Benefits of Testing Aggregate

Here at Certified Material Testing Products, not only do we love doing what we do and providing the quality products that we provide to our customers, but we also like helping them, giving them advice, and educating them. Today we're talking about aggregate testing and how important it is. Aggregate testing is just one of the several materials testing equipment products that we offer.

Those in the local street and highway departments know that not all gravel is the same and that you can tell a bit about this through visual inspection. Running your hands through the material can give you an idea of the differences. However, the quality of the gravel / aggregate can truly only be determined through testing. The most important step to testing aggregate is to get a good sample and if you're not sure, it's advised that you work with an experienced sampler.

Your gradation of your aggregate dictates the size of particles blended together to create a usable gravel. For example, a good gravel surfacing material for gravel roads needs more material passing through a #200 sieve than a good base course material.

Plasticity is another factor that needs to be taken into consideration. A rule of thumb is that gravel surfacing allows no less than 4% but up to 15% of the material to pass through a #200 sieve. However, a base course is allowed to have as little as 3% but no more than 12% so it's important that you know what you're doing.