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Primary aggregates
These are materials extracted directly from the
ground in quarries or pits. They can be either sand
and gravel, or hard rock.
Hard rock deposits are quarried from a fresh face
and broken by mechanical means into aggregate.
Geologically they can be igneous rocks such
as granite or basalt;sedimentary rocks such
as limestone or sandstone; ormetamorphic rocks
such as quartzite. As aggregates, they are often
referred to as crushed rock or by their individual
geological names. Explosives will need to be used
to break the rock face into pieces and often the rock
will pass through several stages of crushing and
screening to create the final product.
Resources
Crushed rock aggregates
Higher quality aggregates are required for
demanding applications, such as in road
pavements and in concrete. This is
commonly derived from hard, dense and
cemented sedimentary rock (most
limestones and certain sandstones) and the
tougher, crystalline, igneous rocks.
A variety of rocks are, when crushed, suitable for
use as aggregates. Their technical suitability for
different aggregate applications depends on their
physical characteristics, such as crushing strength,
porosity and resistance to impact, abrasion and
polishing. Lower quality aggregates may be
acceptable for other applications, such as
constructional fill. Higher quality aggregates are
required for demanding applications, such as in
road pavements and in concrete. This is commonly
derived from hard, dense and cemented
sedimentary rock (most limestones and certain
sandstones) and the tougher, crystalline, igneous
rocks.
Limestone
Limestone quarry.
Sandstone quarry.
Coarse Aggregate(Gravel)
Classification of Coarse Aggregate
Size of the gravel affects several aspects: mainly strength & workability. The use
of largest maximum size of aggregate practicable to handle under a given set of
conditions could be used. Using the largest possible maximum size will result in:
(a) reduction of the cement content
(b) reduction in water requirement
(c) reduction of drying shrinkage
While choosing the maximum size of aggregate it should not be greater than
one-fourth of the minimum thickness of the structural member. Also it is restricted
to 5mm less than the minimum clear distance between the main rebars or 5mm
less than the minimum cover to the reinforcement.
Another aspect of the shapes of aggregates is its angularity that affects the
Surface texture of the aggregates is the property of its surface that classifies it
into polished or dull, smooth or rough. Surface texture depends on the hardness,
grain size and pore characteristics of the parent material and degree to which
forces acting on the particle surface have smoothed or roughened it. Hard,
dense, fine-grained materials will generally have smooth fracture surfaces.
Rough particles have higher surface area due to its roughness hence require
more cement paste content for a given workability. Experiments have shown that
rough textured aggregates develops higher bond strength in tension than smooth
textured aggregate for a given water-cement ratio. As surface smoothness
increases, contact area decreases, hence a highly polished particle will have less
bonding area with cement-paste than a rough particle of the same volume. A
smooth particle however will require a thinner layer of paste to lubricate its
movements with respect to other aggregate particles. It will, therefore, permit
denser packing for equal workability and hence, will require lower cement-paste
content than rough particles; hence an economical one.
Generally, texture characteristics which permit no penetration of the surface of
the particles by the paste are not conducive to good bond, and hence softer,
porous and mineralogically heterogeneous particles result in a better bond.
Well graded : Well-graded aggregate has a gradation of particle size that fairly
evenly spans the size from the finest to the coarsest. A slice of a core of wellgraded aggregate concrete shows a packed field of many different particle sizes.
It is characterized by the S- shaped in gradation curve.
Some experiments have concluded that grading for maximum density gives the
highest strength, and that the grading curve of the best mixture resembles a
parabola. However such aggregates graded to maximum density gives a harsh
concrete that is very difficult in ordinary concreting. So the proportioning should
be based on the surface area of aggregates that is to be wetted. Other things
remaining same, it can be said that the concrete made from aggregate grading
having least surface area will require least water which will consequently be the
strongest.
Also it has been found that the surface area of the aggregates may vary widely
without causing much appreciable difference in the concrete strength and that
water required to produce a given consistency is dependent more on other
characteristics of aggregate than on surface area. Therefore fineness modulus
is also to be introduced for arriving at satisfactory grading. It was found that any
gradation curve of aggregate that gives the same fineness modulus will require
the same quantity of water to produce the mix of same plasticity and gives
concrete of the same strength. Aggregates having two different gradings can
have same fineness modulus. Fineness modulus is a measure of the degree of
coarseness or fineness of an aggregate sample.
Some of the practical grading requirements as per the ASTM (C33) for different
material ranges are given in table below:
Grading
Requirements
for
Coarse
Aggregates
(ASTM
C33)
Strength of Concrete
may cause variation in its strength. The strength of concrete is mainly dependent
on:
Water to Cement ratio
Degree of Hydration
Aggregate Cement Ratio
Grading, Surface texture, Shape, Strength and Stiffness of aggregate
Maximum Size of aggregate used
Age of Curing
Water to Cement ratio
The most important factor determining the strength of concrete is the water to
cement ratio. It is the ratio of weight of mixing water (free water available for the
reaction with cement) to that of cement in the mixture. Cement needs water of
about 38% by weight for complete hydration. But since the complete hydration is
a long term process, and under practical conditions, the period of concrete
mixing and casting being short, the cement combines with only 23% of water.
If only 23% of water is added while mixing, the concrete wont be workable
because the water-cement ratio of 0.23 will be too less. So additional water will
be required for workability. This water in excess of 23% by weight will evaporate
on drying of concrete, creating voids in it due to trapping of air bubbles insides,
thereby reducing the strength of concrete.
Assuming full compaction, and at a given age and normal temperature, strength
of concrete can be taken to be inversely proportional to the water-cement ratio.
This is so called the Abrams law.
Abrams law is a special case of a general rule formulated empirically by Feret:
S = strength of concrete
K = a constant
c, w & a = volume of cement, water & air respectively
Degree of Hydration
It has been found that for a constant given water-cement ratio, a leaner mix leads
to a higher strength.
Grading, Surface texture, Shape, Strength and Stiffness of aggregate
particles
Grading
Strength of concrete is basically a function of water-cement ratio provided that
concrete is workable. For producing a workable concrete the important factor is a
good gradation of aggregates. However it should be understood that there is no
ideal aggregate grading because satisfactory concrete can be made with
various aggregate gradings within certain limits.
However, if a sample of aggregate is well graded, it would contain minimum
voids; requires minimum cement paste to fill up the voids in the aggregates.
Minimum paste will mean less quantity of cement and less quantity of water,
which will further mean increased economy, higher strength and greater
durability.
Generally angular aggregate particles have rough texture and round aggregate
particles are smooth textured. From the bonding point of view it seems that
smooth textured rounded particles form a poor bond with cement paste. But the
smooth looking surface of rounded particles is also rough enough at the
microscopic level and the cement-gel that forms a bond with aggregate surfaces
also has particle sizes in level of microns. Both, surface and the cement gel
reacts at the sub-microscopic level; hence the theory that smooth surfaced
particles yields poor concrete is not fully justified.
Angular aggregates have higher specific surface area than smooth rounded
aggregate. With a greater specific surface area the angular aggregate may show
higher bond strength than rounded aggregates. Also, angular aggregates exhibit
a better interlocking effect in concrete that contributes in strength of concrete.
Higher specific surface area of angular aggregates with rough texture demands
more water for a given workability than rounded aggregates. From this point of
view for a given water-cement ratio, rounded aggregates give higher strength.
Superimposing all these facts, it can be concluded that:
For water-cement ratio below 0.4 the use of crushed aggregate has resulted in
strength up to 38 percent higher than the rounded aggregate. With an increase in
water-cement ratio the influence of roughness of surface of the aggregate gets
reduced and at a water-cement ratio of 0.65, no difference in strength of concrete
made with angular aggregate or rounded aggregate has been observed.
Aggregates of low strength and low modulus of elasticity can be valuable for
producing the low strength concrete. As the strength and stiffness of
corresponding matrix phase is always lower than aggregate particles, in low
strength concrete, use of aggregate particles of low strength and stiffness
preserves the integrity of concrete. It is to be remembered that strength of low
strength concrete is governed by the cracking of transition zone or by the
properties of cement-paste itself. In low strength concrete, as volume changes
occurs during loading, compressible aggregates preserves the integrity of
concrete while rigid aggregates might lead to cracking of the surrounding
cement-paste.
(ii) High strength concrete
High strength concrete with strength ranging from 50 MPa up to 200 MPa; has
For any gradation of aggregates, larger the maximum size of aggregate used,
lower will be the total surface area in a given volume of concrete. Lower the total
surface area of aggregates, lower will be the water requirement for the given
workability, therefore higher will be the strength at the given water-cement ratio.
Later it was found that the use of larger size of aggregate did not contribute to
higher strength as expected from the theoretical considerations due to following
reasons.
The larger maximum size aggregate gives lower surface area for developments
of gel bonds which is responsible for the lower strength of the concrete. Secondly
bigger aggregate size causes a more heterogeneity in the concrete which will
prevent the uniform distribution of the load when stressed.
When large size aggregate is used, due to internal bleeding, the transition zone
will become much weaker due to the development of micro cracks which will
result in lower compressive strength.
It is to be noted that high strength concrete or rich concrete is adversely
affected by the use of large size aggregate. But in lean mixes or weaker concrete
the influence of size of the aggregate gets reduced. It is interesting to note that in
lean mixes larger aggregate gives highest strength while in rich mixes it is the
smaller aggregate which yields higher strength.
The compressive strength of concrete is found to gain strength with age because
the process of hydration continues over a longer period. The rate of increase in
strength is independent of cement content or grade of concrete but it is a function
of humidity conditions.
The gain in strength is 100% in eleven years provided the concrete is kept in
humid conditions throughout. However, if the concrete remains in dry condition
(after initial 7 days of wet curing), the increase in strength is negligible beyond
one year.