Aggregates

Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material

used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined materials in the world. Aggregates are a
component of composite materials such as concrete and asphalt concrete; the aggregate serves as
reinforcement to add strength to the overall composite material. Due to the relatively high hydraulic
conductivity value as compared to most soils, aggregates are widely used in drainage applications
such as foundation and French drains, septic drain fields, retaining wall drains, and road side edge
drains. Aggregates are also used as base material under foundations, roads, and railroads. In other
words, aggregates are used as a stable foundation or road/rail base with predictable, uniform
properties (e.g. to help prevent differential settling under the road or building), or as a low-cost
extender that binds with more expensive cement or asphalt to form concrete.
Aggregates may be classified as:
Coarse Aggregates
Fine Aggregates
Coarse Aggregates
Any material which is retained on BS sieve #4 (ASTM sieve 4.75mm) is known as coarse aggregate.
Fine Aggregates
Any material which is passing BS sieve #4 (ASTM sieve 4.7/5mm) is known as fine aggregate.
Types of Crush Available in Pakistan
Sargodha Crush
Sargodha Crush possess the following properties:
Greener in color
High strength
Usually elongated particles
Marghalla Crush
Marghalla Crush possess the following Properties:
Grayish in color
Low in strength
Sakhi Sarwar Crush
Sakhi Sarwar Crush possess the following:
Whitish in color
To determine the Grading or the Size Distribution of the Aggregates using the Sieve
Analysis
Reference Standard: ASTM C-136
Scope & Significance
This test method covers the determination of the particle size distribution of fine and
coarse aggregates by sieving.
This test method is used to determine the grading of materials proposed for use as

aggregates or being used as aggregates.

Accurate determination of materials finer than 75 micron (Sieve No 200) cannot be
achieved by this test
Fineness Modulus
It is the cumulative percentage retained on standard sieve 150m or sieve No 100 and above
divided by 100. It is a single factor or an empirical number which we get from the results of sieve
analysis. The value of FM will not change if we add non-standard sieves in standard set of sieves.
The information obtained from fineness modulus is helpful in the following ways:
Fineness modulus tells us directly whether the material is well-graded or gap-graded.
Fineness modulus gives us an overall idea whether the material is fine or coarse. Higher the
value of FM, coarser will be the aggregate.
It also indicates the surface area of the particles. Lower the surface area of the aggregate, the
required amount of fresh cement paste to cover the aggregate particles will be less and thus less
water is required. Larger value of FM is preferred for fine aggregates.
For a good fine aggregate, the FM should be between 2.3 and 3.1 (ASTM Range for fine
aggregates).
Sieve Analysis
It is the operation of dividing the aggregate into various fractions, each consisting of particles of
same size. OR It is the operation of determining the particle size distribution of the given
specimen.
Notes: Sieve No 4 is the dividing line between coarse and fine aggregate. Well graded coarse
aggregates
of
large
size
will
reduce
shrinkage
of
concrete
by
50%.
Functions of Sieve Analysis
Sieve analysis is performed on coarse and fine aggregates to in order to check their gradation.
This gradation gives an indirect measure if the workability and average particle size.
Sieve
A sieve consists of a metal ring, usually made of brass, whose dimension is 2 inch deep and 8 inch
in diameter with a wire mesh or screen on the bottom. The sieve is given a number that corresponds
to number of opening per linear inch of screen, for example the U.S Bureau of standard sieve No.4
has four (0.187 inch) opening per inch (including the thread of mesh also).
Nest of Sieves
The stack sieves are called a nest of sieves. The nest is arranged with largest opening progressing
to sieve with the smallest sieve opening on the bottom of the nest.
Shaking Period
A 10 minute shaking period is suggested in procedure. A large sample require longer shaking
period than a small sample.
Well Graded Aggregate
Aggregate is said to be well graded when it has good representation of particle of all sizes (large,
medium and small in equal proportion).

Poorly Graded Aggregate (Uniformly Graded)

Aggregate is said to be poorly graded if it has an excess of certain particles and deficiency of
other particles. OR It has most of the particles of about the same size (also known as a uniformly
graded aggregate).
Gap Graded Aggregate
Aggregate is said to be gap graded if particles of both large and small size are present but with a
relatively low proportion of particles with the intermediate size.
SET OF SIEVES
The set of sieves used for the process of sieve analysis can be designated as:

Apparatus and Materials

1. Set of sieves
2. A dried specimen of aggregate
3. Trays
4. Electronic weighting machine
5. Mechanical shaker
Procedure
Take 2 kg of the oven-dried sample. The sample should be perfectly dry because if there is some
moisture content present then the particles will stick together and will not pass through the
sieves.
Temperature of the oven = 1105 C
Place the set of standard and non-standard sieves one above another with the smallest aperture
opening at the bottom. The pan is placed at the bottom-most position. This experiment can be
performed manually or with the aid of a machine called sieve shaker. The manual method
should be performed in a proper sequence which is as follows;
forward and backward motion
left and right motion
clockwise (CW) and counter-clockwise (CCW) motion
frequent jolting
Time elapsed for the sieving process is 3-5 minutes and should not be less than 3 minutes .Weigh
the mass retained on each sieve and calculate the percentage passing through each sieve. Then
the FM can be calculated by using the relation;

Following points must be kept in mind while calculating the FM:

Only sum up the values of standard sieves and do not include the values of the non-standard
sieve
Only add the sieves of 150m and above sizes
If any standard sieve is missing, we may use the value of next higher sieve
Adding extra sieves does not change the result of FM