Construction aggregate

Construction aggregate is granular material, including sand, gravel, and crushed stone, used in concrete, asphalt, road bases, and other construction work. Its particle size, shape, and mineral composition influence the performance of these materials.

Concrete: A composite building material made by binding aggregates with cement paste and water. Aggregate forms most of concrete’s volume and helps determine its strength and durability.
Particle-size distribution: The proportions of particles of different sizes in a granular material. Aggregate grading controls packing, void space, and mixture workability.
Particle packing: The arrangement of particles in a volume and the fraction of space they occupy. Dense packing reduces voids and the amount of binder needed.
Natural aggregate: Granular construction material obtained from naturally occurring deposits of sand and gravel. It contrasts with stone made by mechanically crushing larger rock.
Asphalt concrete: A road-surfacing material made by binding mineral aggregates with bitumen. Aggregate provides the load-bearing skeleton in asphalt mixtures.
Sieve analysis: A test that separates particles by size using a stack of progressively finer sieves. It measures the size distribution used to classify aggregate.
Mechanical interlock: Resistance to movement created when irregular surfaces or shapes engage one another. Angular aggregate resists displacement in compacted road layers and asphalt.
Crushed stone: Aggregate produced by mechanically crushing rock into specified particle sizes. Its angular particles differ from the naturally rounded grains of many deposits.
Road base: A compacted layer of material beneath a road’s surface that distributes traffic loads. Graded aggregate commonly forms this structural layer.
Fine aggregate: Aggregate that passes a 4.75-millimeter sieve, commonly sand. Fine particles fill spaces between coarser aggregate in many mixtures.

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