MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

CE 344: MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION

LABORATORY REPORT 2: Tests on Aggregates

LAB GROUP: 04

MUSTAFA EMRE ERDOAN

1493196

SECTION 2

SUBMISSION DATE: 08.05.2017

Table of Contents
OBJECT AND SCOPE ............................................................................................................ 1

PRELIMINARY REMARKS ................................................................................................. 1

TEST SPECIMEN.................................................................................................................... 1

APPARATUS ............................................................................................................................ 2

TEST PROCEDURE ............................................................................................................... 4

CALCULATIONS .................................................................................................................... 4

RESULTS .................................................................................................................................. 5

DISCUSSION of RESULTS .................................................................................................... 6

CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 7

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 8
OBJECT AND SCOPE
Gradation is a definition used for the particle size distribution in a batch of aggregate. It
is important that concrete has some plasticity for working with it without segregation. One of
the important factor that effects plasticity is gradation of aggregate particles. Since gradation of
the aggregate particles has a relation with water requirement and the workability of the concrete,
strength and durability will change according to gradation.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS
In this experiment, there are some factors that need to be known for evaluating results.
The apparatus which will be defined at below section has very small sizes as mm or m
(micron). One micron is equal to 0.001 mm. Also, the aggregate particles which have higher
sizes than 4.75 mm are coarse materials and smaller than this size are defined as fine material.

Fineness modulus is the related theory for the experiment. It can be explained briefly as
the cumulative percentage of sample that could not pass through the sieve no 100 (standard
sieve 150m) divided by 100. Fineness modulus is an empirical number and it will be helpful
while determining some characteristics of material that are listed at below.

1) Material can be defined as well-graded or gap graded.

2) Fineness or coarseness of material is dependent of the value of fineness modulus.
Coarser aggregates will have higher fineness modulus.
3) Water requirement can be determined by using fineness modulus. Lower fineness
modulus indicates higher surface area which will increase the water requirement since
the required amount of fresh paste to cover aggregate particles will increase.

TEST SPECIMEN
There is procedure that should be applied to prepare this test specimen to get more
accurate result. According to studies that are given in several standards, around 10-15 kg
aggregate should be taken. This sample should not be taken from only one area. Also, the
sample should be taken from bottom, middle and top of the aggregate storage. The reason for
this procedure is weight difference between the particles. The heavier particles will settle over
the time. In practical, the required minimum coarse aggregate sample amount can be calculated
by using following formula:

1
 ,
,

The size of the aggregate sample can be reduced by using one of the two ways. Either
splitting or quartering method will be useful at this point. In splitting method, a device called
as sample splitter is used. This mechanical method divides the sample into halves. In
quartering method, the sample is placed over a hard, clean and leveled surface and mixed by
turning this surface for three times. After the third turn, the pile is turned into a conical pile by
using a shovel and then flattened again as circle with uniform thickness and diameter as much
as possible. In final step, the circle divided to four quarters. In both methods, if the sample size
is still larger than required, the methods can be replied. Once the required mass is obtained for
the experiment, the sample should be washed.

In this experiment 1kg aggregate sample has used. The dryness of specimen is an
important factor. If any moisture content is still present within the specimen, the results may be
wrong since the particles will stick together or clog the sieve holes. Due to this reason, sample
dried in an oven for 24 hours before starting the experiment.

APPARATUS
There is only one type of apparatus is used during this test. This apparatus has several
different layers which are called as sieves. The sieves image can be seen at below:

Figure 1 : ASTM Standard Sieves

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 These sieves are placed one on the top of the other according to their sizes. The biggest
sized sieve will be at the top and it will be sorted from top to bottom. Also, there is a pan placed
at the bottom.

Figure 2 : ASTM Standard Sieves (Sorted)

In this experiment, some of the ASTM Standard Sieves are used. Six of used sieves
are in standard sizes, while #25 sieve is supplementary size. The used sieve sizes given in the
following table:

Table 1 : Sieve Sizes

Sieve Opening
Sieve
(mm)
#4 4.75
#8 2.36
#16 1.18
#25 0.71
#30 0.60
#50 0.30
#100 0.15
Pan -

3
TEST PROCEDURE
This test can be performed by either manually or by using a machine called sieve
shaker. The manual method has used during this laboratory session. The sample is placed over
the top sieve and then the following motions are performed with sieves in an order.

