AGGREGATE

Aggregates are inert granular materials such as sand, gravel, or crushed stone that

along with water and portland cement, are an essential ingredient in concrete.
For a good concrete mix, aggregates need to be clean,hard ,strong particles free of
absorbed chemicals or coatings of clay and other fine materials that could cause the

deterioration of concrete.
Aggregates typically make up of 60-80% of the volume of a concrete mixture.
Aggregates are divided into 2 distinct categories:
i.
Coarse Aggregate-larger stones and gravel (aggregate size more than
4.75mm)
ii.
Fine Aggregate-sand (aggregate size less than 4.75mm)
Compared to the aggregates, the shrinkage potential of a cement paste is quite high.
The smaller the aggregate size ,the greater its surface area and the more cement will
be required to bind it all together, resulting in a higher cost. However, in general

terms, the greater the quantity of cement used, the stronger the concrete will be.
Purpose of aggregates :
To provide a rigid skeletal structure.
To reduce the space occupied by the cement paste.
To provides volume stability to the hardened concrete.

SAND

Sand is a major component of concrete. Without the sand,concrete will not

function as intended.
The properties of a specific concrete mix will be determined by the proportion and

type of sand used to formulate the concrete.

Sand is usually a larger component of the mix than cement.
The sand are called fine aggregate as the component of concrete.

Sand typically makes up about 25 percent of a wet concrete mixture..

Sand for concrete can be classified as :
i.
Soft sand
-soft sand has a smooth surface on the individual granule.It is natural
ii.

sand formed by erosion factors such as water movement on a beach.

Sharp sand
-sharp sand granule have a rough surface.This sand is the result of

manufacturing by crushing larger forms of aggregate.

The most important factor concerning sand used in concrete is that it must be
clean sand. Impurities in the sand such as silt or organic matter will weaken the
final hardened concrete.