Expanded Shale & Clay

Geotechnical | Highways & Roads | Horticulture | Landfill & Leachate | Lightweight Roof Tile | Masonry | Multi-Use Maintenance Aggregate | Special Uses & Applications | Structural Lightweight Concrete | Industry Links | Contact

For nearly a century, expanded shale and clay aggregate (ES&C) has been used successfully around the world in more than 50 different types of applications. The most common among these applications are:

• Concrete masonry
• High-rise buildings
• Concrete bridge decks
• Precast and prestressed concrete elements
• Asphalt road surfaces
• Soil conditioner
• Geotechnical fills

ES&C is a ceramic lightweight aggregate prepared by expanding select minerals in a rotary kiln at temperatures of over 1000°C. The production and raw material selection processes are strictly controlled to insure uniform, high-quality product that is structurally strong, stable, durable and inert, yet also lightweight and insulative.

Benefits of using ES&C

• Reduces dead loads
• Reduces lateral forces
• Reduces overturning forces
• Provides a high angle of internal friction.
• Free draining
• Water and acid insoluble
• High insulation value
• Chemically inert, and environmental friendly
• High strength and durability
• Readily available

GEOTECHNICAL top


TXI expanded shale and clay compacted fills are approximately half the weight of common fills. This advantage, coupled with its high internal friction angle, can reduce lateral forces by more than one half.

It has been effectively used to solve numerous geotechnical engineering problems and to convert unstable soil into usable land. ESC also provides permanent insulation around water and steam lines, and other thermally sensitive elements. ESC is a reliable, economical geotechnical solution.



Common Geotechnical Uses

HIGHWAYS AND ROADS top


TXI expanded shale and clay lightweight aggregate has been used on all types of roads (rural, city and freeways) with proven superior performance. When bonded to asphalt, ESC creates an advanced road surface that is safer and more economical. 

Wet or dry, road surfaces of ESC aggregate provide superior skid resistance that is maintained throughout the surface life, because ESC does not polish as it wears. And, because its lightweight, ESC affords shipping and handling cost advantages to the contractor.

Also, damage to windshields, headlights, and paint cased by flying stones is virtually eliminated with ESC, thus avoiding costly insurance claims and motorist complaints.


Common Road Uses for TXI ESC

• Surface treatments
  (chip seal, seal coat, etc.)
• Plant mix seal overlay and open-graded friction coarse
• Hot mix surface coarse
• Microsurfacing
  (slurry seal)
• Cold mix
  (pothole patch, minor repairs, etc.)

Click Here for more information on Multi-Use Maintenance Aggregate

HORTICULTURE top


TXI ESC

• Environmentally friendly, made from natural material
• Improves drainage and aeration
• Non-toxic and odorless
• 100 percent inert, inorganic
• Will not compress, degrade, decompose, or react with agricultural or horticultural chemicals
• Retains a high percentage of its weight in absorbed water, giving it the ability to release the water to the root system at a later time

Expanded Shale and Clay is also user-friendly because it is

• Lightweight
• Easy to handle
• Economical
• Readily available

Common Uses

• Soil conditioner (landscape mixes, roof gardens, plants, trees, potting soil, etc.)
• Soil amendments for turf (lawns, athletic fields, polo fields, horse tracks)
• Decorative (ground cover)
• Mud stopper (Horse stalls, pens, walkways, fill-in for low wet problem spots)
• Walking trails, running tracks
• Herbicide and fertilizer carrier
• Hydroponics
• Structural Soil
• Backfill
• Drainage gravel

Other Related Products

Pave Grow® – permeable pavement, growing medium used in special places such as fire lanes, golf course cart path edges, overflow parking areas, etc.

Click Here to download Pave Grow description.

Resources and Information

Click Here to download A&M Study "NUTRIENT AND MOISTURE DYNAMICS IN EXPANDED SHALE"

Click Here to download A&M Study "Evaluation of Expanded Shale in Landscape Mixes"

Sales Contact

Rene Asprion
972-647-3393
rasprion@txi.com


Jack Sinclair
972-647-3806

LANDFILL AND LEACHATE top

 
TXI expanded shale and clay aggregates have been used in leachate collection systems (LCS) and municipal solid waste (MSW) applications as a drainage media for leachate collection systems for the last 10 years. Its high permeability, 2 to 3 orders of magnitude of minimum regulatory value of 1 cm/sec, enhanced durability, and superior angle of internal friction, make expanded shale and clay aggregates well suited for leachate collection systems.

The high permeability greatly enhances the drainage capabilities of the leachate collection system to reduce the probability of head rise in the landfill.

Its acid insoluble characteristics make the expanded shale and clay aggregates impervious to acidic leachate attack.

The high angle of internal friction promotes its interlocking capability and provides a more stable interface with the liner/cover systems on slopes. 

