Open Access Research Article

Suitability of Igneous Rocks as Aggregates in Road Pavement Layers in Greece

N Depountis*, V Boumpoulis, G Mouzoulas and N Sabatakakis

Department of Geology, Laboratory of Engineering Geology, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece

Corresponding Author

Received Date: December 11, 2019;  Published Date: January 08, 2020

Abstract

This research focuses on accessing the suitability of specific igneous rocks for their potential use as aggregates in road pavement layers. During the current research, several quality control tests were carried out on andesite and dacite rocks, obtained from the areas of Methana and Agioi Theodoroi, approximately 60 Km West of Athens, Greece. The quality control tests were conducted under the specific guidelines of Hellenic Technical Specifications (ELOT) for aggregate properties determination, while the procedure focused on the estimation of the following parameters:

1. Geometrical properties (grain size analysis, flakiness index, and sand equivalent value)

2. Physical properties (apparent density and water absorption)

3. Mechanical properties (Micro - Deval index, Los Angeles Abrasion Value, Aggregate Impact Value)

The laboratory testing results led to the general conclusion that the most samples obtained from the andesite and dacite rocks cannot be used as aggregates in road pavement layers, due to their high Los Angeles Abrasion Values (LAAV). High values of LAAV represent a low strength in mechanical corrosion and crush and contribute to the low quality of these geomaterials as aggregates. Some of the collected samples were determined as suitable for use in subbase road pavement layers, whereas some other samples were determined as suitable for use in base road pavement layers. Furthermore, correlations between the properties of the referred geomaterials were evaluated and empirical equations regarding the mechanical as well as their geometrical properties were established.

Keywords: Aggregates; Igneous rocks; LAAV; Pavement layers

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