CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING

 Asphalt is one of the oldest materials used  Disadvantage of cutbacks:

in construction. 1) as petroleum costs have escalated, the
 Today, practically all asphalt cement is use of these
expensive solvents as a carrying agent
from refined petroleum.
for the asphalt cement is no longer
 Bituminous materials are classified as cost effective.
asphalts, bitumen, and tars. 2) cutbacks are hazardous materials due
 Asphalt is used mostly in pavement to the volatility of the solvents.
construction but is also used as sealing and 3) application of the cutback releases
waterproofing agents. environmentally unacceptable
 Tars are produced by the destructive hydrocarbons into the atmosphere.
distillation of bituminous coal or by  Emulsified asphalts typically consist of
cracking petroleum vapors. about 60% to 70% asphalt cement, 30% to
 The asphalt is a mixture of inert mineral 40% water, and a fraction of a percent of
matter lime alumina, lime, silica, etc. and emulsifying agent.
a hydrocarbon known as asphaltic  The emulsifying molecule has two distinct
bitumen. components, the head portion, which has
 In some places like Trinidad and an electrostatic charge, and the tail
Bermudez, asphalt is available in nature at portion, which has a high affinity for
a depth of 3 to 60 meters. It is known as asphalt.
natural asphalt.  The phenomenon of separation between
 Common variety used all over the world is the asphalt residue and water is referred to
residual asphalt, which is obtained by the as breaking or setting.
fractional distillation of crude petroleum
oil. USES OF ASPHALT
 Bitumen is the binding material which is  The main use of asphalt is in pavement
present in asphalt. It is hydrocarbon. It is construction and maintenance.
obtained by partial distillation of crude oil.  Asphalt is used in sealing and
It contains 87% carbon, 11% hydrogen, waterproofing various structural
and 2% oxygen. components, such as roofs and
underground foundations.
TYPES OF ASPHALT CEMENT  Asphalt cements, also called asphalt
 Asphalt cement used in pavements is binders, are used typically to make hot-
produced in three forms: mix asphalt and warm mix concrete,
 asphalt cement HMA and WMA respectively, for the
 asphalt cutback surface and base layers of asphalt
 asphalt emulsion pavements.
 Asphalt cement is a blend of  Liquid asphalts (emulsions and cutbacks)
hydrocarbons of different molecular are used for pavement maintenance and
weights. preservation applications, such as fog
 Asphalt cement has excellent adhesive seals, chip seals, slurry seals, and micro-
characteristics, which make it a superior surfacing.
binder for pavement applications. In fact,  The consistency of asphalt is greatly
it is the most common binder material affected by temperature.
used in pavements.  The viscosity of the asphalt decreases
 A cutback is produced by dissolving when the temperature increases.
asphalt cement in a lighter molecular  PAVING APPLICATION OF ASPHALT:
weight hydrocarbon solvent. When the 1) Hot-mix and warm-mix asphalt
cutback is sprayed on a pavement or 2) Cold mix
mixed with aggregates, the solvent 3) Fog seal
evaporates, leaving the asphalt residue as 4) Prime coat
the binder. 5) Tack coat
6) Chip seal
7) Slurry seal
8) Microsurfacing

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 CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF ASPHALT CHARACTERIZATION OF ASPHALT

