This document describes procedures for three tests to assess the resistance of aggregates to mechanical degradation: the aggregate impact test, ten percent fines test, and aggregate crushing test. The tests involve placing aggregates in standardized molds and applying controlled impacts or loads to measure the amount of fines produced. The results indicate an aggregate's strength and suitability for uses like road bases that subject it to repeated mechanical stresses. Proper testing helps ensure aggregates meet specifications for withstanding wear in paving and quarrying equipment.

1. Impact, 10% Fines & Crushing Tests
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
School of Civil and Structural Engineering
LABORATORY - PAVEMENT MATERIALS
AGGREGATE IMPACT TEST, TEN PERCENT FINES TEST
AND AGGREGATE CRUSHING TEST
OBJECTIVES
To assess the resistance of an aggregate to mechanical degradation by the
Aggregate Impact Test, Ten Percent Fines Test and Aggregate Crushing Test.
BACKGROUND
When a road aggregate has been manufactured to a specified grading it is
stockpiled, loaded into trucks, transported, tipped, spread and compacted. If the
aggregate is weak, some degradation may take place and result in a change in
grading and/or the production of excessive and undesirable fines. Thus, an
aggregate complying with a specification at the quarry may fail to do so when it
is in the pavement.
Granular base layers and surfacings are subjected to repeated loadings from truck
tyres and the stress at the contact points of aggregate particles can be quite high.
These crushing tests can reveal aggregate properties subject to mechanical
degradation of this form. The table below indicates some requirements.
Country Material Requirements
UK Structural PC concrete 10% Fines Force > l00kN
Other PC concrete 10% Fines Force > 50kN
Road bases 10% Fines Force > 50kN
Bituminous Surfacing BSI Abrasion Test
NZ PC concrete 10% Fines Force > 130kN
Road bases 10% Fines Force > 130kN
Sealing chips 10% Fines Force > 230kN
Asphalt concrete Los Angeles Abrasion Test
US All road materials Los Angeles Abrasion Test
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2. Impact, 10% Fines & Crushing Tests
Quarry plant such as crushers, screens, conveyors, etc. are all subject to wear
and these crushing tests can indicate the magnitude of the problem for design
purposes.
PROCEDURE - Aggregate Impact Value (SS 1974)
1. The apparatus consists of a steel test mould with a falling hammer as shown
in Figure 1. The hammer slides freely between vertical guides so arranged
that the lower part of the hammer is above and concentric with the mould.
Figure 1. Apparatus for the aggregate impact test (Millard, 1993)
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3. Impact, 10% Fines & Crushing Tests
2. The material used is aggregate passing a 12.70 mm sieve and retained on a
9.52 mm sieve. It shall be clean and dry (washed if necessary) but it must
o
not be dried for longer than 4 hours nor at a temperature higher than 110 C
otherwise certain aggregates may be damaged.
3. The whole of the test sample (mass A) is placed in the steel mould and
compacted by a single tamping of 25 strokes of the tamping rod.
4. The test sample is subjected to 15 blows of the hammer dropping 381 mm,
each being delivered at an interval not less than one second.
5. The crushed aggregate is sieved over a 2.36 mm sieve. The fraction passing
2.36 mm is weighed to the nearest 0.1 g (mass B). The fraction retained on
the sieve is also weighed (mass C). If {A-(B+C)}>1 gram, the result shall be
discarded and a fresh test made. The aggregate impact value (AIV) is
B
AIV = × 100 (%) . . . (1)
A
RESULTS
An average is taken of the two tests and the result is recorded to the nearest
whole number as the Aggregate Impact Value.
The AIV is normally about 105 per cent of the Aggregate Crushing Value and it
can be used for the same purpose. For weak aggregates, the required load for the
first ten per cent fines test can be estimated by means of the formula:
4000
required load (kN) = . . . (2)
AIV
PROCEDURE - Ten Percent Fines Value (SS 1974)
1. The apparatus (Figure 2) consists of a case hardened steel cylinder 154 mm
diameter and 125 mm high together with a plunger which just fits inside the
cylinder and a base plate. Other items are a steel tamping bar 16 mm
diameter by 450-600 mm long and a metal measuring cylinder 115 mm
diameter by 180 mm deep. Also required is a compression testing machine
capable of applying a force of up to 500 kN and which can be operated to
give a uniform rate of loading so that this force is reached in 10 minutes.