I) Forward and backward motion.

II) Left and right motion.
III) Clockwise and counter-clockwise motion.
IV) Frequent jolting.

This operation should be continued for 5-10 minutes. Than the weight of the mass that
are retained in each sieve should be noted.

CALCULATIONS
According to laboratory results, following table obtained:

Table 2 : The Retained Mass at Sieves

Sieve Opening Mass Retained

Sieve
(mm) (g)
#4 4.75 0
#8 2.36 305
#16 1.18 182
#25 0.71 97
#30 0.60 61
#50 0.30 122
#100 0.15 160
Pan - 73
Total 1000

The cumulative percentage of retained mass on sieves can be found by using this
formula:

% "#x"
#x"
=

In this experiment;

4

% # = = .

The passing percentage of the sieves can be found by using the formula at below:

"#x" sieve = %

In this experiment;

# = . = .

The fineness modulus can be calculated by using this formula:

.
( % )
=

In this experiment;

(. + . + . + . + . )
. = = .

RESULTS
The results for all sieves are shown at below:

Table 3 : Cumulative % Retained and % Passing for Sieves

Sieve Mass Cumulative

Percent
Sieve Opening Retained Percent
Passing
(mm) (g) Retained
#4 4.75 0 0 100
#8 2.36 305 30.5 69.5
#16 1.18 182 48.7 51.3
#25 0.71 97 58.4 41.6
#30 0.60 61 64.5 35.5
#50 0.30 122 76.7 23.3
#100 0.15 160 92.7 7.3
Pan - 73 100 0
Fineness
2.788
Modulus

The gradation curve graph for experiments results is given at next page.

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 Gradation Curve for Experiment's Sample
100.00

80.00

60.00
% Passing

40.00

20.00

0.00
0.15 0.30 0.60 0.71 1.18 2.36 4.75
Sieve Size, mm

Figure 3 : Gradation Curve for Experiments Sample

DISCUSSION of RESULTS
According to ASTM C33 (2016), fineness of aggregate can be determined by comparing
Sample Gradation Curve with ASTM gradation limits and checking fineness modulus limits.

Table 4 : ASTM Limit Values for Fine Aggregate

Sieve Sizes
% Passing
(mm)
9.50 100
4.75 95-100
2.36 80-100
1.18 50-85
0.60 25-60
0.30 10-30
0.15 2-10

The results obtained from experiment shows that; only in #8 sieve, the passing
percentage is lower than given boundaries. The reason of this problem could be occurred
because of the small amount of moisture content or fail on motion procedure. The fineness

6
modulus of given specimen is found as 2.788. According to ASTM C33 (2016), fineness
modulus should be between 2.3 and 3.38.

100.00

80.00

60.00
% Passing

40.00

20.00

0.00
0.15 0.30 0.60 0.71 1.18 2.36 4.75
Sieve Size, mm

Gradation Curve for Experiment's Sample

Figure 4 : ASTM Gradation Limit Curves for Fine Aggregation

Since the sample not satisfy the ASTM C33 for sieve #8 only, the test should be repeated
again according to procedure. Also, fineness of aggregate can be increased to get perfect result.

It is not possible to draw a perfect gradation line. During the studies over years, there
are many different results taken for fineness of aggregate. Due to this reason, lower and upper
limits of fine aggregate are determined from several standards.

CONCLUSION
The most important factor for workability of fresh concrete is gradation of aggregate
within concrete. While a sand with low fineness modulus requires higher paste, on the other
hand a sand with high fineness modulus requires more water which will affect the strength.
Fineness modulus should be between 2.3 and 3.1 for get good results.

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REFERENCES
ASTM C33/C33M-16e1 Standard Specification for Concrete Aggregates, ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1520/C0033_C0033M-16E01

ASTM E11-17 Standard Specification for Woven Wire Test Sieve Cloth and Test Sieves,
ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1520/E0011-17

How to Do Sieve Analysis of Aggregate | Quality Assurance and Quality Control in

Construction. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.qualityengineersguide.com/how-to-do-
sieve-analysis-of-aggregate

Erdoan, S. T., & Erdoan, T. Y. (2014). Basic Materials of Construction. Ankara, ankaya:
METU Press Publishing Company.