This standard may only be used by approved subscription and freemailing clients of the SABS.

ISBN 0-626-17606-9
SANS 5842:2006
Edition 2.1

Any reference to SABS SM 842 is deemed

to be a reference to this standard
(Government Notice No. 1373 of 8 November 2002)

SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL STANDARD

FACT value (10 % fines aggregate crushing

value) of coarse aggregates

Published by Standards South Africa

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© Standards South Africa
 This standard may only be used by approved subscription and freemailing clients of the SABS.

SANS 5842:2006
Edition 2.1

Table of changes
Change No. Date Scope
Amdt 1 2006 Amended to change the designation of SABS standards to SANS
standards, with no technical changes.

Foreword
This South African standard was approved by National Committee StanSA SC 5120.61A,
Construction standards – Cement, lime and concrete, in accordance with procedures of Standards
South Africa, in compliance with annex 3 of the WTO/TBT agreement.

This edition is technically identical to the first revision (SABS SM 842:1994).

 This standard may only be used by approved subscription and freemailing clients of the SABS.

SANS 5842:2006
Edition 2.1

FACT value (10 % fines aggregate crushing value) of

coarse aggregates

1 Scope and field of application

This standard specifies a method for determining the 10 % fines aggregate crushing value (FACT
value) in a dry or wet condition of a prepared aggregate sample, by measuring the force required to
crush the sample, to the extent that 10 % of the material will, after crushing, pass a sieve of
specified aperture size.

2 Normative reference
The following standard contains provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute
provisions of this standard. All standards are subject to revision and, since any reference to a
standard is deemed to be a reference to the latest edition of that standard, parties to agreements
based on this standard are encouraged to take steps to ensure the use of the most recent edition of
the standard indicated below. Information on currently valid national and international standards
may be obtained from Standards South Africa.

SANS 5841, Aggregate crushing value of coarse aggregates.

3 Apparatus
Use the apparatus as described in SANS 5841.

4 Preparation of test specimens

Prepare test specimens in accordance with SANS 5841.

5 Procedure
5.1 Dry test

5.1.1 Place the crushing cylinder on its base plate, add a third of the test specimen at a time, and
tamp each layer with 25 light strokes of the tamping rod, using the hemispherical end. Level the
surface of the aggregate, and insert the plunger (taking care to ensure that it does not jam in the
cylinder) until it rests horizontally on the surface.

5.1.2 Place the assembly centrally on the bearing platen of the compression testing machine, and
so apply force, at as uniform a rate as possible, that the distance that the plunger is forced down
into the cylinder in 10 min is approximately 20 mm. Note the maximum force applied and then
release the force.

1
 This standard may only be used by approved subscription and freemailing clients of the SABS.

SANS 5842:2006
Edition 2.1

5.1.3 Remove all the material from the cylinder and sieve it on a 2 360 µm sieve until not more
than 0,1 % of the total specimen mass passes the sieve during further continuous sieving for 1 min.
Determine, to the nearest 0,1 % of the total specimen mass, the mass of the portion that passes the
sieve (i.e. the fines) and express this mass as a percentage of the initial mass of the specimen.

5.1.4 Test the other two specimens in the same manner and also over a period of 10 min, but so
vary the rate of application of force (and hence the distance that the plunger is forced into the
cylinder) in the light of the above result as to obtain, ideally, three forces that give, respectively, a
percentage fines value

a) of less than 7,5 %;

b) in the range 7,5 % to 12,5 %; and

c) of over 12,5 %.

5.2 Wet test

5.2.1 Soak a specimen for 24 h in potable water contained in a suitable vessel. Take the specimen
out of the water, allow it to drain for approximately 5 min, and then surface-dry it by rolling it in a
damp cloth.

5.2.2 Proceed as in 5.1.1 to 5.1.3 but, in the third step of the test (see 5.1.3), dry the material taken
from the cylinder for 24 h at a temperature of 100 °C to 110 °C before sieving it.

NOTE In general, the rate of application of force should be reduced for material that has been wetted.

5.2.3 Proceed as described in 5.1.4.

6 Expression of results
6.1 Plot the percentage fines from the set of three test specimens obtained against the applied
forces. From the resultant graph, obtain the force that would give 10 % fines. Record this force
(rounded-off to the nearest 1 kN in the case of a force of 100 kN or more, and to the nearest 0,5 kN
in the case of a smaller force) as the 10 % FACT value (dry or wet) of the aggregate.

NOTE In routine testing and in cases where the behaviour of a test sample can be fairly closely predicted,
and provided that the force applied in 5.1.2 has produced a percentage fines in the range 7,5 % to 12,5 %, the
procedures described in 5.1.4 can be replaced by the following procedure:

a) From the force required to give a percentage fines in the range 7,5 to 12,5, calculate, as follows, a force that
will be required to produce 10 % fines:

14 x
F =
y + 4

where

F is the force required to produce 10 % fines, in kilonewtons;

x is the force required to produce a percentage fines in the range 7,5 to 12,5, as determined, in
kilonewtons;

y is the percentage fines obtained with force x.

b) Then, preferably, carry out a test using the force as calculated in (a) above. If the percentage fines so
obtained is not 10 %, apply the formula as in (a) above to the force used in this test, and record and report
the re-adjusted force as the final result.

© Standards South Africa