Sand plays a critical role as a construction aggregate and deserves special attention when considering the means of process control. Unlike coarse aggregate where various types of crushers may be used to upgrade mineral quality, sand basically relies on the same techniques to address both mineral quality and sizing. These techniques are called particle exclusion. Whichever size the Producer decides to eliminate for quality reasons obviously also affects the sizing.
1. Natural sand
Good quality natural sand is readily available in many areas and may be easy to obtain and process. As with the gravels that they often accompany, the sand deposits may not have been laid uniformly, meaning a potential change in quality and size is possible. In some deposits, sand found below the water table differs in fines content and quality from that found above the water table. Subsurface drilling, sampling, and testing is necessary to know to what degree and where these differences occur. Standard operating procedures in the Quality Control Plan should address the process if differences in size and quality are encountered, as a uniformly graded product of predictable quality is required to be maintained.
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