ASTM_C_1777_-_15.pdf

Designation:C177715Standard Test Method forRapid Determination of the Methylene Blue Value for FineAggregate or Mineral Filler Using a Colorimeter1This standard is issued under the fixed designation C1777;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This test method provides a rapid test to determine theamount of methylene blue adsorbed by a specimen of fineaggregate or mineral filler and can be used both in thelaboratory and in the field.1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2C125 Terminology Relating to Concrete and Concrete Ag-gregatesC702 Practice for Reducing Samples ofAggregate to TestingSizeD75 Practice for Sampling AggregatesE11 Specification for Woven Wire Test Sieve Cloth and TestSieves2.2 Other Standards:AASHTO T330 Standard Method of Test for the QualitativeDetection of Harmful Clays of the Smectite Group inAggregates Using Methylene Blue3EN 933-9 Tests for geometrical properties of aggregates.Part 9:Assessment of fines Methylene blue test43.Terminology3.1 Definitions:3.1.1 For definitions of terms used in this standard,refer toTerminology C125.3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:3.2.1 mineral filler,na finely divided mineral product atleast 65%of which passes the 75-m sieve.4.Summary of Test Method4.1 A specimen of fine aggregate or mineral filler is com-bined with a methylene blue solution of known concentrationand mixed for a prescribed period of time.The specimenadsorbs some of the methylene blue from solution.Theresulting mixture is filtered and a portion of the filtered solutionis diluted by a fixed amount.Acolorimeter is used to determinethe absorbance of the diluted solution,from which the concen-tration of methylene blue prior to dilution is calculated.Thechange in concentration of methylene blue before and aftermixing with fine aggregate or mineral filler is converted to amethylene blue value and reported in units of mg/g.5.Significance and Use5.1 This test method is used to determine rapidly the amountof methylene blue adsorbed by a specimen of fine aggregate ormineral filler.The result is reported as a methylene blue valuein units of mg of methylene blue adsorbed per g of fineaggregate or mineral filler.The methylene blue value is afunction of the amount and characteristics of clay mineralspresent in the test specimen.High methylene blue valuesindicate increased potential for diminished fine aggregate ormineral filler performance in a cementitious mixture due to thepresence of clays.NOTE1Results from this test method are not expected to be correlatedwith those obtained using AASHTO T 330 or EN 933-9.These three testmethods are likely to give very different numerical values even though theunits are the same.The AASHTO T 330 test is performed only on thefraction of an aggregate passing the 75 m sieve,the EN 933-9 test is1This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C09 onConcrete and Concrete Aggregates and is the direct responsibility of SubcommitteeC09.20 on Normal Weight Aggregates.Current edition approved Feb.1,2015.Published April 2015.Originallyapproved in 2013.Last previous edition approved in 2014 as C1777-14.DOI:10.1520/C1777-15.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3Available from American Association of State Highway and TransportationOfficials(AASHTO),444 N.Capitol St.,NW,Suite 249,Washington,DC 20001,http:/www.transportation.org.4Available from European Committee for Standardization,Avenue Marnix 17,B-1000 Brussels,Belgium.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 performed only on the fraction finer than 2 mm,and this test is performedon the fraction finer than the 4.75 mm sieve.Therefore,when testing thesame fine aggregate source,the AASHTO test method would give thehighest methylene blue value because any clay present in the specimenwould be concentrated in the fraction finer than the 75 m sieve.TheAASHTO and EN test methods do not take into account the amount ofmaterial passing the 75 m sieve or 2 mm sieve,respectively.Forexample,a fine aggregate with high methylene blue value measured by theAASHTO method but low percentage p