Construction Aggregates Available Along the Oregon Coast
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O3 O .(01 Co F. Construction Aggregates Available Along the 2328 2900.9,_. 4, Oregon Coast Oct , 7987 0.C.18• REGorrmitity 1;3;1 1111"ifr kissir4re cS4c° e `' 9l Si int'b°. Oregon State University Extension Marine Advisory Program A Land Grant / Sea Grant Cooperative Special Report 614 October 1981 CONSTRUCTION AGGREGATES AVAILABLE ALONG THE OREGON COAST by Robert M. Burchfield Research Assistant Oregon State University and R. G. Hicks Professor of Civil Engineering Oregon State University Special Report 614 / October 1981 Oregon State University Extension Service Sea Grant/Marine Advisory Program Corvallis, OR 97331 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction 1 Evaluation of Aggregates 1 Types of Aggregates Available 3 Basalts 3 Sands 4 Gravels 4 Sandstone 5 Dredged Materials 5 Extent of Aggregate Resources 5 Problems With Use of Marginal Aggregates 10 Basalts 10 Sandstone (or Siltstone) 10 Sands 11 Dredged Materials 11 Summary 11 References 12 Appendix 14 2 INTRODUCTION The natural reserves of high quality construction aggregates found along the Oregon coast are being depleted. The impending shortages are compounded by restrictions being placed on existing aggregate sources because of energy, economic, and environmental considerations, and zoning regulations. A cur- rent solution for the shortage is to import quality aggregate from areas that have more abundant reserves, such as the Willamette Valley. Figure 1 shows the amounts of aggregate imported to the Oregon coast from various sources, usually by truck. As this practice is both costly and energy-intensive, alternative sources of aggregate must be identified. As abundant supplies of lower-quality aggregates can be found near the Oregon coast, one alternative is to use these lower-quality, or "marginal," aggregates for construction purposes, particularly for road building materials. The purpose of this paper is to identify the general types and extent of aggregates available along the Oregon coast. An evaluation of the impor- tant characteristics of the aggregates and the problems associated with their use in construction is also provided. EVALUATION OF AGGREGATES Evaluation of an aggregate can be accomplished in many ways depending on the material properties being characterized. Of interest to the road builder is the sample gradation and the mechanical and chemical durability of the aggregate. A grain-size analysis is used to determine the gradation of an aggregate. Aggregate gradation affects the density and stability of the material. Various durability tests for construction aggregates are in use in the Northwest today. These tests and typical minimum requirements for each are shown in Table 1. A good-quality aggregate will pass the minimum durability test requirements for any or all of these methods. Good-quality aggregates are often used for purposes where low-quality aggregates would be sufficient. When high-quality rock is not available, aggregate specifications can be written to allow acceptance of lower-quality, "marginal" aggregates. The use of the term marginal implies a range in acceptable values for durability fall- ing below the normal minimum specification. Classification of an aggregate as marginal would indicate that special design considerations would be re- quired for use on road construction. (See Upgrading Marginal Aggregates for Road Construction Along the Oregon Coast, Oregon State University Extension Service Special Report 615, hereafter Upgrading.) 3 Astoria 14,000,000 kg crushed rock I (15,000 tons) 1 • St. Helens 1 ...1... V 1Li J1 n • 110 r Portland N t--- A 1 N'n. I .1 1 "'I.:4 1 t ...1 r I I /. i / \ ---( 1 \ r- Lincoln Sal N....‘, City i 1 I1 Undetermined–,_ ri L — / ' °— - .... - - ........ i 36,000,000 kg asphalt concrete 1 iNCorvallis (40,000 tons) / 1 i I 1 .– t 71,000,000 kg sand and gravel nr 1 1 –‘(80,000 tons) 1 N 1.. .... .... ... '''' 11 1.. ...n11 Mapleton i 11–•----•Eugene ) Florence 14,000,000 kg asphalt concrete 1 I.,..(15,000 tons) Reedsport - -I 41,000,000 kg crushed rock 1 (45,000 tons) I --I 1., North I 90,000,000 kg 1 1 -1.... Bend i sand and gravel N Coos I (100,000 tons) 1 Bay I i • Roseburg I ri ---..,`1 li r-- I • y _ -• Grants. Pass 1 Figure 1. Annual Aggregate Importation to Coastal Oregon. (Source: Reference 1) 4 Table 1. Durability tests Property Test method Typical specification Mechanical (1) Los Angeles Abrasion (LAA) 35% maximum degradation AASHTO T-96 Chemical (1) California Durability 35% minimum degradation AASHTO T-210 (2) Oregon Aggregate Degradation 3.5 in. maximum sediment (OAD) height 35% maximum passing the No. 20 sieve (3) Accelerated Weathering Maximum of 4 failures (Dimethyl sulfoxide or out of 10 specimens ethylene glycol) TYPES