Plain & Reinforced Concrete-I

Lab Manual

Job No. 2: Determination of Fineness Modulus of the Coarse and Fine Aggregate from different Sources. Code: ASTM C-316-05, for coarse materials. ASTM C-117-05, for fine material. 2.1 Scope & Significance: This test method is used to determine the fineness modulus of the given fine grained aggregates. The information obtained from fineness modulus is helpful in the following ways: 1. Fineness modulus tells us directly whether the material is well graded or gap-graded. 2. Fineness modulus gives us an overall idea whether the material is fine or coarse. 3. It also indicates the surface area of the particles.

Lower the surface area of the aggregate, the required amount of fresh cement paste to cover the aggregate particles will be less and thus less water is required. 4. Larger value of FM is preferred for fine aggregates. For a good fine aggregate, the FM should be between 2.3 and 3.1 (ASTM Range for fine aggregates).

2.2 Apparatus: Standard set of sieves, Sieve shaker, Sample of the aggregate.

2.3 Related Theory: a. Fineness Modulus: It is the cumulative percentage retained on standard sieve 150um and above divided by 100. It is a single factor or an empirical number which we get from the results of sieve analysis. The value of FM will not change if we add sieves above. b. Sieve Analysis: It is the operation of dividing the aggregate into various fractions, each consisting of particles of same size. OR

Plain & Reinforced Concrete-I

Lab Manual

It is the operation of determination the particle size distribution of the given specimen. The standard approach is to designate the sieve sizes have nominal aperture sizes in mm or m (micron). Notes: 5 mm is the dividing line between coarse and fine aggregate. Well graded coarse aggregates of large size will reduce shrinkage of concrete by 50%. c. Functions of Sieve Analysis: Sieve analysis is performed on coarse and fine aggregates in order to check their gradation. This gradation gives an indirect measure if the workability and average particle size. d. Set of Sieves: The set of sieves used for the process of sieve analysis can be categorized as: Coarse Aggregates Standard 75mm (3) Non-Standard 63mm 50mm 37.5mm (1.5) 25mm 19mm (3/4) 12.5mm (1/2) 9.5mm (3/8) 4.75mm (3/16) 2.36mm (3/32) Pan Note: For sieves with openings 4.75rnm & larger, the quantity retained in kg shall not exceed the product of 2.5 x sieve opening (mm) x effective sieving area (mm2)

Fine Aggregates ASTM Sieves British Standard Sieves (mm) (inches) 4.75mm 3/16 (#4) 2.36mm 3/32 (#8) 1.18mm 3/64 (#16) 600m 3/128 (#30) 300m 1/88 (#50) 150m 1/176 (#100) Pan Pan Note: For the sieves with openings smaller than 4.75mm, the quantity retained on any sieve at the completion of sieving shall not exceed 7 kg/m2 of sieving area.

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Lab Manual

e. Quality of a good Sample: There are some limiting values for every sieve provided by ASTM or BS, we use these limiting values to get our final answer by the method explained below: Take the minimum and the maximum values provided by ASTM and plot them on the grading curve. Now take these minimum and maximum value lines as your reference and if the curve of our own data lies inside these two lines then the quality of our sample is OK but if your curve lies outside these two lines of maximum and minimum range then the sample is not according to specifications.

f. ASTM Grading Requirements For Fine Aggregates: Sieve Size 9.5mm 4.75mm 2.36mm 1.18mm 600m 300m 150m Cumulative Percentage Passing Minimum Maximum 100 100 95 100 80 100 50 85 25 60 10 30 2 10

Plain & Reinforced Concrete-I

Lab Manual

2.4 Procedure: Take 2 kg of the oven dried sample. The sample should be perfectly dry because if there is some moisture content present then the particles will stick together and will not pass through the sieves. Temperature of the oven = 110 5 C Place the set of standard and non-standard sieves one above another with the smallest aperture opening at the bottom. The pan is placed at the bottom-most position. This experiment can be performed manually or with the aid of a machine called "Sieve Shaker". The manual method should be performed in a proper sequence which is as follows: I. II. III. IV. Forward and backward motion, Left and right motion, Clockwise (CW) and Counter-clockwise (CCW) motion, Frequent Jolting.

Time elapsed for the sieving process is 3-5 minutes. Weigh the mass retained on each sieve and calculates the percentage passing through each sieve. Then the FM can be calculated by using the relation: FM=
( )

Following points must he keep in mind while calculating the FM: I. Only sum up the values of standard sieves and do not include the values of the non-standard sieves. II. III. IV. Only add the sieves of 150um and above sizes. If any standard sieve is missing we may use the value of next higher sieve. Adding extra sieves does not change the result of FM.

Plain & Reinforced Concrete-I

Lab Manual

2.5 Observation and Calculation: A. Fine Aggregate: Sample Name = Weight of Sample = Sieve No. Sieve Size 9.5mm #4 #8 #16 #30 #50 #100 Pan 4.75mm 2.36mm 1.18mm 600m 300m 150m Pan Mass Retained (gm) Percentage Retained (%) Cumulative Percentage Retained (%) Cumulative Percentage passing (%)

F.M. = F.M. = F.M. =

Plain & Reinforced Concrete-I

Lab Manual

B. Coarse Aggregate: Sample Name = Weight of Sample = Mass retained (gm) Percentage Retained (%) Cumulative Percentage Retained (%) Cumulative Percentage Passing (%)

Sieve Size (mm) 75 63 50 37.5 25 19 12.5 9.5 4.75 (#4) 2.36 (#8) Pan

Sieve Size (in) 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 3/4 1/2 3/8 3/16 3/32 Pan

F.M. = F.M. = F.M. =

Plain & Reinforced Concrete-I

Lab Manual

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