` Used in the manufacture of
3 Cement concrete
3 Bituminous concrete
3 Plaster
3 Grout
3 Filter beds
3 Railroad ballast
3 Base course
3 Foundation fill
3……………………………..
` Defined by
3ASTM C125 http://www.astm.org/Standards/D125.htm
3ASTM D8 http://www.astm.org/Standards/D8.htm
3It is defined as granular material e.g. sand gravel,
crushed stone, iron-blast-furnace slag………
` Sources
3Natural sand and gravel deposits
3Crushed stone or rock
3Blast furnace slag
3Artificial and other processed materials
3Pulverized / recycled concrete and asphalt
3Waste materials
Sand quarry
Sand quarry
Gravel quarry
Stone quarry
Stone quarry
blasting
Stone crushing
` Formed from weathering and decomposition
of rocks
` The most abundant mineral content is Quartz
` Usually have round smooth end particles
` Mostly used in bricks, concrete, glass, …..
` Size is very small (usually less than 4mm)
` Manufactured sand: Finely crushed stone
stones, finely crushed gravels, air cooled
blast furnace slag – usually characterized by
sharp angular particles
` Usually have smooth round edges
` Size varies from 3/16 in (4.75mm) to 3 in (76
mm)
` Natural deposits around lake beds, glaciated
areas, adjacent to streams. They are usually
layered with sand
` Produced by erosion of mountainous bedrock
` Angular in shape and rough surface texture.
` Mostly used are mineral aggregates e.g.
granite, sandstone, lime-stone, dolomite
` High compressive strength 13–34 ksi (90-
235 MPa)
` Light weight aggregate
` prepared by expanding select minerals in a rotary kiln at
temperatures over 1000° C
` Expansion upto 600-700%
` Production is quality controlled to give high quality product that
is structurally strong, stable, durable and inert, yet also
lightweight and insulative.
` Applications are Smart-wall lightweight concrete masonry units,
high-rise buildings, concrete bridge decks, high performance
marine platforms, asphalt bituminous surface treatments,
lightweight chip seal, soil conditioner and lightweight
geotechnical fills
http://www.escsi.org
` Based on Size
3Fine aggregates – 0.006in (150µm) to 3/16in (4.75mm)
• Further classified as coarse, medium and fine sand
• Sand > 0.07 mm
• Silt 0.06 – 0.002 mm
• Clay < 0.002 mm
3Coarse aggregates – greater than 3/16in (4.75mm)
` Based on density
3 Normal weight aggregates
• e.g. Gravel, sand, crushed rocks (granite, basalt,
quartz, sandstone, limestone)
• Sp. Gravity between 2.5 - 2.
• Avg. bulk density 95 – 105pcf (1520 – 1680 kg/m3)
• Applications: normal weight concrete, asphalt
concrete, road sub-base
3 Light weight aggregates
• e.g. Volcanic rocks, blast furnace slag, GGBFS, ESCS
• Avg. bulk density < 55 pcf (880 kg/m3)
• Applications: light weight concrete, light weight
masonry blocks
• Improved thermal and insulating characteristics
` Based on density
3 Heavy weight aggregates
• e.g. crushed rocks (barite BaSO4), processed iron ores
(Limonite, Hematite, Magnetite)
• Sp. Gravity > 4
• Avg. bulk density 150 – 400pcf (2400 – 6400 kg/m3)
• Applications: heavy weight concrete, radiation
protection, bomb shelters
` Specific gravity
weight of material
Specific gravity =
volume of material × density of water
