Procedures in conducting Test for Inorganic impurities

Apparatus:

 Colourless glass approximately 240 to 470-mL nominal capacity, equipped with

watertight stoppers or caps, not soluble in the specified reagents. Standard Color
Solution Level—75 mL
 Fine Aggregate Level—130 mL
 NaOH Solution Level—200 mL
 Glass Color Standard

Reagent and Standard Color Solution

Reagent Sodium Hydroxide Solution (3 %)—Dissolve 3 parts by mass of reagent

grade sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in 97 parts of water.

Standard Color Solution

Dissolve reagent grade potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) in concentrated

sulfuric acid (sp gr 1.84) at the rate of 0.250 g/100 mL of acid. The solution must be
freshly made for the color comparison using gentle heat if necessary to effect solution.

Procedure

 Fill a glass bottle to the approximately 130-mL level with the sample of the fine
aggregate to be tested.
 Add the sodium hydroxide solution until the volume of the fine aggregate and
liquid, indicated after shaking, is approximately 200 mL
 Stopper the bottle,
 shake vigorously, and then allow to stand for 24 h.

Determination of Color Value

 Standard Color Solution Procedure—At the end of the 24-h standing period, fill a
glass bottle to the approximately 75-mL level with the fresh standard color solution,
prepared not longer than 2 h previously, as prescribed in 5

Hold the bottle with the test sample and the bottle with the standard color
solution side-by-side, and compare the color of light transmitted through the
supernatant liquid above the sample with the color of light transmitted through the
standard color solution. Record whether the color of the supernatant liquid is lighter,
darker, or equal to the color of the standard color solution

Glass Color Standard Procedure

To define more precisely the color of the supernatant liquid of the test sample,
five glass standard colors shall be used using the following colors: Gardner Color
Standard No. Organic Plate No. 5, 1, 8, 2, 11, 3, (standard) 14, 4 ,16, 5

Interpretation

When a sample subjected to this procedure produces a color darker than the
standard color, or Organic Plate No. 3 (Gardner Color Standard No. 11), the fine
aggregate under test shall be considered to possibly contain injurious organic
impurities. It is advisable to perform further tests before approving the fine aggregate
for use in concrete.

http://www.c-s-h.ir/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/C-401.pdf

Procedures in Conducting Abrasion Test

Summary
A sample of aggregate retained on the No. 12 (1.70 mm) sieve is placed inside a rotating
steel drum containing a specified number of steel spheres or “charge”. As the drum
rotates, a shelf inside the drum picks up the aggregate and steel spheres. The shelf
carries them around until they drop on the opposite side of the drum, subjecting the
aggregate to impact and crushing. Then, the aggregate is subjected to abrasion and
grinding as the drum continues to rotate until the shelf picks up the contents, and the
process is repeated. The drum is rotated for a specified number of revolutions.
Afterward, the aggregate is removed from the drum and sieved on a No. 12 (1.70 mm)
sieve. The aggregate retained on the sieve is weighed and the difference between this
weight and the original weight is expressed as a percentage and reported as the L.A.
abrasion loss value. Figure 11 shows major equipment used in the L.A. abrasion test.

Approximate Test Time

3 days from aggregate sampling to final weight determination. A breakdown of testing
time follows:

Reducing a sample to testing

size 5 – 10 minutes

Washing the sample 5 – 10 minutes

8 – 12 hours
Drying to a constant mass (overnight)

Time in rotating drum 15 minutes

Sieving and rewashing 30 minutes

8 – 12 hours
Drying to a constant mass (overnight)

Final weighing 5 – 10 minutes

 Basic Procedure
1. Obtain the aggregate sample to be tested, and reduce the sample to adequate size
(Figure 12).

Figure 12: Splitting an aggregate sample for the L.A. abrasion test.

2. Wash the sample and oven dry to a constant mass at 230ºF (110ºC).

3. After drying, sieve the material into individual size fractions, Record the total sample
mass. The total sample mass should be about 5000 g.

4. Place the sample and the specified number of steel spheres into the drum and rotate
for 500 revolutions at 30 to 33 rev/min (Video 2). The charge required is dependent
upon the grading used.
 1. Discharge the material and sieve the aggregate over a sieve coarser than a 1.70-
mm (No. 12) sieve (Figure 13).

Figure 13: Sieving the sample after the L.A. abrasion test.

2. Sieve the finer material on a No. 12 (1.70 mm) sieve.

3. Wash the aggregate coarser than the No. 12 (1.70 mm) sieve and oven-dry to a
constant mass at 230ºF (110ºC). After cooling, determine the mass.

Results

Parameters Measured

L.A. abrasion loss as a percentage by weight.

Specifications

Material Value Specification HMA Distress of Concern

Coarse Aggregate % Loss Varies1 Deformation, skid resistance

Table 1: Source Property L.A. Abrasion Specifications

Note 1 There is no standard L.A. abrasion specification for Superpave mix design;
specifications are typically established by state or local agencies. Typically U.S. state
specifications limit the abrasion of coarse aggregate for HMA use to a maximum ranging
from 25 to 55 percent, with most states using a specification of 40 or 45 percent (Figure
14). Requirements for Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) tend to be similar, while
requirements for specialized mixes such as Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA) tend to be
lower; AASHTO specifies a maximum L.A. abrasion loss of 30 percent for SMA.

Figure 15: Samples before and after the L.A. abrasion test.

Calculations (Interactive Equation)

Determine the percent loss as a percentage of the original sample mass.

Where:
Moriginal = original sample mass (g)
Mfinal = final sample mass (g)

Report this value as the percent loss.

1. Roberts, F.L.; Kandhal, P.S.; Brown, E.R.; Lee, D.Y. and Kennedy, T.W. (1996). Hot
Mix Asphalt Materials, Mixture Design, and Construction. National Asphalt
Pavement Association Education Foundation. Lanham, MD.↵

2. Wu, Y.; Parker, F. and Kandhal, K. (1998). Aggregate Toughness/Abrasion

Resistance and Durability/Soundness Tests Related to Asphalt Concrete
Performance in Pavements. NCAT Report 98-4. National Center for Asphalt
Technology. Auburn,
AL. http://www.eng.auburn.edu/center/ncat/reports/rep98-4.pdf. Accessed 23
June 2004.

3. http://comp.uark.edu/~cttp/Online-Training/Aggregates/Organic-
Impurities/story_html5.html?lms=1