What is the Most Commonly Used Aggregate in Construction?

When it comes to construction, the most commonly used aggregate is 20 mm in size. This size of aggregate is used in many applications, such as asphalt pavement and concrete mixes. It is also used to build roads, bridges, and buildings, as it makes up more than 90% of an asphalt pavement and up to 80% of a concrete mix. On average, 38,000 tons of aggregates are needed to build a mile of lane of an interstate highway, while 400 tons are needed to build an average house and 15,000 tons are needed for an average school or hospital.

Aggregates come in various categories, such as gravel, sand, recycled concrete, slag, topsoil, ballast, type 1 MOT, and geosynthetic aggregates. The most commonly used aggregates include sand, crushed or broken stone, gravel (pebbles), broken blast furnace slag, boiler ash (clinker), burnt shale, and burnt clay. These materials are very popular in the construction industry due to their ability to provide strength, bulk, and other properties to construction materials like asphalt and concrete.