Abstract
In the last decade, the supply of natural aggregates has been continuously increased due to the other types of aggregates. In general, aggregates constitute 70-80% of the total volume of concrete, so the quality of aggregates is main factor controlling physical characteristics of concrete. For this reason, physical properties of aggregate according to different rock types were studied. The majority of crushed aggregates is taken out of granite, gneiss, sandstone, andesite, basalt and so forth. The physical properties of these rock types were tested and most of them fell within the acceptable limit on the base of Korean standard regulation. The major lithology of the crushed aggregates is granite and gneiss, both of which are marked for more than 50% of total lithology thpes in Korea. A to the physical properties of granite, the high specific gravity coincides with low porosity, low absorption ratio, while the abrasion and soundness index show, in general, no specific trend. It has been assumed that slight differences of the physical properties of granite aggregates are related with those of the mineral composition, grain size, and so on. In comparison to granite, the physical properties of gneiss have little correlation one after another. This trend is related to different mineral composition, grain size and typical sheet fractures typically prevailing in the texture of gneiss. Spatial pattern of physical properties shows that high specific gravity of granite coincides only with low porosity and absorption ratio in all provinces except Cheolla province, and high specific gravity of gneiss coincides with low porosity and absorption ratio only in Cheolla and Gandwon provinces.