Chapter-1:

AGGREGATES
Vinay Kumar B M
Introduction
Aggregate is a collective term for the mineral
materials such as sand, gravel, and crushed
stone that are used with a binding medium to
form compound materials.

By volume, aggregate generally accounts for

92 to 96 % of Bituminous mix and about 70
to 80 % of Portland cement concrete.

Aggregate is also used for base and sub-base

courses for both flexible and rigid
pavements.
 Aggregates can either be natural or
manufactured.

Natural aggregates are generally extracted

from larger rock formations through an open
excavation.

Manufactured aggregate is often a by

product of other manufacturing industries
Classification of Aggregates
The Aggregates are classified into following
ways:

Geological Classification

Physical Classification

Chemical Classification
Geological Classification
Igneous Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks
Igneous Rocks
The Rocks formed due to cooling and solidification
of molten material are called Igneous Rocks.

Igneous rocks are strong and Durable

Igneous rocks are further classified into:

Plutonic Rocks: Slow cooling of Magma

Hypabyssal Rocks: cooling of magma at relatively

shallow depth

Volcanic Rocks: volcanic eruption of lava takes place on

surface of earth
 Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous rocks at the surface of the earth gets
gradually disintegrated due to weathering.

The disintegrated particles are transported

by agencies like wind and flowing water.

Rivers are strong agents transporting

weathered rocks. Thus denudation and
deposition of the previously existing rocks
results in new rocks in layers.
 The strength of sedimentary rocks varies
considerably depending upon the quality of
grains of the original rocks.

Sandstone, Limestone, mudstone ,Gypsum

etc
Metamorphic Rocks
Igneous rocks and sedimentary rocks undergo
considerable changes in their shape, structure,
and some times in mineral composition.

Such changes are known as metamorphic

changes and hence rocks with such changes
are called metamorphic rocks.

The three principal agents for metamorphism

namely:
Heat
Pressure
Chemically Active Fluids
Physical Classification
Based on structure of Rock:

Unstratified Rocks: These Rocks do not

Have any layers of stratification. They are
compact and granular.

Stratified Rocks: Plane of stratification can

be observed easily

Laminated Rocks: These rocks are in the

form of thin layers. They can be split easily
in definite direction.
Chemical Classification:
Based on Chemical Composition,

Siliceous Rocks: Predominantly constituted by

silica. Generally they are hard and durable.

Argillaceous Rocks: Predominantly constituted

by clay.
Clay consist of mainly alumina mixed with
varying proportion of siliceous, calcareous and
carbonaceous material.
These rock appear dense, compact and hard
but they are brittle.
 Calcarious Rocks: Predominant constituent
of these rocks are calcium carbonate.
The durability of these rocks depends upon
the constituents present in the surrounding
atmosphere.
Hardness
Based on Hardness

Soft Rock: Talc and Gypsum

Medium Rock: Lime and Dolomite

Hard Rock : Granite, Basalt, Trap and

Quartzite.

Very Hard Rock : Taconite

Desirable Properties of Aggregates
1. Strength

2. Hardness

3. Toughness

4. Shape of aggregates

5. Adhesion with bitumen.

6. Durability.

7. Freedom from deleterious particles

 Strength
The aggregates used in top layers are subjected
to:

(i) Stress action due to traffic wheel load,

(ii) Wear and tear,

(iii) crushing.

For a high quality pavement, the aggregates

should posses high resistance to crushing, and to
withstand the stresses due to traffic wheel load.
Hardness

The aggregates used in the surface course

are subjected to constant rubbing or
abrasion due to moving traffic.

The aggregates should be hard enough to

resist the abrasive action caused by the
movements of traffic.

The abrasive action is severe when steel

tyred vehicles moves over the aggregates
exposed at the top surface.
Toughness
Resistance of the aggregates to impact is
termed as toughness.

Aggregates used in the pavement should be

able to resist the effect caused by the
jumping of the steel tyred wheels that causes
severe impact on the aggregates.
Shape of aggregates
Aggregates which happen to fall in a
particular size range may have rounded,
cubical, angular, flaky or elongated
particles.

The flaky and elongated particles will have

less strength and durability.
Adhesion with bitumen
The aggregates used in bituminous
pavements should have less affinity with
water when compared with bituminous
materials.

otherwise the bituminous coating on the

aggregate will be stripped of in presence of
water
Durability
The property of aggregates to withstand
adverse action of weather is called soundness.

