Building Stones and Aggregates

Building stones are those stones which are used for:

(i) Dimension blocks in the ordinary construction of buildings,
dams, retaining walls etc.
(ii) Stones used for ornamental purposes; and
(iii) Stones used for flooring and roofing.
The stones used for flagging and paving is usually classified as
“paving materials”, excluding from “building stones”.
Different kinds of rocks are used for building stones.
Sedimentary rocks are widely used than igneous and
metamorphic rocks because of their wider distribution and
lower cost of quarrying.
⚫ Factors governing the choice of Building Stones:
1) Cost
2) Colour
3) Durability
Cost: The cost of a building stone will depend on:
(i) availability, such as its abundance and purity,
accessibility, the distance and proximity, transportation etc.
(ii) workability, such as the ease with which it can be
extracted and dressed; and
(iii) location
2) Colour: The colour and beauty becomes much more important, when the
stone is to be used for decorative and ornamental purposes such as face
works, floorings etc.
⚫ Colour depends on Mineralogical composition while beauty depends on
textures of the rocks.
Acid igneous rocks are light colour because of Quartz and Feldspar.
Basic rocks are dark colour because of ferromagnesian minerals.
Colour of sedimentary rocks depends mainly on cementing materials and
impurities present.
Sandstone with ferruginous cement are dark colour and with siliceous
cement are light in colour.
Pure limestone are white but those with impurities are greyish or black.
The colour of metamorphic rocks is determined by the nature and amount
of impurities present.
Pure marble white and those with argillaceous impurities are dark.
⚫ The beauty of an ornamental stone depends not only its
colour but also its texture.
⚫ Interlocking grains of quartz, feldspar and ferromagnesian
minerals in a Granite impart the texture of mosaic to the
polish surface of the rock.
⚫ A porphyritic granite with well developed phenocryst of
feldspar is more beautiful than an ordinary granite.
⚫ The presence of alternate bands of dark and light coloured
minerals adds to the beauty of a gneissic rock.
 3) Durability: The durability of a stone is defined as its
ability to resists erosion (weathering) successfully.
Durability depends on
(i) structures;
(ii) textures; and
(iii) mineral composition
(i) Structure:
The structural features such as presence of joints, cracks,
shear-zones, fault planes, vesicles in volcanic rocks,
bedding planes in sedimentary rocks etc serve as planes or
zones of weakness and reduce strength of rocks.
(ii) Texture:
Rocks tend to disintegrate under temperature change.
Coarse grained rocks are affected more than fine grained rocks.
Dense rocks will break down less rapidly than a porous one.
Te interlocking texture of mineral grains in igneous and
metamorphic rocks contribute substantially towards the strength
and durability of rocks and impervious nature enables them to
resist weathering.
The nature of cement determines the strength and durability of
sedimentary rocks.
Siliceous cements are better than carbonaceous and ferruginous
cement.
(iii) mineral composition
The weathering resistant quality of a rock largely depend on
the type of minerals which present in the rock.
If the constituent minerals are hard, free from cleavage,
resistant to weathering then stone will be strong and durable.
The rocks containing susceptible minerals like mica, flint or
chert, pyrite, tremolite etc. make the stones highly
undurable.
Granite is strong and durable than carbonate rocks like
Marble and Limestone.
Quartzite is strong and durable than Mica schists.
Physical Properties of Building Stones

⚫ Absorption
⚫ Crushing strength (compressive strength)
⚫ Transverse strength
⚫ Fire resistant
⚫ Abrasion resistant
⚫ Frost resistant
⚫ Density (lightness)
1) Absorption:
Quantity of water which a stone will absorb when immersed
in water for 72 hrs and expressed as the ratio of the mass of
water absorbed to the mass of the original dry stone.
Sample is dried at 100° C and weight (W, say)
The sample is immersed in water and weight is measured
when saturated with absorbed water (S, say)

Absorption Value =
There is no fixed relation between absorption and
porosity as water absorption in a highly porous rock will
also depend upon the size of its pores. i.e. on its
permeability.
A non porous rock will certainly be non-absorbent; yet a
porous rock may or may not be absorbent.
Igneous (except some volcanic) and metamorphic rocks
have low absorption value than sedimentary rocks.
Building stones should have low absorption value.
2) Crushing strength:
Also referred as compressive strength of a stone.
It is the maximum force expressed per unit area that a stone can
withstand without rupturing.
C = P/A
where C= compressive strength/unit area
P= Load at failure
A= Cross-sectional area of stone under P
Compressive of a rock depends on a number of factors:
Mode of formation
Composition
Texture and structure
⚫ Igneous rocks being crystalline in character, compact and
interlocking in texture and uniform in structure possess very
high compressive strength than sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks.
⚫ Plane of weakness such as bedding plane, foliation, schistosity
and cleavage affect the compressive strength of sedimentary and
metamorphic rocks.
⚫ Parallel to bedding plane have low value than perpendicular to
IGNEOUS SEDIMENTARY METAMORPHIC
bedding plane in sandstone.
Granite 1000-2500 Sandstone 200-2000 Gneiss 500-2500
Dolerite 1500-3500 Limestone 200-2000 Quartzite 1500-3000
Basalt 1500-3500 Shale 50-150 Marble 700-2000