Click here to download Expanded Shale and Clay Leachate Collection System.

LIGHTWEIGHT ROOF TILE top

TXI expanded shale and clay aggregates have been used in Lightweight Concrete Roof-tile applications. Lightweight Concrete Roof-tiles are typically light enough to replace wood shingles without structural retrofitting or additional structural support. These lightweight tiles are dense, durable and non-combustible roof coverings. This concrete product can add value to the homeowners’ investment and could lower insurance rates. 
 
Common Benefits:

• 30-40% lighter than most concrete roof tiles
• Variety of styles, textures and colors
• Low life cycle costs
• Warranties vary between manufacturers; however they may range from 40 years to life
• Total weight is typically below 10 psf
• Tile weight is typically below 6 psf
• High Strength

MASONRY top


The lightweight aggregate of choice for concrete block manufacturing is expanded shale and clay. Engineers consider ES&C to be a structural grade material that can be used in any load-bearing concrete masonry walls with confidence. It possesses unique characteristics that other lightweight aggregates simply do not have:

• Low-weight/high-strength ratios
• Improved energy efficiency
• High-tensile strength/strain capabilities
• Proven performance in fire
• Long-term dimensional and thermal stability
• Superior noise abatement

ES&C concrete masonry units are up to 40% lighter than traditional masonry units, resulting in:

• Increased mason productivity
• Lower construction costs
• Reduced injuries

ES&C masonry also provides superior insulation by combining high R-values with thermal mass and low thermal bridging.

Other benefits of ESC Masonry

• Superior fire resistance
• Effective sound absorption
• Excellent seismic performance
• Low shrinkage
• High strain capacity

TXI ESC Masonry Products

• Typical Lightweight Concrete Masonry
• SmartLite CMU Program
• PyroTherm HPCMU
• PyroTherm Lightweight Aggregate
• PyroTherm Color Sensations
• ThermaTec Lightweight Grout for Masonry

Multi-Use Maintenance Aggregate top


Maintaining More Roadways with Reduced Budgets
Click Here to download Applications, Rates & Gradations PDF)

• TxDOT Item 302 Type L or PL Grade 5 and Grade 5
  Modified.
• No windshield damage, chipped paint or broken
  headlights.
• Excellent skid resistance throughout the life of the
  aggregate. This is a TxDOT QM Class 3A2 aggregate.
• Reduces trucking costs, more material in fewer trucks.
• Competitive bid alternate to pea gravel, crushed gravel and crushed stone.

TXI's lightweight aggregate Grade 5 is a cost-effective pavement preservation surface treatment. It1s held to the same high quality TxDOT standards as our Grades 3 and 4, yet it is ideal for lower traffic volume roadways. Asphalt and emulsion rates are decreased (.30 gallons / square yard) as well as aggregate spread ratios being increased (1 cubic yard of material / 125 square yards of pavement surface).

This means more miles, less material and lower cost. TXI is a leading supplier of building materials, primarily Cement, Aggregates, Steel, Ready Mix Concrete, and Expanded Shale & Clay Aggregates.

TXI is the largest producer of Expanded Shale & Clay Lightweight Aggregates in North America with two plants in Texas, two in California, and one in Colorado.

Multi-use Applications for TXI Lightweight Aggregate One premier material for all of your highway maintenance needs:

• Chip Seals
• Spot seals and edge seals
• Air injection pothole patching machines
• Filler in blade mixed or pug milled oil dirt to
  reduce asphalt costs and increase strength
• Icy streets and overpass treatment
• Embedment and backfill aggregate
• Squeegee and scrub seal aggregate
• Treat bleeding asphalt pavements
• Hazardous spill control

Imagine being able to specify and purchase one cost effective material for all of these uses, and get other positive benefits. These TxDOT approved Type L Grade 5 and Grade 5 Modified aggregates have the same qualities that TxDOT requires for use on its high traffic facilities and is tailor-made for lower traffic volume roadways that counties and cities maintain.

Air Injection Patching Machines

At 50 lbs. +/- per cubic foot this material is half the weight of crushed stone and gravel and offers numerous advantages:

• Reduces loaded truck weights on your roadways that
  are in need of maintenance.
• Remains airborne in the application hose, therefore
  reducing or eliminating costly downtime and parts
  replacement due to wear.
• Eliminates broken windshields from loose aggregate on
  the patch.
• Has an affinity for asphalt emulsions.
• Colors similar to partially aged bituminous surfaces, therefore patches will blend in and not be as noticeable to motorist.

