcalculationsandshowsresultsforunitweight
(looseanddryrodded)andpercentvoids(looseanddryrodded).
Table5LooseandDryRoddedUnitWeight,%Voids

UnitWeightandVoids

Loose

DryRodded

1)MassofContainer(g)

260.2

2)MassofContainer+Aggregate(g)

8610.1

9253.16

3)VolumeofContainer(cm3)

5550.102

4)UnitWeight(Density)=[(2)(1)]/(3)(g/cm3)

1.504

1.62

5)PercentVoids

43.05%

38.62%

Equation8wasusedtocalculatethe%voidsinbothdryroddedandloosesituations.
Specificgravityparametersusedinequation8aredefinedintable4.

Group 5: Specific Gravity and Absorption Characteristics of Aggregates

Equation8%Voids

Where:

Gb=specificgravityofcoarseaggregates(table4)

=unitweight(table5)

Table6displaysdatacollectedbyothergroupsinthesectionsthatcompletedthelabin
similarconditions.
Table6AggregateDataFromOtherGroups

FineAggregate

Group

Parameter

II

III

IV

VI

AVG

Gb

2.44

2.25

3.60

2.77

2.61

2.08

2.63

GbSSD

2.49

2.45

3.65

3.82

2.95

2.17

2.92

1.23

1.41

1.92

4.21

2.25
3

Absorption(%)

2.5

CoarseAggregate

Gb

2.34

2.69

2.70

2.49

2.69

2.61

2.59

GbSSD

2.66

2.72

2.72

2.79

2.72

2.66

2.71

Absorption(%)

13.84

0.66

11.45 1.06

2.07

5.82

4.Discussion
ThemainfocusonthislabwastounderstandtheSpecificGravityandAbsorption
CharacteristicofAggregatesthatarecommonlyusedinconstructionmaterialssuchas
PortlandCementConcrete(PCC)andAsphaltCementConcrete(ACC).Also,thislabwas
createdtoexplainthedifferencesandhowtocalculatethecharacteristicsofeachsoil.In
thefirstsectionofthislab,thespecificgravityandabsorptioncharacteristicsofbothfine
grainandcoarsegrainaggregateswerecalculated.Althoughspecificgravityisan

Group 5: Specific Gravity and Absorption Characteristics of Aggregates

importantcharacteristicusedinamultitudeofengineeringcalculationswhenitcomesto
pavementmixturesandsoilmechanics,itisnotcompletelyindicativeofthesoils
performance.Absorption,ontheotherhand,canbeusedtodeterminethesoilsabilityto
performinareaswithextremefreezethawcyclesduetothewatercontentretainedbythe
soil.Inadditiontothefreezethawissuesasoilwithhighabsorbencymaybeweakand
lackstrengththatisneededinparticulardesigns.Thecalculationofthebulkspecific
gravityandabsorptioncanonlybecalculatedonsamplesthathavebeensubmergedin
waterforatleasttwentyfourhoursinordertoensurethatallpermeableporesarefilled
withwaterandweighed.Ifthesampleisnotallowedtobesaturatedforaminimumof24
hoursthespecimenmaynothaveampletimetoreachtheSSDstate,leavingpermeable
voidsnotfilledtothefullestextent.However,ifaspecimenisallowedtosoakmorethan
twentyfourhours,thisshouldnotbeanissueaslongasthesurfaceofthesampleisdried
asdetailed.Thesamplemustberemovedfromthewateranddriedtoaconditionwhichis
knownassaturatedsurfacedry(SSD).ForanaggregatetobeconsideredSSD,thesurface
mustbedried,butthepermeablevoidsmustremainfilledwithwater.OnceSSDisreached,
theaggregatemustbeweighedonceagain.Thesampleisthenplacedinapanandoven
driedfortwentyfourhoursinordertoreachovendrystatuswhichisthenweighedonce
again.Thethreevaluesthathavebeenmentionedweremeasuredinordertocomputethe
specificgravity.ThemasseshavebeenrecordedinTableIandTableIIIforfineandcoarse
aggregatesrespectively.Thecalculationsforthevaryingspecificgravitiescanbefoundin
Table2andTable4.Thecalculationsweredoneaccordingtotherespectiveequationsthat
havebeenincludedfollowingtheTables.

Thesecondpartofthislabwastounderstandtheeffectsofcompactiononpercentvoids
andtheunitweightofanaggregate.Thislabwillbeperformedusingthecoarsegrain
aggregatesample.Therearetwotypesofunitweightsthatwererecorded,theLooseUnit
WeightandtheDryRoddedUnitWeight.TheLooseUnitWeightistheweightofthe
aggregatewithoutbeingcompactedandtheDryRoddedUnitWeightistheweightofthe
aggregatecompactedtwentyfivetimesforthethreeliftswiththeuseofatampingrod.The
weightandvolumeofthecylinderandaggregatecompactedandnotcompactedis
recordedinTable5.AsseeninTable5,thevoidsdecreasedfrom43.05%notcompactedto
38.62%compacted.Alsoindicatedbythetable,theUnitweightincreasedwhichinother
words,density,increasedwhichwasexpectedwiththedryroddedtest.
AccordingtothelabmanualandusingclassaveragesfromTable6,thefineaggregate
seemstobesandandthecoarseaggregateseemstobesomesortoflimestone.Therearea
fewissuesthatmayaccountforthepoorrepeatabilityoftheteststhathavebeen
performed.Onemajorissueistheactualmoisturecontentofthefineaggregatewhenthe
testswerecommenced.AnissuewiththecoarseaggregateisgettingthestonetoSSD

Group 5: Specific Gravity and Absorption Characteristics of Aggregates

conditionswithoutbeingoverlywet,orontheothersideofthespectrum,toodry.These
issuesmaybeabletobeminimizedifasetmethodfordryingtheaggregatesissetforthin
ordertoachievetheoptimummoisturecontenttoperformthevarioustests.
5.Conclusion
Thepurposeofthislaboratoryexercisewastocalculatethespecificgravityoftheriver
sandandunitweightofthecrushedlimestoneaswellasthelooseanddryroddedunit
weightofthecrushedlimestone.Thesevalueswereobtainedbycertainlaboratory
proceduressuchasusingapycnometerandbymeasuringthebuoyancyofwaterto
determinetheweightofwaterdisplaced.Accuracyincalculationswasduetothedrying
processoftheriversandwhereassomeofthesandstucktothetableandcouldnotbe
recovered.Overall,theexperimentturnedoutandwellandtaughtthegroupmembers
howtocalculatetheseimportantvalues,whichwillplayasignificantroleinourfuture
careers.