The shape of the aggregate particles, from flat and elongated to cubical ones, exercises a certain influence on the SMA mixture. A high content of flat and elongated particles has the following effects:
• Increases the content of air voids in a compacted mixture of coarse (active) aggregates
• Decreases the workability of a mixture
• Increases the risk of fat spots appearing when compacting the SMA course
In the German DAV handbook (Druschner and Schafer, 2000), attention has been paid to the impact of the shape of particles from the fraction 2/5.6 mm on the content of voids in SMA, especially with reference to the SMA mixtures 0/8 and 0/8S.
