What Type of Aggregate is Used in Construction?

Commonly used aggregates in construction include sand, crushed or broken stone, gravel (pebbles), broken blast furnace slag, boiler ash (clinker), burnt shale, and burnt clay. The following types of aggregates are the most commonly used on the construction site: Gravel, Lightweight Aggregates, Recycled Concrete, and Natural Sand and Gravel. Gravel is made up of rocks that are not connected to each other. It is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granules to rock-sized fragments.

Its composition varies depending on the source. Lightweight aggregates can come from natural resources or can be man-made. The main natural resource is volcanic material, while synthetic aggregates are produced by heat or heat treatment of materials with expansive properties. Recycled concrete is created by breaking, removing and crushing existing concrete to a preferred size. It is commonly used as a base coat for other construction materials. Aggregates are extracted from natural sand or sand and gravel pits, hard rock quarries, dredging submerged deposits, or mining underground sediment. Reflecting the essential nature of the material, sand and gravel quarries, both in operation and defunct, are a common feature of the UK landscape, particularly in the east of England. The wells are located in areas where glaciers left clean deposits of sand and stone.

Sometimes gravel is deeper than the water table and gravel is pumped out, leaving behind ponds and lakes. Much of today's seabed was dry land 20,000 years ago, when sea levels were up to 100 m lower. After the last Ice Age, sea levels began to rise and existing river valleys, with sand and gravel deposited by glaciers, were submerged. Eventually, sea levels rose to establish the current coastline. The ancient river sediment has been reworked by the action of the sea to leave clean and well-classified aggregates.

Aggregates

They provide the basis for roads, bridges and buildings, while constituting 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. Building an average house requires 400 tons of aggregate, while the average size of a school or hospital requires 15,000 tons. For example, Ring Industrial Group's EZFlow product lines are produced with geosynthetic aggregate parts containing more than 99.9% recycled polystyrene.

The shape of the aggregate affects the strength of the concrete and is therefore a point of consideration when selecting the aggregate. These products include specific types of coarse-grained and fine aggregates designed for uses such as additives for asphalt and concrete mixes, as well as other uses in construction. Elongated aggregates are those whose length is greater compared to the width and the thickness or length of the aggregate is greater than 180% of its average dimension. This polystyrene, which is otherwise destined for landfill, is collected, melted, mixed, reformulated and expanded to create low-density aggregates that maintain high strength properties under compressive loads.

When stone, sand, and gravel are not available, construction demand is generally met by shipping aggregates by rail, barge or truck. These aggregates are not considered suitable for high-strength concrete due to their poor interlocking behavior and weak bond strength. The aggregate in the concrete occupied approximately 70 — 80% of the total volume provided by the main body to the concrete. Natural aggregates are generally used in the natural state having rock fragments or are used after mechanical processing such as crushing washing and sizing.

When selecting the type of aggregate other properties such as increase in volume compatibility with cement thermal insulation specific gravity water absorption cleaning etc must be taken into consideration. Aggregate demand by sector of the final market was 30 to 35% for non-residential buildings (offices hotels shops manufacturing plants government and institutional buildings etc) 25% for roads and 25% for housing. AEM is proud to partner with AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo which is the aggregates industry's leading educational resource and exhibition for The World Of Asphalt Show. During Roman Empire there was a significant refinement of production and use of aggregates which used aggregates to build its vast network of roads and aqueducts.

Before studying properties of concrete one must know aggregates that make up largest volume in concrete.