CHAPTER 1: AGGREGATES is to be subject to abrasion because it may be crushed or

rubbed into powder, thereby interrupting the continuity

REPORTER NO. 9 (DELETERIOUS MATTER)
of the aggregate structure that are needed to transmit
CAMILLE BATUSIN shear or to maintain a continuous surface.

Date Reported: - ASTM C33 limits soft particles in concrete aggregate

What is deleterious matter?
- in simple terms, a deleterious matter is a substance
that has a harmful effect on the performance of the
material.
to 5% in which surface hardness is important, and has
no limit for soft particles in fine aggregates.
Lightweight Pieces

- ASTM C33 contains allowable limits for 7 types of
Deleterious Substances, which must be controlled in
aggregates to be used for Portland Cement concrete.
7 Categories of Deleterious Matter
- are particles in coarse or fine aggregate that have an
SG that are less than that of the aggregate as a whole.
They are undesirable because they are often soft or
weak.

• Friable Materials Coal & Lignite

• Material Finer than #200 sieve - coal and lignite are undesirable because they produce
unsightly pitting and black staining at the surface of a
• Soft Particles Portland cement concrete structure.
Lightweight Pieces - It has an SG of about 2.0
 Coal and Lignite
 Chert
 Organic Impurities
 Reactive Aggregates


Friable Materials

- are those which are easily crumbled (e.g. clay lumps, Lignite
weak sandstone, or oxidized ores)
Chert
- Method of testing for Friable substances is described in
ASTM C142, Test For Friable Particles In Aggregates.

- ASTM C33 limits Friable Particles to 3% for fine

aggregates and 2-10% for coarse aggregates when
either is to be used for Portland cement concrete.

Material Finer than No. 200 Sieve

- material which passes through the No. 200 sieve

(0.075 mm) in a washed sieve analysis performed
according to ASTM C117, Test for Materials Finer than
No. 200 Sieve in Mineral Aggregates by Washing. The
fine material is objectionable because of the reason
that it coats larger particles. The coating is a hindrance
to the adherence of Portland cement paste or asphalt
cement to the aggregates. Fine material may be also
objectionable in filter material because it will either be
washed through the filter or partially plug the filter.
ASTM C33 limits material finer than No. 200 sieve in
fine aggregate to 3% for Portland cement concrete
subject to abrasion and 5% for other Portland cement
concrete, and in coarse aggregate to 1% in all concrete.
- chert is a porous particle structure that expands. It is
also undesirable because of the same reason with coal
& lignite, it causes pitting in concrete.
- It has an SG of 2.35
Test for determining the percentage of Lightweight
Pieces in aggregate is described in ASTM C173,
Lightweight Pieces In Aggregate
It consists of placing the sample to a mixture of fluids
proportioned to have an SG that of the acceptable
aggregate and that of the Lightweight pieces.
Organic Impurities

- are nonmineral material of an organic type, mainly

Soft Particles tannic acid

- are those that are marked with a groove after being Organic materials hinder the hardening of portland
scratched on freshly broken surface by a pointed brass cement concrete
rod under a force of 2lb in accordance to ASTM C235,
Test For Scratch Hardness Of Coarse Aggregate
Particles. Soft particles are harmful when the aggregate
ASTM C40, Organic Impurities in Sands for Concrete
contains the method of testing for excessive organic
impurities.

For ASTM D2

Tannins or tannic acid

Reactive Aggregates

- are those which contain minerals which react with

alkalis in portland cement. It causes excessive
expansion of mortar or concrete.

The expansion causes disintegration which may not be
visible in use for several years.
There are two types reaction, either alkali-silica or
alkali-carbonate
The reaction occurs when mortar or concrete is subject
to wetting, extended exposure to humid atmosphere, or
contact with moist ground.
Los Angeles Abrasion Test
- described in ASTM C131, Resistance to
Abrasion of Small Size Coarse Aggregate by Use of the
Los Angeles Machine, and in ASTM C535, Resistance to
Abrasion of Large Size Coarse Aggregate by Use of the
Los Angeles Machine.
The two Los Angeles tests are for any coarse aggregate,
one for smaller and one for larger sizes.

Aggregate to be used is combined with 12 steel spheres

Miscellaneous Properties or fewer for smaller aggregates and rotated in a
1. Toughness cylinder 500 times for small-size coarse aggregate and
1000 times for large-size coarse aggregate.
- means resistance to abrasion and impact.
Los Angeles Abrasion Machine
It is indicated either by the Deval Test or the Los
Angeles Abrasion Test.

Deval Test

- in ASTM D2, Abrasion of Rock by Use of the

Deval Machine, describes the Deval Test for crushed
rock.

In ASTM D289, Abrasion of Coarse Aggregate by Use of

the Deval Machine, describes the Deval Test for other
aggregate.

In the Deval Test, aggregate is rotated 10,000 times in a

cylinder with six steel spheres for ASTM D289 and no
spheres for ASTM D2. Coarse aggregate of various sizes
may be tested, but none smaller than the No. 4 sieve.
Materials that pass to No. 12 sieve is expressed as a
percentage of the total sample weight.

For ASTM D289

 • Coating and Stripping of Bitumen-Aggregate
Mixtures

- Provides a method for testing aggregates for

adhesion to asphalt. Aggregates are completely
coated with asphalt and submerged in water for 16-
18 hours. The amount of asphalt coating that strips
away from the aggregate is determined by a visual
estimate of whether the aggregate surface left
coated is more or less than 95% of the total surface.

• A shelf inside the cylinder carries the aggregate

and steel balls to a point near the top where
they fall once each revolution. This fall plus the
addition of more spheres for larger aggregates
causes greater abrasion and breakage than in
the Deval tests.

• Material broken fine enough to pass the No.12

sieve is expressed as a percentage of the total
sample weight to indicate the susceptibility to
abrasion and breakage.

• If the aggregate particles are all of equal

toughness, the loss of weight in the particles
increases in direct proportion to the number of
revolutions.

2. SOUNDNESS

• Soundness of aggregates means resistance to

disintegration under weathering including
alternate heating and cooling, wetting and
drying, and freezing and thawing.

• ASTM C88 (Soundness of aggregates by use of

Sodium Sulfate or Magnesium Sulfate)
- provides a method of measuring soundness by
immersing aggregates in a sodium sulfate or
magnesium sulfate solution and removing and
oven-drying. After specified number of cycles ,
the weight in material that passes the sieve is
determined as an indication of the soundness of
the aggregate.

3. HYDROLIPHIC

• Hydrophilic aggregate is the aggregate which

does not maintain adhesion to asphalt when it
becomes wet.

• Hydrophilic means “Loves Water.” The

implication is that hydrophilic aggregate prefers
water to asphalt.

Quartzite is a hydrophilic aggregate.