Chapter 5

Production of aggregate, Concrete, and

Asphalt Mixes
 Introduction

The production of high-quality concrete and asphalt mixes requires

a supply of aggregate ( gravel, sand ).

Aggregate is produced by crushing rock or gravel.

Construction operations which require crushed stone include

highway and airfield base courses, drainage facilities, asphalt
surface treatments, bedding for pipelines, and railroad ballast.
 Production of Aggregate

To produce quality aggregate, rock or gravel must be excavated,

loaded, and transported to an aggregate processing plant
(Crushing Plant)
 Production of Concrete

Concrete is produced by mixing Portland cement, aggregate,

water, and an additive ( may be added to improve the workability
or other properties of the concrete mix).

The construction operations involved in the production of

concrete include batching, mixing, transporting, placing,
consolidating, finishing and curing
 Types of Concrete

Concrete is classified into several categories according to its application and

density.

Normal-weight concrete usually weighs from 140 10 160 ib./cu ft., depending on
the mix design and type of aggregate used. For design purposes the unit weight
of concrete is 150 ib./cu ft.

In 28-day the compressive strength of concrete will ranges from 2000 to 4000 psi
 Continue

Structural lightweight concrete has a unit weight less than 120

ib./cu ft. with a 28-day compressive strength greater than 2500 psi.

Lightweight insulating concrete may weigh from 15 to 90 ib./cu ft.

and have a 28-day compressive strength from about 100 to 1000
psi

Mass concrete is concrete used in a structure such as a dam in

which the weight of the concrete provides most of the strength of
the structure.
 Continue

Refractory concrete is concrete that is suitable for high

temperature applications such as boilers and furnaces.

Precast concrete is concrete that has been cast into the desired
shape prior to placement in a structure.

Architectural concrete is concrete that will be exposed to view

and therefore utilizes special shapes, designs, or surface finishes to
achieve the desired architectural effect.
Concrete Components
 Cement

There are five principal types of Portland cement.

A) Type I ( normal) is suitable for all normal application

B) Type II ( modified) is provides better resistance to alkali

attack and produces less heat of hydration than dose type I
cement. It is suitable for use in structures such as large piers
and drainage system., where groundwater contains a
moderate level of sulfate.
 Continue

C) Type III (high early strength) cement provides 190% of type I

strength after 1 day of curing. It also produces about 150% of the
heat of hydration of normal cement during the first 7 days . It is
used to permit early removal of forms in cold-weather concreting.

D)Type IV ( Low heat) cement produces only 40-60% of the heat

produced by type I cement during the first 7 days. Its strength is
only 55% of that of normal cement after 7 days. It is produced for
use in massive structures such as dams.
 Continue

E) Type V (sulfate-resistant) cement provides maximum

resistance to alkali attack. Its 7-day strength is only 75% of
normal cement. It should be used where the concrete will be
in contact with soil or water that contains a high sulfate
concentration.

In addition to these five major types of cement, there are a special

cement types, Type IA, IIA, IIIA and they are the same as Type I, II,
III , with the addition of an air-entraining agent.
 Aggregates

Aggregate is used in concrete to reduce the cost of the mix and to

reduce shrinkage. Because aggregates make up 60-80% of
concrete volume, their properties strongly influence the properties
of the finished concrete.
To produce quality concrete, each aggregate particle must be
completely coated with cement paste and paste must fill all void
spaces between aggregate particles.
The quantity of cement paste required is reduced if the aggregate
particle sizes are well distributed and the aggregate particles are
rounded od cubical. Aggregate must be strong, resistant to
freezing and thawing, chemically stable, and free of fine material
that would affect the bonding of the cement paste to the
aggregate.
 Water

 Water is required in the concrete mix to provide the moisture

required for hydration of the cement to take place.

 Hydration is the chemical reaction between cement and water

which produces hardened cement. The heat that is produced by
this reaction is referred to as heat of hydration. If the aggregates are
not in a saturated surface dry (SSD) condition when added to a
concrete mix, they will either add or subtract water from the mix.

 It has been found that the strength, water tightness, durability, and
wear resistance of concrete are related to the water/cement ratio
of the concrete mix. The lower the water/cement ratio the higher
the concrete strength and durability. (W/C <1)
 Additives

A number of type of additives or admixtures are used in concrete .

Some of the principle type of additives used are air-entraining
agents, water-reducing agents, retarders, accelerators, pozzolans
(Fly ash) , and workability agents.
 Estimating Mixer Production

The volume of plastic concrete produced by the mix be calculated

by the absolute-volume method. In this method the volume of one
batch is calculated by summing up the absolute volume of all mix
components.

