Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse to

medium grained particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed
stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most
mined materials in the world. Aggregates are a component of composite materials such
as concrete and asphalt concrete; the aggregate serves as reinforcement to add strength
to the overall composite material. Due to the relatively high hydraulic conductivity value
as compared to most soils, aggregates are widely used in drainage applications such as
foundation and French drains, septic drain fields, retaining wall drains, and roadside edge
drains. Aggregates are also used as base material under foundations, roads,
and railroads. In other words, aggregates are used as a stable foundation or road/rail
base with predictable, uniform properties (e.g. to help prevent differential settling under
the road or building), or as a low-cost extender that binds with more expensive cement or
asphalt to form concrete.

Applications and Uses of Aggregates

Aggregates are the most mined material in the world. Construction aggregate is a broad
category of granular raw material of different sizes (sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag,
recycled concrete etc) used in construction

Uses of Aggregate
Aggregate can be used in a number of ways in construction. In roads and railway ballast
the aggregates are used to resist the overall (static as well as dynamic) load, to
distribute the load properly to the supporting ground and to drain the water off the
surface. In concrete the aggregate is used for economy, reduce shrinkage and cracks
and to strengthen the structure. They are also used in water filtration and sewage
treatment processes. The uses of aggregates can be summarized in to the following
three categories:

 As a Load Bearing Material

 As a Filling Material
 As an Infiltrating Material

Uses of Aggregate in Concrete

Aggregate is an essential ingredient of concrete. The purpose of aggregates in concrete
is:

 To provide a rigid structure

 To reduce the shrinkage and cracking
 Concrete aggregate is used in many structures and substructures e.g. different
elements of a Building, bridges, foundations
 The smaller the aggregate size the greater its surface area and the more binding
material (cement) will be required, resulting in a higher cost
 The greater the aggregate size the larger will be the voids, resulting in wastage of
binding material(cement)

Hence a mixture of coarse and fine aggregate is used in concrete to avoid both these
problems.

Uses of Aggregate in Railway Ballast

Properties of aggregate used in railway ballast are very different from those used in roads.

 A fully loaded train weighs in thousands of tons. To avoid damage to the rails,
ground and other nearby structures a very tough aggregate is needed not only to
support this high weight but also to distribute and transfer it properly to the ground.
 Railway ballast generally consists of a tough igneous rock (crushed), such as
granite, with a larger diameter varying between 30mm to 50mm. Particles finer
than this diameter in higher proportion will reduce its drainage properties. While a
higher proportion of larger particles result in the load on the ties being distributed
improperly.

Desirable Properties of Road Aggregates

Aggregates form the major portion of the pavement structure. Bear stresses occurring on
the roads and have to resist wear due to abrasive action of traffic. Aggregates are also used
in flexible as well as in rigid pavements. Therefore, the properties of aggregates are of
considerable importance to highway.

Desirable Properties of Road Aggregates

1. Strength
2. Hardness
3. Toughness
4. Durability
 5. Shape of aggregates
6. Adhesion with bitumen

1. Strength

The aggregates to be used in road construction, particularly the aggregates used in the
wearing course of the pavement should be sufficiently strong/ resistant to crushing to
withstand the high stresses induced due to heavy traffic wheel loads.

2. Hardness

The aggregates used in the surface course are subjected to constant rubbing or abrasion
due to moving traffic. Abrasive action may be increased due to the presence of abrasing
material like sand between the tyres of vehicle and the aggregates exposed to the top
surface. Thus, they should be hard enough to resist the wear due to abrasive action of
traffic.

3. Toughness

Aggregates in the pavement are also subjected to impact due to moving wheel loads.
The magnitude of impact increase with roughness of road and speed of vehicle. Severe
impact is common when heavily loaded steel tyred vehicles move on WBM. The
resistance to impact or toughness is thus another desirable property of aggregates.

4. Durability

The aggregates are subjected to physical and chemical actions of rains and ground
water, the impurities in them and that of atmosphere. Thus it is desirable that the road
stones used in the construction should be sound enough to withstand the weathering
action. The property of aggregates to withstand the adverse actions of weather may be
called soundness.

