Natural aggregates

The general term ‘natural aggregates’ refers to the granular materials obtained by crushing natural stones or natural alluvial deposits from the sea and elsewhere (mainly solid stones) and/or by sieving.

Based on the desired use, we distinguish three major categories of natural aggregates, each of which has its own field of application: fine, coarse and all-in aggregates.

Fine and coarse aggregates are commonly used as raw materials in the production of:

• ready-to-use concrete for road construction (roads, bicycle paths, car parks ...), for linear prefabricated concrete elements (curbs, gutters, partitions, sewer pipes ...), for civil engineering structures (concrete bridges, buildings, tiles ...) ...
• bituminous mixtures for road construction (roads, cycle paths, car parks ...) ...

All-in aggregates are generally used as pavement in road construction (sub-foundation, connected and unconnected foundations ...).

• COPRO takes random samples of aggregates at the production unit.
• It oversees the laboratory responsible for the manufacturer’s factory production control.
• It checks the results obtained by the manufacturer as part of factory production control.

• The delivery note indicates a specific code for the aggregate based on its intrinsic and production characteristics.
• The delivery note mentions PTV 411, the BENOR logo and the unique number of the production unit.
• The list of the certified products of each production unit can be consulted at www.be-cert.be.

• The producer regularly checks the characteristics of the aggregate, thus continuously guaranteeing correspondence with the certified code.
• Thanks to this factory production control, which is periodically monitored by an accredited external inspection body such as COPRO, possible deviations or defects are limited as much as possible (reproducibility of the results, compliance with the standards by the factory production control lab, and the methods used in the internal test ...).

A good natural aggregate contributes to controlling the applications in which it is used because its certified properties are constant. Good control in turn improves the quality of the finished products in which it is used. Moreover, the aggregate’s code is often stated in the specifications for each possible application. Thus it helps in choosing the right aggregate.

CE Documents

• REGULATION (EU) No 305/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC
• Amendments to Regulation 305/2011

European Standards (Technical Specifications)

• EN 12620 “Aggregates for concrete”.
• EN 13043 “Aggregates for bituminous mixtures and surface treatments for roads, airfields and other trafficked areas”.
• EN 13055-1 “Lightweight aggregates - Part 1: Lightweight aggregates for concrete, mortar and grout”.
• EN 13055-2 “Lightweight aggregates - Part 2 Lightweight aggregates for unbound and bound applications”.
• EN 13139 “Aggregates for mortar”.
• EN 13242 “Aggregates for unbound and hydraulic bound materials for use in civil engineering work and road construction”.
• EN 13383-1 “Armourstone Part 1: Specification”.
• EN 13450 “Aggregates for railway ballast”.

BENOR (Spécifications techniques)

• PTV 411 (Prescriptions techniques) « Codification des granulats conformes aux normes NBN EN 12620, NBN EN 13043, NBN EN 13139 et NBN EN 13242 ».
• RNR 01 (Note réglementaire) -vérification, étalonnage et contrôle des équipements de mesure et d’essai

Règlements de certification Be-Cert

CE

• CRC CE 105 : « Evaluation et vérification de la constance des performances du FPC dans le cadre du marquage CE du système 2+ par Be-Cert (en application de l’annexe V du CPR). »
• TRA CE 410 : « Règlement pour l'attestation de conformité du FPC par Be-Cert dans le cadre du marquage CE des granulats conformes aux normes européennes »

BENOR

• « TRA 411 Partie C »: Règlement de certification de produits : cette partie se compose d’une partie générale, complétée par des procédures de certification propres au produit/domaine d’application concerné et qui sont intégrées dans la partie « annexes spécifiques ». Ces annexes contiennent toutes les dispositions particulières concernant l’octroi de la licence, l’utilisation et le contrôle de la marque BENOR pour le produit ou le groupe de produits concerné.
• « TRA 411 Partie P »: Dispositions pour le Producteur : cette partie contient toutes les dispositions que le producteur est tenu d’appliquer dans son processus.
• « TRA 411 Partie E »: Dispositions pour le Contrôle externe : cette partie contient toutes les dispositions relatives au schéma de contrôle externe appliquées par les organismes d’inspection (OI) et les laboratoires de contrôle.

Ainsi que les annexes et circulaires liées à ces documents.