🧪 Chemical analysis of aggregates (PN-EN 1744-1)

Construction PN-EN 1744-1

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS — ACCORDING TO THE CATALOGUE CARD. The scope quoted from the PKN card (reading of 22.09.2026): "W Normie Europejskiej podano metody chemicznych analiz kruszyw. Podano metody odniesienia i w niektórych przypadkach metodę alternatywną, którą można traktować jako metodę dająca równoważne wyniki. Jeżeli nie podano inaczej, metody badań wymienione w niniejszej normie europejskiej mogą być użyte w zakładowej kontroli produkcji, badaniach auditowych lub badaniach typu. Norma opisuje metody odniesienia analiz chemicznych kruszyw używane do badań typu oraz w przypadku sporu (oraz metody alternatywne). Dla celów badań typu oraz w przypadku sporu powinny być stosowane jedynie metody odniesienia. Do innych celów, w szczególności kontroli produkcji, inne metody mogą być stosowane pod warunkiem, że ustalono korelację z metodą odniesienia" [This European Standard specifies methods for the chemical analysis of aggregates. It specifies reference methods and, in some cases, an alternative method that can be regarded as giving equivalent results. Unless otherwise stated, the test methods specified in this European Standard may be used for factory production control, audit testing or type testing. The standard describes the reference methods for the chemical analysis of aggregates used for type testing and in cases of dispute (as well as alternative methods). For the purposes of type testing and in cases of dispute, only the reference methods should be used. For other purposes, in particular production control, other methods may be used provided that a correlation with the reference method has been established].

A STANDARD THAT ITSELF SAYS WHEN ONE IS ALLOWED NOT TO USE IT — AND THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THIS ENTRY. In other entries of the Knowledge Base, the question "may an equivalent method be used" had to be left open or referred to a provision. Here the answer is IN THE STANDARD ITSELF, and it is conditional: for production control another method may be used IF its correlation with the reference method has been established; for type testing and in the event of a dispute — it may not. THAT IS, THE SAME OPERATION PERFORMED BY THE SAME METHOD MAY OR MAY NOT COMPLY WITH THE STANDARD, DEPENDING ON THE PURPOSE OF THE TEST. A report that does not state the purpose does not make it possible to decide this.

CITATION WITHOUT INDICATING THE EDITION — FOURTEEN ENTRIES. Measurement (22-09-2026): the standard appears in 57 entries at 15 laboratories. 42 entries give the full edition "PN-EN 1744-1+A1:2013-05" (alone or with a clause number), 14 entries (two laboratories) — just "PN-EN 1744-1" WITHOUT A YEAR, and ONE — "PN-EN 1744-1+A1", that is, with the amendment but without the date of the edition (42 + 14 + 1 = 57; breakdown corrected 22-09-2026, previously we gave 43 + 14, and the sum closed at the cost of omitting this one form). THIS ONE ENTRY IS MORE INTERESTING THAN THE ARITHMETIC: it says that the edition with amendment A1 was applied, but does not say which — this is a THIRD DEGREE OF INDETERMINACY, alongside "without a year" and "with a year". This standard has had at least three forms in the PN collection (the 2000 edition, the 2010 edition and the current one with amendment A1 of 2013), so a citation without an edition does not say which was applied. Not a single entry directly cites a withdrawn edition — the 2010 and 2000 editions do not appear in the database even once.

THE CHAIN OF EDITIONS CONFIRMED FROM BOTH CARDS. The current card gives "Zastępuje PN-EN 1744-1:2010 - wersja angielska" [Replaces … — English-language version]; the card of the 2010 edition has the header "Wycofana i zastąpiona przez PN-EN 1744-1+A1:2013-05" [Withdrawn and replaced by] and the row "Data wycofania: 31-05-2013" [withdrawal date].

WHAT IS TESTED — A READING FROM THE SCOPES, NOT FROM THE STANDARD. The most frequent entries: presence and content of humus (5 + 3), total sulphur (4), water-soluble sulfates (3), water-soluble chlorides (3), lightweight contaminators (3), water solubility (3), dicalcium silicate disintegration (3). Some of them cite specific clauses — "p. 15.1" (8 entries in four notations), "p. 19.1", "p. 19.2", "pkt 7", "p. 14.2" [p., pkt = clause] — because the standard is a collection of methods, not one method.

WHY THESE DETERMINATIONS ARE MADE AT ALL. Sulfates and chlorides in aggregate later enter concrete and can damage the structure or corrode the reinforcement; humus and organic contaminants disturb the setting of cement; dicalcium silicate disintegration concerns slag aggregates. This is the general context of the field, not a finding from this standard — the standard gives methods of determination, not consequences.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard (64 pages, English-language version, Construction and Building Structures Sector, KT 108 Aggregates and Building Stone, ICS 91.100.15). WE DO NOT GIVE: any of the methods, reagents, concentrations, test portion masses, times, temperatures, calculation formulas or limit values — the standard does not contain the latter anyway, because the requirements for aggregates are set by product standards. Nor have we established which specific determinations have an alternative method in this standard and which only a reference method.

Method principle

The standard collects methods for determining the chemical constituents of aggregate that affect the durability of a construction product: sulphur compounds, chlorides, organic substances and slag constituents. For some determinations it gives a reference method and an alternative method regarded as equivalent. We do not quote the content of the methods — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Testing aggregate for concrete for sulfate and chloride content
• Assessment of blast-furnace slag aggregate (dicalcium silicate disintegration)
• Checking the content of organic substances before using natural aggregate
• Establishing whether a result obtained by an alternative method is sufficient for the given purpose of the test

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 1744-1+A1:2013-05 (wersja angielska; wprowadza EN 1744-1:2009+A1:2012 [IDT])

Title (PL)

Badania chemicznych właściwości kruszyw — Część 1: Analiza chemiczna

Title (EN)

Tests for chemical properties of aggregates — Part 1: Chemical analysis

Step-by-step procedure

1. Establishing the purpose of the test

   The purpose determines whether an alternative method may be used. Type testing and testing for the purposes of a dispute require the reference method; factory production control allows another method if its correlation with the reference has been established. This decision precedes the choice of method, not the other way round.

2. Sampling and sample preparation

   Sampling of aggregate is described by a separate document (PN-EN 932-1), and the result of the chemical analysis concerns the laboratory sample derived from it. This standard does not replace the rules of sampling.

3. Choice of the determination and the clause of the standard

   The standard contains a dozen or so determinations; the accreditation scope and the report indicate the clause ("p. 15.1", "p. 19.1" [p. = clause]). Citing the standard alone does not say what was determined.

4. Performing the determination

   We do not quote the reagents, concentrations, test portions, times and temperatures — they are the content of the standard. In determinations of water-soluble constituents, the extraction conditions decide the result just as much as the measurement itself.

5. Recording the result with the edition, clause and type of method stated

   Give the edition of the standard (14 entries in accreditation scopes do not give it), the clause and whether the reference or the alternative method was applied. Without this, the recipient does not know whether the result is suitable for the purpose for which it is to be used.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Corrosive and oxidising reagents — work under a fume hood, with protective equipment
• Dissolve samples in acids carefully, adding the acid to the water
• Aggregate dusts during crushing — respiratory protection
• Slag aggregates may contain constituents that react with water, releasing heat

Frequently asked questions