THE IMPORTANCE OF
FITNESS MODULUS
By Bruce Suprenant
I
n 1925, Duff Abrams introduced
the concept of fineness modulus
(FM) for estimating the propor-
tions of fine and coarse aggregates in
concrete mixtures. The premise:
“aggregate of the same fineness mod-
ulus will require the same quantity of
water to produce a mix of the same
consistency and give a concrete of the
same strength.” Over the years, many
ready mix producers have verified the
wisdom of Abram’s premise.
ASTM C 33 “Standard Specification
for Concrete Aggregates” specifies
requirements for the FM of fine aggre-
gate, and ACI 211 “Standard Practice
for Selecting Proportions for Normal,
Heavyweight, and Mass Concrete”
uses FM to select the amount of coarse
aggregates for trial mix designs.
Because FM is such a widely used
index for aggregate proportioning,
most testing labs report the FM for
fine aggregate with each sieve analy-
sis.
CALCULATING FM
Before calculating FM, lab techni-
cians perform a sieve analysis to
determine the particle size distribu-
tion, or grading, of the aggregate sam-
ple. To obtain a grading, the aggregate
is shaken through a series of sieves,
nested one above the other in order of
size. The sieve with the largest open-
ings is on top and the one with the
smallest openings is on the bottom. A
pan placed beneath the sieves catches
material passing through the smallest
sieve.
Coarse and fine aggregate usually
are sieved separately. That portion of
an aggregate sample passing the No.
4 sieve is fine aggregate. After sieving,
a scale is used to weigh material
retained on each sieve and on the pan.
FM is the sum of the total percentages
retained on each specified sieve divid-
ed by 100 (Table 1). The lower limit of
the specified sieves is the No. 100
sieve and the actual size of the open-
ings in each larger sieve is twice that
of the sieve below. The most common
sieve sizes for calculating the FM of
CALCULATION OF FINENESS
MODULUS (FM) FOR FINE AGGREGATE
SIEVE WEIGHT INDIVIDUAL
RETAINED PERCENT
(GRAMS) RETAINED, %
No. 4 9.2 2 2
No. 8 67.6 13
No. 16 101.2 20
No. 30 102.2 20
No. 50 120.5 24
No. 100 93.1 18
No. 200 10.2 2 99
Pan 4.5 1 100
Total 508.5 100
fine aggregate are No. 4, 8, 16, 30, 50,
and 100. The No. 200 sieve is included
in a standard sieve analysis, but is not
used to calculate FM.
ASTM C 33 requires the FM of fine
aggregate to be between 2.3 and 3.1.
The higher the FM, the coarser the
aggregate. FM doesn’t define the
grading curve, however, since differ-
ent gradings can have the same FM.
HOW AGGREGATE FINENESS AFFECTS
CONCRETE PROPERTIES
Fine aggregate affects many con-
crete properties, including workabili-
ty and finishability. Experience has
shown that very coarse sand or very
fine sand produces poor concrete
mixes. Coarse sand results in harsh
concrete mixes prone to bleeding and
segregation. Fine sand requires a
comparatively large amount of water
to achieve the desired concrete work-
ability, is prone to segregation, and
may require higher cement contents.
Figure 1 shows that decreasing FM
for a sand used in mortar requires con-
siderably more cement content when
the water-cement ratio and slump are
held constant. However, a changing FM
has little influence on the cement con-
tent required in concrete.
Usually, a lower FM results in more
paste, making concrete easier to finish.
For the high cement contents used in
the production of high-strength con-
crete, coarse sand with an FM around
3.0 produces concrete with the best
workability and highest compressive
TOTAL SUM TO
PERCENT CALCULATE
RETAINED, % F.M.
Yes
15 Yes
35 Yes
55 Yes
79 Yes
97 Yes
Yes
No
FM = 283/100 = 2.83
strength. In general, manufactured
sands require more fines than natural
sands for equal workability.
CHECK FOR AGGREGATE VARIATIONS
Because changes in fine aggregate
can significantly affect concrete prop-
erties, FM variations should be close-
ly monitored.
Concrete is proportioned using a
base fineness modulus determined
from previous tests or, if no previous
tests exist, from the average of the FM
values for the first 10 aggregate sam-
ples tested. Aggregates delivered
with a different FM than the base
value may require an adjustment in
the concrete mix.
For shipments of fine aggregate
from a given source, the FM shouldn’t
vary more than 0.2 from the base
value. (The purchaser may agree,
however, to accept a greater base
value variation from a specific aggre-
gate source.) If the fineness modulus
varies by 0.2, adjust the proportions of
fine and coarse aggregate. As the FM
decreases (aggregate becomes finer),
use a lower percentage of sand in the
total aggregate or increase the amount
of coarse aggregate.
PUBLICATION #J940107
Copyright © 1994, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved