THE EFFECT OF AGGREGATE

SIZE ON CONCRETE
PERFORMANCE
LECTURER’S NAME: SIR MOHD KHAIRY BIN BURHANUDDIN
BFC 10502 CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIAL
SEM 1 2019/2020
SECTION 3
 INTRODUCTION
■ Aggregate can be defined as crushed stone, gravel, sand, slag, and
recycled concrete. This aggregates also can be used as the base material or
as a component of composite material such as concrete and asphalt
concrete.

■ The effects of aggregate type, size, and content on the behavior of

concrete performance. This understanding can only be gained through
extensive testing and observation. The relationships between compressive
strength, flexural strength, and fracture energy.
 TYPES OF TEST
FLEXURE TEST
• to measure flexural strength
and flexural modulus.

FRACTURE TEST • Fracture toughness tests measure a material’s

ability to resist the growth or propagation of a pre-existing flaw

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
• to determine the behavior or
response of a material by measuring
fundamental variables, such as,
strain, stress, and deformation.
 FLEXURE TEST
■ Flexural testing measures the force required to bend a beam of plastic material and
determines the resistance to flexing or stiffness of a material.

■ The previous study result show little effect of aggregate size on flexural strength. the larger
aggregate size yielded a flexural strength of 11.2 MPa while the smaller aggregate size
yielded a flexural strength of 10.9 MPa a difference of 3.1 percent.

■ Previous study observations on the effect of aggregate size on the appearance of the
fracture surfaces of flexural specimens are similar to observations for compression
specimens.

■ However, for strength concrete, cracks propagate around the coarse aggregate particles,
leaving a tortuous fracture surface
 FRACTURE TEST
■ Fracture energy is defined as the amount of energy necessary to create one unit area of a
crack. The area of a crack is defined as the projected area on a plane parallel to the main
crack direction.

■ Previous study test results on the effects of aggregate size on fracture energy show that the
larger maximum aggregate size yields a fracture energy of 169 N/m, while the smaller
maximum aggregate size yields a fracture energy of 178 N/m, a difference of 5.1 percent.

■ The concrete with the smaller maximum aggregate size was 1 percent stronger in
compression than the concrete with the larger maximum aggregate size.

■ the concrete containing the smaller aggregate size yields a higher peak load, a steeper
softening branch, and a smaller final deflection (by 11 percent) than concrete containing the
larger aggregate size.

■ Although the softening branch is steeper for the larger aggregate size, the peak load was
significantly greater, thus, yielding a higher fracture
 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST

■ Previous study result show that the larger maximum aggregate size yields a fracture
energy of 169 N/m, while the smaller maximum aggregate size yields a fracture
energy of 178 N/m, a difference of 5.1 percent.

■ The smaller maximum aggregate size produced 3 percent greater compressive

strength than the larger maximum aggregate size

■ The concrete with the smaller maximum aggregate size was I percent stronger in
compression than the concrete with the larger maximum aggregate size.
 CONCLUSION
■ From this study, the effects of coarse aggregate sizes on the flexural, fracture and compressive
strength of concrete beam were explored. Coarse aggregate size is directly proportional to the
slump (workability) of a fresh concrete with constant water cement ratio.

■ Flexural strength of concrete beam is inversely proportional by the increase in coarse aggregate
size. The concrete mixture made of small aggregate has the highest flexural strength than that
with large, and so does the strength reduces as the aggregate sizes increase.

■ Aggregate sizes affect the flexural strength of concrete. The workability (slump) used to be
directly proportional to the aggregate size. The aggregate size is directly proportional to the
compressive strength.