2
3) Transverse Strength:
The capacity of a stone to withstand bending loads.
When stones are used as a beam or as a lintel, its transverse
strength is determined as Modulus of Rupture using the
2
relationship:
R= 3wl/2bd
Where R= Modulus of Rupture
w= load at which sample breaks
l= length
b= width
d= thickness of sample
Bar shaped test specimen of 20 x 8 x 8 cm supported at ends from
below
 4) Density :
Weight per unit volume of a substance.
A stone is not always made up of 100% solid matter and may
contains pore spaces which may empty, partly filled or wholly
filled with water.
So three types of density
(i) Dry density : it is the weight per unit volume of an
absolutely (oven) dried rock.
(ii) Bulk density: it is density of rock with natural moisture
content. All he pore may not filled with water.
(iii) Saturated density: density of rock fully saturated with water.
5) Abrasive Resistance:
It is defined as resistance, which a stone offers to rubbing action
of one kind or another.
It is important when stones used in paving along roads, in
flooring in buildings, as lining in tunnels or facing stones in
building where sand loaded winds blow and are exposed to
rubbing action
6) Frost and fire resistance:
Porous limestones and sandstones are very poor frost resistance.
Granite is poor in fire resistance due to multi-mineral
composition.
Limestone composed of calcite is poor fire resistance.
 AGGREGATES
⚫ Aggregates are used to make concrete by mixing with cement and different type s of
naturally obtained materials such as gravel and sand to meet the requirement of different
types of construction work.
⚫ Rocks or minerals fragments used as an aggregate materials in combination with other
materials like cement and bitumen etc. for preparing a road surface may termed as Road
Materials.
⚫ The aggregates are supposed to bear the main load of traffic without undergoing much
surface abrasion.
⚫ The materials should be such that the concrete will have sufficient bearing strength to
withstand the structure.
⚫ The materials used should not be deleterious in nature such as Chalcedony, chert, strained
quartz and so on.
⚫ Aggregate may be
❖ Coarse
❖ Fine aggregate
Coarse aggregate
⚫ Smaller pieces of crushed rocks, cobble, peeble, gravel etc are called the coarse
aggregate.
⚫ They are used for various engineering purposes such as :
❖ for making concrete mixes (Mixed with cement in varied proportion)
❖ For laying base courses of flexible pavements (roads and highways): and

❖ For railway ballast.

• The quality of coarse aggregate varies from place to place.

• Granite, basalt, dolerite, gneiss, quartzite and marbles are the main sources of good
quality coarse aggregate materials obtained from river deposits as well as crushed rocks.
• Riverborne coarse aggregate materials having round and smooth surfaces are favoured
for engineering use.
• They consumed less cement and have better bonding capacity compared to crushed
rocks having angular and uneven surfaces.
Fine aggregates
⚫ Deposits of sand are abundant in river valley.
⚫ Sand consists mainly quartz, feldspar and some other minerals.
⚫ Good quality sands are also produce from metamorphic rocks
containing micas in addition to quartz and feldspar.
⚫ Sedimentary rocks produce deposits with more clayey materials
that need to be removed before use as aggregate materials.
⚫ Deleterious materials such as organic matter (Coal, peat), clay
lump, soft shale and micas should be less than 5% by weight of
the total materials.
 DESIRABLE ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF ROCK AGGREGATES
⚫ Qualities of Aggregates:
It should be sufficiently hard to be durable.(Hardness: it is the ability of a rock to resists the
forces which tend to grind it).
It should be sufficiently tough to withstand impact loads(Toughness: it implies the capacity of
a rock to resist the possibility of development of cracks due to impact caused by frequent
stopping and starting of vehicles.)
Resistant to abrasion: it is the capacity to resist those forces which tend to fracture and grind
it. A hard and tough rock is resistant to abrasion.
High cementing value and binding capacity
Durability to weathering.
High crushing strength
Hydrophobic nature and non swelling character
Low porosity and impervious in nature
Non reactive with cement, lime or bitumen during concrete mixing.
TESTING OF ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF ROCK AGGREGATES

