- The aggregates should be stored near the mixer
- A clean dry and hard surface should be selected for the storage.
- Aggregates should not be dumped on loam or grass.
- In the absence of clean and hard surface a platform constructed of wooden planks, old iron sheets, bricks or lean cement concrete may be used.
- During stock piling successive consignments should not be dropped on the same place to form a pyramid otherwise the coarser particles roll down the sides of the pile and fine particles will concentrate at the centre.
Correct and Incorrect way of aggregate stockpiling - Stockpiles should be built up in thin layers of uniform thickness to minimize segregation.
- The aggregate stockpiles should be formed using truck-dump method, as it discharges the loads in a way that keeps them tightly joined. The aggregates should be placed in layers not thicker than one truck dumped on the same place.
- Front-end loader is used to take aggregates from stockpiles. The loader should remove slices from the edges of the pile from bottom to top so that every slice will contain a portion of each horizontal layer.
Front-end loader - Stockpiles of aggregates should not be built up in high, cone shaped piles, since this result in segregation.
- If a stockpile has segregated, gradation variation can be minimized when the pile is reclaimed; in such cases aggregates should be loaded by continually moving around the circumference of the pile to blend sizes rather than by starting from one side and working straight through the pile.
- Crushed aggregates segregate less than rounded aggregates and larger-size aggregates segregate more than smaller sizes.
- Washed aggregates should be stockpiled in sufficient time before use so that they can drain to uniform moisture content. Damp fine material has a less tendency to segregate than dry material
- When dry fine aggregate is dropped from buckets or conveyers, wind can blow away the fines; this should be avoided if possible.
- Piles of fine and coarse aggregates should be kept separate.
- Bulkheads or dividers should be used to avoid contamination of aggregates stockpiles. Partition between stockpiles should be high enough to prevent intermingling of materials.
- When loading the bin, the material should fall vertically over the outlet into the bin. Chuting the material into a bin at an angle and against the bin sides will cause segregation. Baffle plates or dividers will help minimize segregation.
