TEST ON COARSE AGGREGATES

WATER ABSORPTION OF COARSE AGGREGATE

AIM:
To determine the water absorption of given sample of coarse aggregate.

APPARATUS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Balance.
Well ventilated oven.
Container.
Balance
Oven
Vessel
Tray
Filter paper

Fig 1.0 Oven

PURPOSE:
Some of the aggregates are porous and absorptive. Porosity and absorption of
the aggregates will affect the water/cement ratio and hence the workability of the
concrete. The porosity will also affect the ductility of the concrete when the concrete
is subjected to freezing and thawing and also when the concrete is subjected to
chemically aggressive liquids. The permeability and absorption affects the bond
between the aggregate and the cement paste, chemical stability, resistance to abrasion
and specific gravity of the aggregate.

WATER ABSORPTION:

Water absorption is the percentage of water necessary to add to the aggregate to

obtain saturated surface dry condition. The water absorption of an aggregate is
determined by measuring the increase in weight of an oven dry sample when
immersed in water for 24 hours.

SIGNIFICANCE:
Absorption values are used to calculate the change in the weight of an
aggregate due to water absorbed in the pore spaces within the constituent particles,
compared to the dry condition, when it is deemed that the aggregate has been in
contact with water long enough to satisfy most of the absorption potential. Aggregates
with high water absorption capacity will increase the effective water-cement ratio to
an appreciable extent and make the concrete weak unless a suitable allowance is
made. The knowledge of the absorption of an aggregate is important for the concrete
mix design calculations.

Fig: 2.0

FORMULA:
Water absorption =

(W 1W 2)
W2

x 100%

PROCEDURE:
1. The given sample of coarse aggregate is taken in a container and immersed in clean
water at a temperature 272C.
2. The setup is left undisturbed for 24 hours to reach the saturated condition.
3. After 24 hours, the excess water is drained and the fine aggregates are surface dried
by placing it in air. Determine the mass (W1).

4. Then place the fine aggregates in the oven maintained at a temperature of 1105C
for 24 hours.
5. The coarse aggregate is cooled to room temperature and its weight is taken as (W2).
6. The above procedure is repeated for various samples

OBSERVATION:
Weight of saturated surface dry sample (W1) = 5.912 kg
Weight of oven dried sample (W2) = 5.626 kg

CALCULATION:
Water absorption=

(W 1W 2)
W2

Water absorption =

(5.9125.626)
5.626

x 100%
x 100%

= 5%

RESULT:
The water absorption of the given sample of coarse aggregate is 5%.

INFERENCE:
The water absorption of coarse aggregate shall not be more than 3 percent by
weight of fine aggregates as per IS 2386 (Part III). In this experiment, the obtained
value of water absorption is 5% which is more than the specified limit (3%). Hence
the given sample of fine aggregate cannot be used for construction purposes.