The aggregates are subjected to the physical

and chemical action.

hence it is desirable that the road aggregates

used in the construction should be sound
enough to withstand the weathering action.
Freedom from deleterious particles
Specifications for aggregates used in
bituminous mixes usually require the
aggregates to be clean, tough and durable

It should be free from excess amount of

elongated pieces, dust, clay balls and other
objectionable material.

Similarly aggregates used in Portland cement

concrete mixes must be clean and free from
deleterious substances such as clay lumps,
silt and other organic impurities.
Tests on aggregate

Crushing test: To determine the strength of

aggregate.

Abrasion test: To test the hardness

property of stone.

Impact test: To evaluate the toughness of

stone.

Shape test: To determine the percentages

of flaky and elongated particles.
 Specific gravity and water absorption
test: To determine quality of the material.

Soundness test: To determine resistance

of aggregates to weathering action.

Bitumen adhesion test: To determine the

adhesion of bitumen binder to an aggregate
in the presence of water.
Crushing Test
One of the model in which pavement material
can fail is by crushing under compressive stress.

A test is standardized by IS:2386 part-IV and

used to determine the crushing strength of
aggregates.

The aggregate crushing value provides a

relative measure of resistance to crushing
under gradually applied crushing load.
 Apparatus:

A 15-cm diameter open-ended steel

cylinder, with plunger and base-plate.

Straight metal tamping rod of circular cross-

section 16 mm in diameter and 45 to 60 cm
long.

IS Sieves of sizes 12.5,10 and 2.36 mm.

A compression testing machine capable of

applying a load of 40 tonnes.
 Preparation of Test Sample
The material for the standard test shall consist of
aggregate passing a 12.5-mm IS Sieve and
retained on a 10-mm IS Sieve

Thoroughly separated on these sieves before

testing.

The aggregate shall be tested in a surface-dry

condition.

If dried by heating, the period of drying shall not

exceed four hours, the temperature shall be 100 to
110C and the aggregate shall be cooled to room
temperature before testing.
 Test Procedure
The cylinder of the test apparatus shall be put in
position on the base-plate and the test sample
added in thirds, each third being subjected to 25
strokes from the tamping rod.

The surface of the aggregate shall be carefully

levelled and the plunger inserted so that it rests
horizontally on this surface.

The apparatus, with the test sample and plunger

in position, shall then be placed between the
platens of the testing machine and loaded at
uniform rate so that the total load is reached in
10 minutes. The total load shall be 40 tonnes.
 Contd

The load shall be released and the whole of

the material removed from the cylinder and
sieved on a 2.36-mm IS Sieve for the
standard test. The fraction passing the
sieve shall be weighed (Weight B) .

In all of these operations, care shall be

taken to avoid loss of the fines. Two tests
shall be made.
Observation and Calculations
Sample NO. 1 2
Weight of Empty
cylinder(W1)
Weight of Empty cylinder
And coarse
aggregate(W2)

Weight of dry coarse

aggregate(W3)
Weight of fine passing
through IS 2.36mm
sieve(W4)

Aggregate Crushing
Value(W4/W3)x100
Average aggregate
Crushing Value
 Contd.

Aggregate crushing value= ( W4/W3)x100

Reporting of Results: The mean of the two

results shall be reported.

A value less than 10 signifies an

exceptionally strong aggregate while above
35 would normally be regarded as weak
aggregates.
 Abrasion test
Abrasion test is carried out to test the hardness
property of aggregates and to decide whether
they are suitable for different pavement
construction works.

Angeles abrasion test is a preferred one for

carrying out the hardness property and has
been standardized in India (IS:2386 part-IV).

The principle of Los Angeles abrasion test is to

find the percentage wear due to relative
rubbing action between the aggregate and
steel balls used as abrasive charge.
Apparatus
Los Angeles machine consists of circular drum of
internal diameter 700 mm and length 520 mm
mounted on horizontal axis enabling to rotate.

An abrasive charge consisting of cast iron

spherical balls of 48 mm diameters and weight
340-445 g.

The number of abrasive spheres varies according

to the grading of the sample.