5. Shape of Aggregate

Aggregates may be rounded, angular, flaky or elongated. Flaky and elongated particles
have less strength than rounded and cubical particles. Thus, too flaky and too much
elongated particles should be avoided.

6. Adhesion with bitumen

The aggregates in bituminous pavements should have less affinity with water when
compared with bitumen, otherwise the bituminous coating on the aggregates will be
stripped off in presence of water.

Tests for Road Aggregates

In order to describe the suitability of aggregates for use in road construction, the
following tests are used:

a. Crushing
b. Abrasion
c. Impact test
d. Soundness
e. Bitumen adhesion test
f. Shape test
g. Specific gravity and water absorption

Types of Aggregates, Its Uses and

Applications
Definition:
Aggregate is a granular material, such as sand, gravel, crushed stone,
crushed hydraulic-cement concrete, or iron blast-furnace slag, used with a hydraulic
cementing medium to produce either concrete or mortar.

Coarse Aggregate
Those particles that are predominantly retained on the 4.75 mm (No. 4) sieve and will
pass through 3-inch screen, are called coarse aggregate. The
coarser the aggregate, the more economical the mix. Larger
pieces offer less surface area of the particles than an equivalent
volume of small pieces. Use of the largest permissible maximum
size of coarse aggregate permits a reduction in cement and
water requirements. Using aggregates larger than the maximum
size of coarse aggregates permitted can result in interlock and
form arches or obstructions within a concrete form. That allows the area below to become
a void, or at best, to become filled with finer particles of sand and cement only and
results in a weakened area.

Fine Aggregate
Those particles passing the 9.5 mm (3/8 in.) sieve, almost entirely passing the 4.75 mm
(No. 4) sieve, and predominantly retained on the 75 µm (No. 200) sieve are called fine
aggregate. For increased workability and for economy as reflected by use of less cement,
the fine aggregate should have a rounded shape. The purpose of the fine aggregate is to
fill the voids in the coarse aggregate and to act as a workability agent.
Purpose & Uses of Aggregates
In concrete, an aggregate is used for its economy factor, to reduce any cracks and most
importantly to provide strength to the structure. In roads and railway ballast, it is used to
help distribute the load and assist in ground water running off the road.

1. Increases the volume of concrete, thus reduces the cost

2. Provide dimensional stability
3. Influence hardness, abrasion resistance, elastic modulus and other properties of
concrete to make it more durable, strong and cheaper.

Effects of Aggregate Properties on Concrete

Effect of Size
Variation in the size of Aggregates changes the water demand, cement content, micro-
cracking (strength) in concrete. It also effects pumpability, and durability of concrete.

Effect of Grading
Grading of aggregates depends on the proportions of coarse and fine aggregate. If
grading of aggregate is varied, it also changes cement paste content (cost economy),
workability of the mix, density and porosity.

It is an important factor and has a maximum influence on workability. Well graded

aggregates result in the least amount of voids in a given volume. Less voids result in
excessive past availability in a unit volume and more lubrication. Hence the mix is
cohesive and avoids segregation.

Effects of Surface Texture

Surface texture of aggregates itself depends on rock hardness, grain size, porosity,
previous exposure and affects workability, paste demand, initial strength of concrete.
Shape and surface texture affects usually the properties of freshly mixed concrete.
Rough-textured and elongated particles require more cement paste to produce
workable concrete mixtures, thus increasing the cost. This factor is of secondary
importance. Porous aggregates require more water compared to non absorbent
aggregates for achieving same degree of workability.

Effects of absorption & Surface Moisture

Affects the following concrete behaviors: Mix-design, soundness of concrete &
strength/abrasion resistance.
Shape of aggregates:
Angular aggregates increases flakiness or elongation thus reduces workability. Round
smooth aggregates require less water and less lubrication and greater workability in a
given w/c ratio.

Effect of Coarse Aggregate on Strength of Concrete

Coarse aggregate makes up about 75% of concrete by volume. Strength of concrete is
also affected by the properties of coarse aggregates besides water-cement ratio and
other properties. The lower the water to cement ratio, the more the effect of coarse
aggregates on the strength of concrete. Undesired properties of coarse aggregate may
affect the strength, durability, and performance of concrete negatively