Types, applications and benefits of aggregates
Aggregates are the vital components in concrete. They are granular materials obtained from the natural rocks, crushed stones as well as natural gravels and sands. The aggregates are amalgamated with a binding material in fixed ratios to form concrete.
Aggregates normally capture about 70% to 80% of the concrete volume and they significantly affect the different properties like strength, hardness and stability of the concrete. Aggregates function as fillers or volume increasing components.
Applications of aggregates:
1. They are used as an underlying material for foundations and pavements.
2. They are used as constituents in portland cement concrete & asphalt concrete.
Properties of Aggregate: Aggregate should contain the properties given below -
1. It should be chemically static that means they should not respond to cement or any other aggregate or admixture.
2. It should contain adequate hardness to avoid scratching and erosion in the hardened state.
3. It should contain adequate toughness to sustain impact and vibratory loads.
4. It should be physically strong to carry compressive and normal tensile loads in ordinary mixture.
5. It should not contain impurities, inorganic or organic in nature for which the quality of concrete will be affected significantly.
6. It should have capabilities to produce usable plastic mixture after getting mixed with cement and water.