The quantity of aggregates to be used depends

upon the gradation and usually ranges from 5-10
kg.
Los Angeles Abrasion Testing
Machine
Testing Principles
The abrasive charge, depending upon the
grading of the test sample:
Grading Number of Weight of
Spheres Charge in
grams
A 12 5 000

B 11 4 584

C 8 3 330

D 6 2 500

E 12 5 000

F 12 5 000

G 12 5 000
Procedure:

Clean and dry aggregate sample confirming to

one of the grading A to G is used for the test.

Aggregate weighing 5kg for grading A, B, C or D

and 10Kg for grading E, F or G may be taken as
test specimen and placed in the cylinder.

The abrasive charge is also chosen in accordance

and placed in the cylinder of the machine, and
cover is fixed to make dust tight.
 The machine is rotated at a speed of 30 to
33 revolutions per minute.

The machine is rotated for 500 revolutions

for grading A, B, C and D, for grading E, F
and G, it shall be rotated for 1000
revolutions.

After the desired number of revolutions the

machine is stopped and the material is
discharged from the machine taking care to
take out entire stone dust.
 Using a sieve of size larger than 1.70mm IS
sieve, the material is first separated into two
parts and the finer position is taken out and
sieved further on a 1.7mm IS sieve.

Let the original weight of aggregate be

W1gm, weight of aggregate retained on
1.70mm IS sieve after the test be W2gm.
 Reporting of Results
Difference between the original weight and the final
weight of the test sample shall be expressed as a
percentage of the original weight of the test sample.

This value shall be reported as the percentage of

wear.

The average value of Los Angles Abrasion Test is

________________%

A maximum value of 40 percent is allowed for WBM

base course in Indian conditions. For bituminous
concrete, a maximum value of 35 is specified.
Observation and Calculation
Impact test
The aggregate impact test is carried out to
evaluate the resistance to impact of aggregates.

Apparatus:

A cylindrical steel cup of internal dimensions:

Diameter 102 mm
Depth 50 mm

Impact testing machine

Tamping rod- 10 mm in diameter and 230 mm long

IS Sieve 12.5mm, 10mm and 2.36mm, balance.

Impact testing machine
 Preparation of Test Sample
The material for the standard test shall consist of
aggregate passing a 12.5-mm IS Sieve and
retained on a IO-mm IS Sieve

Thoroughly separated on these sieves before

testing.

The aggregate shall be tested in a surface-dry

condition.

If dried by heating, the period of drying shall not

exceed four hours, the temperature shall be 100
to 110C and the aggregate shall be cooled to
room temperature before testing.
 Procedure
The cylinder shall be filled about one-third full
with the aggregate and tamped with 25
strokes of the rounded end of the tamping rod.

further similar quantity of aggregate shall be

added and a further tamping of 25 strokes
given. The measure shall finally be filled to
overflow, tamped 25 times and the surplus
aggregate struck off, using the tamping rod as
a straight-edge.

The net weight of aggregate in the measure

shall be determined to the nearest gram
 The cup shall be fixed firmly in position on the
base of the machine and the whole of the test
sample placed in it and compacted by a single
tamping of 25 strokes of the tamping rod.

The hammer shall be raised until its lower face

is 380 mm above the upper surface of the
aggregate in the cup, and allowed to fall freely
on to the aggregate.

The test sample shall be subjected to a total of

15 such blows each being delivered at an
interval of not less than one second.
 Contd
The crushed aggregate shall then be removed
from the cup and the whole of it sieved on the
2.36-mm IS Sieve until no further significant
amount passes in one minute.

The fraction passing the sieve shall be weighed

to an accuracy of 0.1 g

The ratio of the weight of fines formed to the

total sample weight in each test shall be
expressed in percentage.

The result being recorded to the first decimal

place:
Observation and calculation
Shape Tests
The particle shape of the aggregate mass
is determined by the percentage of flaky
and elongated particles in it.

Aggregates which are flaky or elongated

are detrimental effect on workability and
stability of mixes.
Flakiness Index of Aggregates
The flakiness index is defined as the
percentage by weight of aggregate particles
whose least dimension is less than 0.6 times their
mean size.

Apparatus:
Thickness Gauge.
Sieves
Balance

Sample : A quantity of aggregate shall be

taken, sufficient to provide a minimum number of
200 pieces of any fraction to be tested.
Thickness Gauge
Tests in Progress
Observation and Calculation
 Procedure
The sample is sieved with the sieves mentioned in the
table

A minimum of 200 pieces of each fraction to be tested

are taken and weighed (W1 gm)

In order to separate flaky materials, each fraction is

then gauged for thickness on thickness gauge .