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4. Impact, 10% Fines & Crushing Tests
Figure 2. Apparatus for the 10% fines test and aggregate crushing test (Millard, 1993)
2. The material used for both tests is aggregate passing a 12.70 mm sieve and
retained on a 9.52 mm sieve. It shall be clean and dry (washed if
necessary) but it must not be dried for longer than 4 hours nor at a
o
temperature higher than 110 C otherwise certain aggregates may be
damaged.
3. The required volume is obtained by filling the measuring cylinder in three
layers, each tamped 25 times with the rod and the top struck level. This
volume is then weighed to the nearest 0.1g (mass A).
4. The material from the measuring cylinder is placed in the test cylinder in
three layers, each tamped 25 times with the rod. The depth of the sample
will then be about 100 mm. The plunger is lowered onto the sample and
rotated gently to seat it and level it.
5. The cylinder, plunger and sample are placed in the compression testing
machine. Force is applied at a uniform rate so that the total penetration in
10 minutes is about: 15 mm for uncrushed gravel; 20 mm for normal
crushed aggregates; 24 mm for honeycombed aggregates (e.g., some slag
and volcanic rocks).
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5. Impact, 10% Fines & Crushing Tests
6. The sample is then sieved over a 2.36 mm sieve. As this is a fairly fine
sieve, it is preferable to pass the whole sample over a larger sieve (say 4.75
mm) first. The material passing 2.36 mm is then weighed (mass B) and
expressed as a percentage of the original mass [y=100%×B/A].
7. If the percentage fines lies between 7.5% and 12.5%, the following
calculation for Ten Percent Fines Value (TFV) is made:
14x
TFV = Force to produce 10% fines = . . . (3)
y + 4
where
x = maximum force used (kN)
y = percentage fines from the test (%)
The result should be reported to the nearest whole number.
8. If the percentage fines lies outside the range 7.5 to 12.5, the test must be
repeated, applying the force given by the formula over a period of 10
minutes. Two tests are required and the ten percent fines values (TFV) are
averaged to obtain the final result, reported to the nearest 10 kN (for forces
> 100kN)
PROCEDURE - Aggregate Crushing Value (SS 1974)
1. The apparatus and sample preparation is identical with that described above
for the Ten Percent Fines Test.
2. The cylinder, plunger and sample are placed in the compression test machine.
It is loaded at a uniform rate so that a force of 400 kN is reached in 10
minutes. The load is then released.
3. The percentage fines is then determined as before. The material passing 2.36
mm is weighed (mass B) and expressed as a percentage of the original mass
(mass A) to give the aggregate crushing value (ACV).
B
ACV = × 100% . . . (4)
A
RESULTS
The average is taken of two tests and the result recorded as Aggregate Crushing
Value.
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6. Impact, 10% Fines & Crushing Tests
If the percentage fines exceeds 30, the result may be anomalous as the broken
pieces of aggregate will tend to fill the voids and prevent further crushing. In
this case, the Ten Percent Fines Test is more appropriate. Some countries, e.g.,
Australia and New Zealand, only use the latter test.
DISCUSSION
(a) Report the geological description of the aggregate, the source quarry and
particle size.
(b) Report the applied force, the masses of material before and after sieving,
the calculations, and the final result (AIV/TFV/ACV).
(c) Comment on the results.
(d) Compile results from other group(s) and compare the values obtained.
REFERENCES
1. SS (1974). SS73:1974 Specification for methods for sampling and testing of
mineral aggregates, sand and fillers - Determination of aggregate impact
value, aggregate crushing value and ten percent fines value. Singapore
Standard, Singapore.
2. Millard, R.S. (1993). Road building in the Tropics. Transport Research
Laboratory State-of-the-art Review 9, HMSO, London.
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