Mix Enhancer for Oil Dirt

Blade mix, pug mill or mix in-place 15-25% by volume of Type L Grade 5 Modified into oil dirt to achieve the following advantages:

• Reduces asphalt costs by lowering usage. Coarse aggregate requires much less asphalt to adequately coat the material as compared to dirt and sand.
• Reduces loaded truck weights on your roadways.
• Increases mix strength from the addition of coarse aggregate.
• Provides economically feasible alternative in today1s economy.

Icy Streets and Bridge Treatment

• Alerts motorists to potential icing, due to the dark
  contrasting color of lightweight aggregate on icy
  overpasses or curves.
• Helps to speed up the melting process under sunlight,
  due to dark color.
• Reduces dangerous skids on icy patches due to greater skid resistance characteristics.
• No costly, dangerous sweeping. Because the material
  is half the weight of comparable aggregates, once the
  ice melts and the moisture evaporates the lightweight
  aggregate remaining will simply whip off under normal traffic conditions.
• No broken windshields.
• No dust clouds.

Embedment and Backfill Aggregate

Expanded shale aggregate makes an excellent embedment and backfill aggregate.

• Impervious to leachate
• Free flowing properties
• Ease of hand placement
• Insulating characteristics
• High angle of internal friction

Squeegee and Scrub Seals

Squeegee and scrub seals are popular in urban areas of the western states, where streets become cracked and porous and need a surface treatment. Large chip seal aggregates create drainage issues in curb and gutter sections. Bicycle and pedestrian traffic oppose the loud, larger sized material on their neighborhood streets. Squeegee and scrub seals provide a solution that meets everybody1s needs. After the emulsion is applied with an asphalt distributor, drag a specially-made broom behind the distributor and force the emulsion down into the cracks. Cover the emulsion application with Type L Grade 5 Modified and you have your problems solved.

Bleeding Asphalt
Pavement Treatment

Bleeding occurs when either the asphalt application rate was too heavy, or the aggregate was lost due to some variables. When this occurs the traffic is riding directly on the asphalt and as it heats up it becomes liquid again. At the first sign of an asphalt pavement beginning to bleed, sprinkle the affected area with lightweight aggregate and it will settle down immediately.

Hazardous Spill Control

TXI lightweight aggregates have significant absorption characteristics. Having this material on hand provides your crews with an easy to handle, easy to load material to throw on any spills due to traffic accidents or other mishaps on your yard.

SPECIAL USES AND APPLICATIONS top


TXI expanded shale and clay has also been used with great success for the following applications:

• Topping on wood floor systems
• Roof fill for flat roofs
  (insulation and slope)
• Insulating fill around temperature sensitive elements
• Bagged concrete mix
• Cement wallboard
• Artificial stone
• Refractory
  (fireplace logs and boxes, chimney liners, etc.)
• Insulating refractory for industrial uses in kilns, boilers, stacks, petrochemical refining, etc.
• Ferrocement and shotcrete
• Animal and environmental structures
  (sewage treatment, etc.)
• Grog for clay brick
• Coverstone and ballast on built-up roofs
• Deslicking/traction grit for icy roads
• Medium in wastewater treatment and water filters
• Fire protection for impermeable plastic liners
• De-icing solution when mixed with salts or de-icing agents

STRUCTURAL LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE top

TXI ES&C structural lightweight concrete gives designers greater flexibility at substantial cost savings by providing:

• Reduced dead load
• Improved seismic structural response
• Longer spans
• Better fire ratings
• Thinner sections
• Smaller structural members
• Reduced foundation costs

The excellent durability performance of TXI's ES&C is a result of the ceramic nature of the aggregate and its exceptional bonding to and elastic compatibility with the cementitious matrix. ES&C concrete has strengths comparable to normal-weight concrete, yet is typically 25-35% lighter, reducing the transportation and placement costs of precast elements.

Common uses:

• Floors in steel frame buildings
• Precast and prestressed elements
• Concrete frame buildings and parking structures
• Floating docks and offshore oil platforms
• Bridge decks and girders
• Thin shell roof structures
• Topping over precast concreteResources and Information
  

Technical Data

Click Here (PDF file) to download Facts Sheet, "Benefits to Specifying TXI-ESC's Lightweight Aggregate for Concrete Applications"

Click Here (Word file) to download Article, "Benefits to Specifying TXI-ESC's Lightweight Aggregate for Concrete Applications"

Click Here (PDF file) to download "Myths and Facts about Lightweight Concrete for Structural Applications"

Click Here (Word file) to download the "Specification for Structural Lighweight Concrete"

Industry Links top

Portland Cement Association (PCA)
http://www.portcement.org

National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA)
http://www.ncma.org/

American Concrete Institute (ACI)
http://www.aci-int.org/general/home.htm

Expanded Shale, Clay & Slate Institute (ESCSI)
http://www.escsi.org

TXI ESC Sales Offices top

Questions for the TXI ESC Sales Group may be sent to esc@txi.com