Then the amount of flaky materials passing the gauge

is weighed to an accuracy of at least 0.1% of test
sample

Let the weight of the flaky materials passing the

gauge be W2 gm.
 Similarly the weights of the fractions passing and
retained on the specified sieves be W1, W2, W3, etc, are
weighed and the total weight W1+W2+W3+..= Wg is
found.

Also the weights of the materials passing each of the

specified thickness gauge are found =w1, w2, w3.

And the total weight of the material passing the different

thickness gauges = W1+W2+W3=Wg is found.

Then the flakiness index is the total weight of the flaky

material passing the various thickness gauges expressed
as a percentage of the total weight of the sample gauged
 Contd.

Result:
The flakiness index of the given
sample of aggregates is ___________%.
Elongation Index of Aggregates
The elongation index of an aggregate is
defined as the percentage by weight of
particles whose greatest dimension (length) is
1.8 times their mean dimension.

Apparatus:
Metal Gauge.
Sieves
Balance

Sample : A quantity of aggregate shall be

taken, sufficient to provide a minimum number
of 200 pieces of any fraction to be tested.
Metal Gauge: Sectional View
Metal Gauge: Plan
Test in Progress
Observation and Calculation
 Procedure
The sample is sieved through IS Sieve specified in
the table. A minimum of 200 aggregate pieces of
each fraction is taken and weighed.

Each fraction is the thus gauged individually for

length in a length gauge. The gauge length is used
should be those specified in the table for the
appropriate material.

The pieces of aggregate from each fraction tested

which could not pass through the specified gauge
length with its long side are elongated particles and
they are collected separately to find the total
weight of aggregate retained on the length gauge
from each fraction.
 The total amount of elongated material
retained by the length gauge is weighed to
an accuracy of at least 0.1% of the weight of
the test sample.

The weight of each fraction of aggregate

passing and retained on specified sieves
sizes are found W1, W2, W3,

Also the weights of the material from each

fraction retained on the specified gauge
length are found = x1, x2, x3 and the
total weight retained determined =
x1+x2+x3+..= X gm.
 The elongation index is the total weight of
the material retained on the various length
gauges, expressed as a percentage of the
total weight of the sample gauged.
Soundness test
Soundness test is intended to study the
resistance of aggregates to weathering
action, by conducting accelerated weathering
test cycles.

The Porous aggregates subjected to freezing

and thawing are likely to disintegrate
prematurely.

To ascertain the durability of such aggregates,

they are subjected to an accelerated
soundness test as specified in IS:2386 part-V.
 Aggregates of specified size are subjected to
cycles of alternate wetting in a saturated
solution of either sodium sulphate or
magnesium sulphate for 16 - 18 hours and
then dried in oven at 105 to 110 C to a
constant weight.

After five cycles, the loss in weight of

aggregates is determined by sieving out all
undersized particles and weighing.

The loss in weight should not exceed 12

percent when tested with sodium sulphate and
18 percent with magnesium sulphate solution.
Specific Gravity and water absorption
The specific gravity and water absorption of
aggregates are important properties that are
required for the design of concrete and
bituminous mixes.

The specific gravity of a solid is the ratio of its

mass to that of an equal volume of distilled
water at a specified temperature.

Because the aggregates may contain water-

permeable voids, so two measures of specific
gravity of aggregates are used: Apparent
specific gravity and Bulk specific gravity
 Apparent Specific Gravity: Is computed on
the basis of the net volume of aggregates
i.e. the volume excluding water-permeable
voids.

Bulk Specific Gravity: Is computed on the

basis of the total volume of aggregates
including water permeable voids
Water absorption:

The difference between the apparent and

bulk specific gravities is nothing but the
water permeable voids of the aggregates.

We can measure the volume of such voids

by weighing the aggregates dry and in a
saturated, surface dry condition, with all
permeable voids filled with water.
 The specific gravity of aggregates normally
used in road construction ranges from about
2.5 to 2.9.

Water absorption values ranges from 0.1 to

about 2.0 percent for aggregates normally
used in road surfacing.
Bitumen adhesion test
Bitumen adheres well to all normal types of
road aggregates provided they are dry and
free from dust.

In the absence of water there is practically no

adhesion problem of bituminous construction.
Adhesion problem occurs when the aggregate
is wet and cold.

This problem can be dealt with by removing

moisture from the aggregate by drying and
increasing the mixing temperature.
 Several laboratory tests are conducted to
arbitrarily determine the adhesion of bitumen
binder to an aggregate in the presence of
water.

Static immersion test is one specified by IRC

and is quite simple.

The principle of the test is by immersing

aggregate fully coated with binder in water
maintained at 400C temperature for 24 hours.

IRC has specified maximum stripping value of

aggregates should not exceed 5%
Aggregate gradation
Gradation or particle size distribution of an
aggregate is one of the most influential
aggregate characteristics in determining the
performance of the Pavement.

In highway, gradation helps to determine

stiffness, Stability, workability, fatigue
resistance, frictional resistance and resistance
to moisture damage.

Sieve Analysis is a commonly used procedure

in civil engineering that measures the size
distribution of an aggregates.
Procedure for sieve Analysis
In a gradation and size analysis, a sample of
dry aggregate of known weight is separated
through a series of sieves with progressively
smaller openings.
 Once separated, the weight of particles retained
on each sieve is measured and compared to the
total sample weight.

Particle size distribution is then expressed as a

percent retained/passing by weight on each
sieve size

It is often expressed in graphical form. Using

concepts of Maximum density gradation.

A special graph referred to as the FHWA (Federal

Highway Administration) 0.45 power graph.
 This gradation would involve a particle
arrangement where successively smaller
particles are packed within the voids
between larger particles.
 Design Gradation: Fuller and
Thompson's Equation
(Interactive Equation)
A widely used equation to describe a
maximum density gradation for a given
maximum aggregate size is developed by
Fuller and Thompson in 1907.
 The 0.45 Power Maximum Density Graph

In the early 1960s, the FHWA introduced the standard

gradation graph used in the HMA industry today.

This graph uses Fuller and Thompson's equation with

n = 0.45 and is convenient for determining the
maximum density line and adjusting gradation.

This graph is slightly different than other gradation

graphs because it uses the sieve size raised to the
nth power (usually 0.45) as the x-axis units.

Thus, a plot of Fuller and Thompson's maximum

density equation with n = 0.45 appears as a straight
diagonal line
Calculations for a 0.45 Power
Gradation Curve
The 0.45 Power Maximum Density Graph
Types of Gradation
1. Dense or Well-graded : Equal amounts of various
sizes.

2. Narrow Gradation: Aggregates of approximately the

same size

3. Gap Gradation: Very little Aggregate in the medium

size range

4. Open Gradation: Aggregate sample with very little

fine aggregate particles.

5. Rich Gradation: Aggregate with high proportion of

particles of small sizes.
 Dense-Graded Aggregate
Dense or well-graded refers to a gradation
that is near the 0.45 power curve for
maximum density and contains optimum
amount of aggregates from all ranges.
Dense-Graded Aggregate
Uniformly Graded Aggregate
Uniformly graded refers to a gradation that
contains most of the particles in a very
narrow size range. The curve is steep and
only occupies the narrow size range
specified. All the particles are the same size.
Uniformly Graded Aggregate
Open-Graded Aggregate
Open graded refers to a gradation that
contains only a small percentage of
aggregate particles in the small range.
Open-Graded Aggregate
Gap-Graded Aggregate
Gap graded refers to a gradation that
contains only a small percentage of
aggregate particles in the mid-size range.
The curve is flat in the midsize range
Gap-Graded Aggregate
Proportioning of aggregates
After selecting the aggregates and their
gradation, proportioning of aggregates has to be
done and following are the common methods of
proportioning of aggregates:

1. Trial and error procedure

2. Graphical Methods

3. Analytical Method
Trial and error procedure
Vary the proportion of materials until the
required aggregate gradation is achieved.
Graphical Methods
Two graphical methods in common use for
proportioning of aggregates are:

1. Triangular chart method and

2. Roch's method.

This can be used when only three materials

are to be mixed.
 Analytical Method
In this method a system of equations are
developed based on the gradation of each
aggregates, required gradation, and solved
by numerical methods.

With the advent of computer, this method is

becoming popular.

The resulting solution gives the proportion of

each type of material required for the given
aggregate gradation.