The absolute volume of each component may be found as follows:

𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 (𝒍𝒃)
Volume (cu. ft.) =
𝟔𝟐.𝟒 𝑿 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚
 Example

A) Calculate the volume of plastic concrete that will be produced

by the mix design given in the table.

Component Specific Gravity Quantity (lb.)

Cement 3.15 340
Sand (SSD) 2.65 940
Gravel (SSD) 2.66 1210
Water 1.00 210
 Continue

B) Determine the actual weight of each component to be added if

sand contains 5% excess moisture and the gravel contains 2%
excess moisture.

C) Determine the weight of each component required to make a

three-bag mix and the mix volume.
 Solution

A)

340
Cement Volume = 3.15𝑋 62.4 = 1.7 cu. ft.
940
Sand Volume = 2.65 𝑋 62.4 = 5.7 cu. ft.
1210
Gravel Volume = 2.66 𝑋 62.4 = 7.3 cu. ft.
210
Water Volume = 1.00 𝑋 62.4 = 3.4 cu. Ft.
Mix Volume = 1.7 + 5.7 + 7.3 + 3.4 = 18.1 cu. ft.
 Continue

B)
Excess Water in Sand = 949 X 0.05 = 47 lb.
Excess Water in Gravel = 1210 X .02 = 24 lb.
Total excess water = 47 + 24 = 71 lb.

Field Mix Quantities:

Water = 210 - 71 = 139 lb.
Sand = 940 + 47 = 63 lb.
Gravel = 1210 + 24 = 1234 lb.
 Continue

C)
Adjusting to a three-bag mix:

Cement = 3 X 94 = 282 lb.

282
Sand = X 987 = 819 lb.
340
282
Gravel = X 1234 = 1023 lb.
340
282
Water = X 139 = 115 lb.
340
282
Mix Volume = X 18.1 = 15.0 cu. ft.
340
 Continue

After the batch volume has been calculated, mixer production

may be estimated as follow:

2.22 𝑋 𝑉 𝑋 𝐸
Mixer production ( cu. yd./h) =
𝑇

Where :
V = batch volume (cu. ft. )
T = Cycle time (min.)
E = job efficiency
 Transporting and Handling
Concrete

A number of different items of equipment are available for

transporting concrete from the mixer to its place of use. Some
equipment commonly used includes transit mixer trucks, agitator
trucks, dump trucks, conveyors, pumps, and cranes with concrete
buckets.
Transit mixer trucks
Agitator trucks
Dump trucks
Conveyors
Pump truck
Cranes with concrete buckets.
Production of Asphalt Mixes
Asphalt and Other Bituminous
Materials
Bituminous materials include both asphalt and tar. Although
asphalt is the type of bituminous material most frequently used in
surfacing roads and airfields, road tars are sometimes used.

Bituminous surfaces ( Pavement and surface treatments) are used

to provide a roadway wearing surface and to protect the
underlying material from moisture. Bituminous material serve to
bound the aggregate particles together, it is referred to as binder.

The aggregate in a bituminous surface actually provides the load-

carrying ability of the surface. The aggregate also resists the
abrasion of traffic and provides skid resistance to the travel surface.
Estimating Asphalt Plant Production

An asphalt mix is composed of asphalt, coarse aggregate (gravel),

fine aggregate (sand), and mineral filler ( or fines). The amount of
asphalt in a mix is expressed as a percentage of total mix weight.
 Example

A) Calculate the maximum hourly production of an asphalt plant based on the data in the
following list.
Mix composition:
Asphalt = 6%
Aggregate composition:
Coarse A = 42%
Coarse B = 35%
Sand = 18%
Mineral filler = 5%
Aggregate moisture = 8%
Dryer capacity at 8% moisture removal = 110 ton/h

B) find the required feed rate (ton/h) for each mix component to achieve this production
 Solution

A)
𝐷𝑟𝑦𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑋 10⁴
Plant capacity =
100−𝑎𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑡 % (100−𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒 %)
110 𝑋 10⁴
= (100−6)( 100 −5) = 123 ton/h

B) Feed rate (ton/h)

Component Fraction Total Rate
Asphalt 0.06 123 7.4
Aggregate (dry) 0.94 123 115.6
---------------- ---------- -----------
1.00 123 123
 Continue

Component (dry Weight) Fraction Total Rate

Coarse A 0.42 115.6 48.5
Coarse B 0.35 115.6 40.5
Sand 0.18 115.6 20.8
Mineral filler 0.05 115.6 5.8
---------------- ------------ ---------
1.00 115.6 115.6