Water absorption limits on aggregates

Description Limits on aggregate water absorption are rare though they

may be useful to link to an undesirable concrete property,
such as freeze-thaw susceptibility, as water absorption is
easily determined. Historically it is not known the source
of the limits but the following may be of interest.

According to BS 8007, aggregates should comply with

either BS 882 or BS 1047 and have an absorption, as
measured in accordance with BS 812-2, generally not
greater than 3%. A paper by Anchor et al discusses the
then new BS 8007. Regarding aggregate absorption it
says Water absorption of aggregates is retained at 3%
maximum. Here again considerable time was spent in
committee discussing comments that it was unnecessary
to keep this restriction. From practical experience it has
been found that some aggregates are unsatisfactory, and
one of the characteristics is high absorption. To ensure
these aggregates are not used the limit is retained.

The Civil Engineering Specification for the water

industry (CESWI) follows BS 8007 and water absorption
should not exceed 3%.

The maritime code BS 6349 specifies that water

absorption should not exceed 3%, or 2% in critical
conditions such as highly aggressive chloride or freeze
thaw exposure, when tested in accordance with BS 812-2.

The drying shrinkage test in BS 812 Part 120 is limited to

aggregates with water absorption <3.5%.

CIRIA Report C559 says that air entrainment may not

provide freeze-thaw resistance if the aggregates are not
of suitable quality. However, high water absorption is only
an indicator of possible aggregate susceptibility. For
example lightweight aggregate concrete is often made
with aggregates of higher absorption but has a long track
record of being able to resist freeze-thaw conditions.

Aggregates tested for water absorption to BS EN 1097-6

are considered in BS 12620 to be freeze-thaw resistant if
less than 1% but the Standard provides no guidance on
whether the aggregate is suitable for all exposure
classifications or just one. For example, some Jurassic
limestones and sandstones frequently have absorption
values in excess of 4% whilst blastfurnace slags, Permian
limestones, dolomites and Carboniferous sandstones
frequently have absorption values in excess of 2% but
these materials can still have adequate freeze-thaw
resistance.

Notes for guidance in Specification for Highway

Works have a limit for paving, when using flint
aggregates, of 3.5% for separate nominal aggregate sizes
 and 2% for combined coarse aggregates, as a precaution
against freeze-thaw.

The limits on water absorption effectively rule out the use

of recycled aggregates as values of 6-7% are typical and
would therefore exclude them from water retaining
structures. Similarly this applies to many lightweight
aggregates.

Note that British Standards assume that 1% means

measured values up to 1.49% whereas 1.0% is 1.049%.

References
BS 8007:1987, Code of practice for the design of concrete
structures for retaining aqueous liquids
BS 882:1992, Specification for aggregates from natural
sources for concrete
BS 1047:1983, Specification for air-cooled blast furnace
slag aggregate for use in construction
BS 812-2:1995, Testing aggregates. Methods for
determination of density
Anchor, RD et al. BS 8007: the new code, The Structural
Engineer, Vol 66 No. 3, 2 Feb 1988
The Civil Engineering Specification for the water
industry (CESWI)
BS 6349-1:2000, Maritime structures. Code of practice for
general criteria
BS 812-120:1989, Testing aggregates. Method for testing
and classifying drying shrinkage of aggregates in concrete
CIRIA Report C559, Freeze-thaw resisting concrete,
London, 2001
BS EN 1097-6:2000, Tests for mechanical and physical
properties of aggregates. Determination of particle density
and water absorption
BS 12620: 2002, Aggregates for concrete
HIGHWAYS AGENCY, Specification for highway
works (note that from 1 April 2015, Highways Agency has
changed name to Highways England)

Acknowledgement The Concrete Society