TECHNICAL PROCEDURE

TP-03

AGGREGATE TESTS:

Determination of Clay Lumps and Friable Particles in

Aggregates

REVIEW No. 0

PREPARED BY: Saber Ahmad Reviewed By:

Signature:
1. Scope
This Technical Test Procedure is intended to describe and/or clarify the concepts
associated to determination of clay lumps and friable particles in aggregates

1. References
Standard ASTM C 142

2. Tool’s and Equipment’s

o Balance
o Containers
o Sieves
o Drying Oven

3. Sample Preparation
o Wash the test sample on a 0.075mm sieve and it’s better to add a guard sieve while
washing.
o Dry the aggregates to constant mass at a temperature of 110 ±5 C
o For the fine aggregate it shall consist of the particles Coarser than 1.18mm and shall have
a mass not less than 25g.
o For coarse aggregate separate the test sample into different sizes using the following
sieves 4.75-mm (No. 4), 9.5-mm (3⁄8-in.), 19.0-mm (3⁄4-in.), and 37.5-mm (11⁄2-in.).
o The test sample should have a mass not less than the indicated below:

Size of Particles Making Up Test Mass of Test Sample

Sample min. (g)
4.75 to 9.5 mm 1000
9.5 to 19.0 mm 2000
19.0 to 37.5 mm 3000
Over 37.5 mm 4000

4. Procedure
o Determine the mass of test sample and spread it in a thin layer inside the container
o Cover with distilled water and soak for 24 ± 4 h.
o Roll and squeeze the particles individually between thumb and forefinger to attempt to
break the particle into smaller sizes
o Classify any particles that can be broken with the fingers into fines removable by wet
sieving as clay lumps or friable particles.
o separate the detritus from the remainder of the sample by wet sieving over the sieve
prescribed in the following table:
ALSARH-JV PROCEDURES MANUAL
AGGREGATE TESTS:
Determination of particle size distribution

TP-01
Page 3 of 3
REV. 0

Size of Sieve for Removing Residue of Clay

Size of Particles Making Up Samples Lumps and Friable Particles
Fine aggregate (retained on 1.18-mm sieve) 850-μm
4.75 to 9.5-mm 2.36-mm
9.5 to 19.0-mm 4.75-mm
19.0 to 37.5-mm 4.75-mm
Over 37.5-mm 4.75-mm

o Perform the wet sieving by passing water over the sample through the sieve while
manually agitating the sieve.
o Remove the remaining particles from the sieve and then dry to a constant mass at a
temperature of 110 ± 5 C.
o Allow to cool and determine the mass of the nearest 0.1%

5. Calculation
Calculate the percent of clay lumps and friable particles in fine aggregate or individual sizes
of coarse aggregate as follows:
P= [(M * R)/M ×100
Where:

P = percent of clay lumps and friable particles.

M = mass of test sample (for fine aggregate the mass of the portion coarser than the 1.18-mm
(No. 16) sieve.
R = mass of particles retained on designated sieve.

For coarse aggregate an average of clay lumps and friable particles for each size fraction shall
be determined in accordance with the original weighted sample before and after separation.