1. Hardness
2. Toughness
3. Crushing strength
4. Hydrophobic properties
5. Binding properties
6. Reactivness with cement
1. Hardness Test
⚫ The rock aggregates when used as road metal undergo shaking
movements under heavy and momentary but frequent dynamic load.
⚫ Forces are caused by the movement of vehicle over the road surface.
⚫ This causes mutual attrition of the aggregate materials.
⚫ Again, the rubbing action of vehicle moving over then road surface
causes abrasion of the rock aggregates.
⚫ To withstand the attrition, the aggregates should be sufficiently hard and
resistant to the action of attrition and abrasion.
⚫ The aggregates are tested for two types of hardness, i.e.
1. attrition resistant; and
2. abrasion resistant.
1.1. Attrition test.
⚫ The test performed in. Deval’s attrition testing machine (Fig).
⚫ It contains two cylinders, each having 20cm diameter and 34 cm
length and are attached to a steel frame at 30⁰ to the horizontal.
⚫ The cylinders can rotate at a speed of 30r.p.m.(revolution per
minute) about the axis.
⚫ The aggregates to be tested are broken into 60mm size.
⚫ They are washed and well dried at 100⁰- 110⁰.

⚫
⚫ Such stone pieces measuring 5kg (M₁) are put in both the cylinder
and closed.
⚫ The cylinders are then rotate for 5 hours at 30r.p.m.
⚫ During the process the aggregates undergo attrition.
⚫ After this rotation the materials re taken out and sieve through
1.5mm sized mesh.
⚫ The mass of the material retained on the sieve (Larger than 1.5
mm size) is measured (M₂)
⚫ The loss of mass of the aggregate i.e. M₁-M₂ is calculated and
percentage of wear is obtained.
⚫ Percentage of wear in attrition =

