Alkali-silica reactivity of selected domestic fine aggregates

The paper presents selected information on the quality of the aggregates, especially natural sands, extracted and manufactured in Poland. The sands usually meet the basic quality requirements (e.g. concerning grading and purity) for fine aggregates to be used in road construction. Tests of the alkali reactivity of natural sands and manufactured (by crushing compact rock) sands are described in detail. The results of the reactivity tests carried out in accordance with domestic standards PN-B-06714 show the tests to be poorly reliable. Exemplary abridged petrographic descriptions of selected sands and the results of reactivity tests carried out on mortar beams in accordance with standard ASTM C1260 are presented. The beam linear expansion values were geographically assigned by marking them on a contour map of Poland. The tested fine aggregates were found to greatly vary qualitatively as regards their mineral composition and the likelihood of occurrence of the alkali-aggregate reaction. Over half of the tested sands were characterized by an expansion over 0.1%, which according to the AASHTO R-80 classification means that they are moderately reactive aggregates.