2.

2 Characteristics of course aggregates and its effect on

concrete properties
2.1.1 Aggregate shape and texture

The typical shape of a three dimensional figure is extremely difficult to describe however
they can be subcategorized by their geometrical characteristics including form, spherity and
roundness. Aggregate concentrations in concrete can be upwards of 80% of total concrete
volume so the performance of fresh and hardened concrete is somewhat governed by
aggregate characteristics. According to (Neville, 1996), roundness measures the relative
sharpness or angularity of the edges and corners of a particle. Roundness is controlled largely
by the strength abrasion resistance of the parent rock and by the amount of wear to which the
particle has been subjected to. Furthermore particle shape of crushed aggregate is dependent
on both the rock crusher used and also the type of material crushed.
The definition of shape and texture is highly dependent on the country in which the sample is
analyzed.

According to (Newman and Choo, 2003), equidimensional shapes are preferred. Flaky or
elongated particles tend to be detrimental. Rounded particles tend to give better workability
than crushed or angular particles. Similar studies on high strength concrete undertaken by
(Ozturan and Cecen, 1997), also concluded that higher compressive and flexural strengths in
concrete were achieved with the inclusion of angular crushed aggregate in comparison to
those samples using rounded course gravel aggregate.

(Jaine and Chouhan, 2011) similarly undertook extensive studies using three different types
of aggregates based on their shape characteristics The aggregates were classified under IS:
2386 (Part I)-1963 as angular, irregular and flaky. Classification characteristics are shown in
table 3.

Table 1- Shape characteristics as per IS:2386 (Part 1)- 1963, (Jaine and Chouhan, 2011)
Table 2- Identification of course aggregates (Jaine and Chouhan, 2011)

Each type of aggregate was identified using table 4 and then assigned a unique identification
number based on size and classification which is presented in column 3 of table 4.

(Jaine and Chouhan, 2011) concluded that for all sizes of aggregates, compressive strength of
pervious concrete mixes vary inversely with the angularity number of the aggregate used,
whilst keeping a constant a/c ratio and varying w/c ratio. Results for aggregate sizes 6.3mm,
10mm and 12.5mm can be found in figures 2, 3 and 4.

Figure 2- 6.3mm aggregate Figure 1- 10mm aggregate

 Figure 3- 12.5mm aggregate

Mixes prepared using irregular aggregates (angular number 7) in all three samples resulted in
the highest strength followed by mixes prepared using angular aggregate (angular number 10)
and flaky aggregate (angular number 13) for a given size of aggregate and W/C ratio.

However, results also indicate that for the three different types of aggregates used, the
compressive strength of concrete decreases as the w/c ratio increases to a certain value for
each sample.

The w/c ratio at which the maximum compressive strength was recorded, revealed a wet
metallic sheen to the mix without paste drawn out. Where the w/c content was lower than the
optimum value, a dull surface appearance was revealed, indicating that the mix had an
insufficient availability of water give the cement paste sufficient fluidity to allow the
complete hydration of the cement. This led to a reduction in compressive strength at w/c
ratios lower than the optimum value. For w/c ratios higher than the optimum value, cement
paste was drawn down in the samples, leading to an accumulation of paste at the bottom of
the samples (Jaine and Chouhan, 2011)

Pilegis (2014) suggested that in addition to coarse aggregates, fine particles with much
rougher surfaces and also finer sands could result in higher specific surface areas when
making comparisons to smoother and more coarsely graded sands. Results were able to
suggest that increased absorption capacity of rough and fine natural sands could have been a
major factor in the reduction of compressive strength due to increasing water cement ratios to
maintain a constant slump.