⚫ Wear % more than 3% = unsatisfactory

1.2Abrasion test
⚫ Abrasion test is carried out to test the hardness property of
aggregates and to decide whether they are suitable for
different pavement construction works.
⚫ Los Angeles abrasion test is a preferred one for carrying out
the hardness property and has been standardized in India
(IS:2386 part-IV).
⚫ The principle of Los Angeles abrasion test is to find the
percentage wear due to relative rubbing action between the
aggregate and steel balls used as abrasive charge.
⚫ Los Angeles machine consists of circular drum of internal
diameter 700 mm and length 520 mm mounted on horizontal
axis enabling it to be rotated .
⚫ An abrasive charge consisting of cast iron spherical balls of 48
mm diameters and weight 340-445 g is placed in the cylinder
along with the aggregates.
⚫ The number of the abrasive spheres varies according to the
grading of the sample.
⚫ The number of the abrasive spheres varies according to the
grading of the sample.
⚫ The quantity of aggregates to be used depends upon the gradation and
usually ranges from 5-10 kg.
⚫ The cylinder is then locked and rotated at the speed of 30-33 rpm for a
total of 500 -1000 revolutions depending upon the gradation of
aggregates.
⚫ After specified revolutions, the material is sieved through 1.7 mm sieve
and passed fraction is expressed as percentage total weight of the
sample. This value is called Los Angeles abrasion value.
⚫ The los-Angele’s abrasion value = (M2/M1)x100%
⚫ M2= Final Mass, M1= Original Mass
⚫ The larger is the value of Los-Angeles abrasion value, the weaker the
stone aggregate will be.
⚫ A maximum value of 40 percent is allowed for WBM base course in
Indian conditions.
⚫ For bituminous concrete, a maximum value of 35 is specified.
Table: permissible values of Los-Angele’s abrasion value for different uses of stones.
S. No Aggregate use proposed Permissible value of
Los-Angele’s abrasion value
(%) as per I.R.C. guidelines
1 Base courses of bitumen-bound macadum 50%
roads(pucca carpetted roads)
2 Base courses of water-bound macadum 40%
(WBM)roads (kutchha roads)
3 Bituminous penetration macadum 40%
4 Bituminous surface dressing (pre mix 35%
carpetting)
5 Bituminous concrete 30%
6 Cement concrete 15%
2. Toughness Test
Impact test
⚫ The aggregate impact test is carried out to evaluate the resistance
to impact of aggregates (toughness).
⚫ Aggregates passing 12.5 mm sieve and retained on 10 mm sieve
is filled in a cylindrical steel cup of internal dia 10.2 mm and
depth 5 cm which is attached to a metal base of impact testing
machine.
⚫ The material is filled in 3 layers where each layer is tamped for
25 number of blows.
⚫ Metal hammer of weight 13.5 to 14 Kg is arranged to drop with a
free fall of 38.0 cm by vertical guides and the test specimen is
subjected to 15 number of blows.
Aggregates to be used for wearing
course, the impact value shouldn't
exceed 30 percent.
For bituminous macadam the
maximum permissible value is 35
percent.
For Water bound macadam base
courses the maximum permissible
3.Soundness test
⚫ Soundness test is intended to study the resistance of aggregates
to weathering action, by conducting accelerated weathering test
cycles.
⚫ The Porous aggregates subjected to freezing and thawing are
likely to disintegrate prematurely.
⚫ To ascertain the durability of such aggregates, they are subjected
to an accelerated soundness test as specified in IS:2386 part-V.
⚫ Aggregates of specified size are subjected to cycles of alternate
wetting in a saturated solution of either sodium sulphate or
magnesium sulphate for 16 - 18 hours and then dried in oven at
105 -110° C to a constant weight.
⚫ After five cycles, the loss in weight of aggregates is determined
by sieving out all undersized particles and weighing.
⚫ And the loss in weight should not exceed 12 percent when tested
4.Crushing test
⚫ One of the model in which pavement material can fail is by
crushing under compressive stress to measure the ability of
materials to withstand heavy traffic loads.
⚫ A test is standardized by IS:2386 part-I and used to determine
the crushing strength of aggregates.
⚫ The aggregate crushing value provides a relative measure of
resistance to crushing under gradually applied crushing load.
⚫ The test consists of subjecting the specimen of aggregate in
standard mould to a compression test under standard load
conditions.
⚫ Dry aggregates passing through 12.5 mm sieves and retained 10
⚫ Each layer is tampered 25 times with at standard tamping
rod.
⚫ The test sample is weighed and placed in the test cylinder
in three layers each layer being tampered again.
⚫ The specimen is subjected to a compressive load of 40
tonnes gradually applied at the rate of 4 tonnes per minute.
⚫ Then crushed aggregates are then sieved through 2.36 mm
sieve and weight of passing material ( ) is expressed as
percentage of the weight of the total sample ( ) which is
the aggregate crushing value.
⚫ A value less than 10 signifies an exceptionally strong
aggregate while above 35 would normally be regarded as
weak aggregates.
5.Shape tests
⚫ The particle shape of the aggregate mass is determined by the
percentage of flaky and elongated particles in it.
⚫ Aggregates which are flaky or elongated are detrimental to
higher workability and stability of mixes.
⚫ The flakiness index is defined as the percentage by weight of
aggregate particles whose least dimension is less than 0.6
times their mean size.
⚫ Test procedure had been standardized in India (IS:2386 part-I)
⚫ The elongation index of an aggregate is defined as the
percentage by weight of particles whose greatest dimension
(length) is 1.8 times their mean dimension.
⚫ This test is applicable to aggregates larger than 6.3 mm. This
6.Bitumen adhesion test (Hydrophobic properties)
⚫ Bitumen adheres well to all normal types of road aggregates
provided they are dry and free from dust.
⚫ In the absence of water there is practically no adhesion problem
of bituminous construction.
⚫ Adhesion problem occurs when the aggregate is wet and cold.
This problem can be dealt with by removing moisture from the
aggregate by drying and increasing the mixing temperature.
⚫ Further, the presence of water causes stripping of binder from the
coated aggregates.
⚫ This problems occur when bitumen mixture is permeable to
water.
⚫ Several laboratory tests are conducted to arbitrarily
determine the adhesion of bitumen binder to an
aggregate in the presence of water.
⚫ Static immersion test is one specified by IRC and is
quite simple.
⚫ The principle of the test is by immersing aggregate
fully coated with binder in water maintained at
temperature for 24 hours.
⚫ IRC has specified maximum stripping value of
aggregates should not exceed 5%.
 RAILWAY BALLAST
⚫ Consists of broken rocks fragments.
⚫ They provide an elastic base to the railway tracks and thus
help in smooth running of the train.
⚫ The ballast may be naturally found or artificially made.
⚫ Generally ballast are composed of :
⚫ (i) crushed stones
⚫ (ii) crushed air cooled blast furnace slag
⚫ (iii) crushed or uncrushed gravel
 Requirements:
1) The rock should be of high compressive strength.
2) Rock should be hard and tough and of high abrasive
strength.
3) Should be capable of breaking into coarsed angular
fragments and negligible amount of fine dust.
4) Joints, cracks, lineation, foliation should not be present.
5) Should possess high modulus of rigidity.
6) Should be resistant to impact to suddenly applied force.
Examples: