Aggregate

aggregate, in building and construction, material used for mixing with cement, bitumen, lime, gypsum, or other adhesive to form concrete or mortar. The aggregate gives volume, stability, resistance to wear or erosion, and other desired physical properties to the finished product. Commonly used aggregates include sand, crushed or broken stone, gravel (pebbles), broken blast-furnace slag, boiler ashes (clinkers), burned shale, and burned clay. Fine aggregate usually consists of sand, crushed stone, or crushed slag screenings; coarse aggregate consists of gravel (pebbles), fragments of broken stone, slag, and other coarse substances. Fine aggregate is used in making thin concrete slabs or other structural members and where a smooth surface is desired; coarse aggregate is used for more massive members.