OF AGGREGATES AVAILABLE The principal types of aggregate available to the Oregon coast include basalts, sandstones, dredged materials, and sands or gravels. Basalts Basalts are igneous rocks. Physical properties of basalts are largely determined by the location of the deposit of the parent magma, or lava. Basalts are classified on this basis as marine, aerial, and intrusive. Marine basalts were deposited in water, with subsequent rapid cooling. Aerial basalts were deposited over land, with slower cooling. Intrusives were depos- ited within the earth, with variable cooling rates. The rate of cooling determines the grain size that developed--and the quality of the rock, to some extent. Marine basalts cool too quickly to form a distinguishable grain pattern. The substance formed under these conditions is termed glass. This glass is susceptible to breakdown and will alter to clay minerals through weathering action. If the clay minerals are expanding clays, degradation of the aggre- gate will occur. Marine basalts are normally considered poor materials for road construction purposes. However, this conclusion is not a general one. Certain quarry sites labeled as marine exhibit a wide range of durability values, from poor to good. Recognition of the different types of basalts can sometimes be made at the quarry. A marine basalt is indicated by a spherical shaped mass, termed a pillow. These pillow basalts or pillow lavas result from rapid cooling of the flow when exposed to water. Pillows are composed largely of unstable glass on the perimeter. 5 Columnar formations usually indicate an aerial-flow basalt. Aerial flows are variable in thickness. They usually exhibit a porous broken top grading down into a more dense, coherent body. Columnar jointing is present, with joints perpendicular to the cooling surface. Glass is present chiefly in the broken porous top of the flow. The absence of any significant amount of glass indicates an aggregate of better quality. Intrusive basalts result from solidification of the lava beneath an in- sulating rock cover. Such intrusive bodies may be lens-shaped masses of approximately uniform thickness. These are termed sills. They may also be tubular bodies that cut across the bedding of the intruded rocks, which are, then called dikes. Vertical, pipelike conduits, or intrusive breccias form when intruding lava encounters water-saturated rock, causing rapid chilling and steam explosions that tear it apart. The breccias are much less common than flows, dikes, or sills. Sands Dune sands and beach sands are relatively abundant on the Oregon coast. These sands generally have a uniform gradation; consequently, they do not provide good stability when used for road construction. Gravels Some gravel is dredged from many of the coastal rivers. However, the only major sources of river gravel capable of providing a high-quality con- struction aggregate at the present time are the Umpqua and Rogue Rivers. Enough material could be mined from these sources to provide some export to other counties. Table 2 lists the amount of gravel removed from the Umpqua River for the years 1974 through 1979. Table 2. Amounts of gravel dredged from the Umpqua River. Year Amount in tons 1974 441,399 1975 421,716 1976 310,702 1977 356,219 1978 476,219 1979 562,818 Source: Reference 7 6 Sandstone The Coast Range and coastal areas of Oregon exhibit abundant quantities of sandstone interspersed with small amounts of siltstone. Sandstone is composed of cemented sand grains. These grains are no dif- ferent from the sand found on beaches or in dunes. The precipitation of mineral matter in the pores of the sandstone produces this cementation. The cementing material may be added from outside the rock by migrating solutions or may possibly result from the reorganization of mineral matter already pre- sent within the rock by solution from grains and precipitation within pores. The strength of the cementing agent determines the strength of sandstone. Unfortunately, this is not adequate for most road construction purposes. Dredged Materials Aside from the Umpqua River, dredged materials are relatively unused on the Oregon coast. Table 3 lists the material dredged from the major coastal rivers. Like dune and beach sands, these water-deposited materials exhibit relatively uniform grading. The material deposited by relatively slow moving water tends to be smaller; faster moving waters will tend to deposit larger- sized aggregates. As rocks are transported downriver, the weaker rocks erode more, leaving durable aggregates. Therefore, dredged aggregates can be ex- pected to exhibit high durability. Extent of Aggregate Resources Figure 2 shows the availability of the various aggregates described above. Figure 3 depicts sources of river aggregate available in Oregon's coastal counties. Table 4 provides