 Asphalt is a mixture of a wide variety of CEMENT
hydrocarbons primarily consisting of 1) Performance Grade Characterization
hydrogen and carbon atoms, with minor Approach- used to characterize the
components such as sulfur, nitrogen, and asphalt binder are performed at pavement
oxygen (heteroatoms), and trace metals. temperatures to represent the upper, middle,
 Asphalt molecules have three and lower ranges of service temperatures.
arrangements, depending on the carbon 2) Performance Grade Binder
atom links: Characaterization
1) aliphatic or paraffinic, which  Rolling Thin-Film Oven (RTFO)
form straight or branched chains procedure is used to simulate the
2) saturated rings, which have the short-term aging that occurs in the
highest hydrogen to carbon ratio asphalt during production of asphalt
3) unsaturated rings or aromatic concrete.
 Asphalt cement consists of asphaltenes  Pressure-Aging Vessel (PAV)
and maltenes (petrolenes). consists of a temperature-controlled
 The maltenes consist of resins and oils. chamber, and pressure- and
The asphaltenes are dark brown, friable temperature-controlling and
solids that are chemically complex, with measuring devices.
the highest polarity among the  Flast Point- a safety test that
components. measures the temperature at which the
asphalt flashes; asphalt cement may be
SUPERPAVE AND PERFORMANCE heated to a temperature below this
GRADE BINDERS without becoming a fire hazard.
 Strategic Highway Research Program  Rotational Viscometer Test -
(SHRP) consists of a rotational coaxial
 The SHRP research program produced the cylinder viscometer and a temperature
Superpave (Superior Performing Asphalt control unit.
Pavements) mix design method for asphalt  Dynamic Shear Rheometer Test-
concrete and the Performance Grading consists of two parallel metal plates,
method for asphalt binder specification an environmental chamber, a loading
(McGennis, 1994; 1995). device, and a control and data
 The objectives of SHRP's asphalt acquisition system.
research:  Bending Beam Rheometer Test-
measures the midpoint deflection of a
1) extend the life or reduce the life-
simply supported prismatic beam of
cycle costs of asphalt pavements
asphalt binder subjected to a constant
2) reduce maintenance costs, and
3) minimize premature failures. load applied to its midpoint
 Direct Tension Test- consists of a
 An important result of this research effort
displacement-controlled tensile
was the development of performance-
loading machine with gripping system,
based specifications for asphalt binders
a temperature-controlled chamber,
and mixtures to control three distress
measuring devices, and a data
modes: rutting, fatigue cracking, and
acquisition system.
thermal cracking.
3) Traditional Asphalt Characterization
 Note that the Performance Grade
Tests- currently used to evaluate the
specifications use the term asphalt
asphalt cement in emulsions
binder, which refers to asphalt cement
 Penetration- measures asphalt cement
with or without the addition of modifiers.
consistency.
 Absolute and Kinematic Viscosity
AASHTO- American Association of State Tests-used to measure asphalt
Highway and Transportation Officials consistency.

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 CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING

CLASSIFICATION OF ASPHALT Marshall (ASTM D1559) and Hveem

1) Asphalt Binders- Asphalt binder is (ASTM D1560)
produced in several grades or classes.
There are four methods for classifying 1) Specimen Preparation in the
asphalt binders: Laboratory
a) performance grading  Compacted Samples
b) penetration grading Two compaction machines are commonly
c) viscosity grading used:
d) viscosity of aged residue grading a) Superpave gyratory compactor
 Performance Grade Specifications and b) Marshall hammer
Selection  Regardless of the compaction method, the
 Other Asphalt Binder Grading Me thods procedure for preparing specimens
basically follows the same four steps:
2) Asphalt Cutbacks 1) Heat and mix the aggregate and
Types: asphalt cement
a) Rapid-curing cutbacks 2) Place the material into a heated mold
b) Medium-curing cutbacks 3) Apply compaction force
c) Slow-curing cutbacks 4) Allow the specimen to cool and
extrude from the mold
3) Asphalt Emulsions  Uncompacted Samples- used to
Asphalt Emulsion Grades: determine the theoretical maximum
a) Anioinic specific gravity of the mix.
b) Cationic
2) Density and Voids Analysis
ASPHALT CONCRETE  It is important to understand the density
 Asphalt concrete consists of asphalt binder and voids analysis of compacted asphalt
and aggregates mixed together at a high mixtures for both mix design and
temperature and placed and compacted on construction control.
the road while still hot.
The objective of the asphalt concrete mix 3) Superpave Mix Design
design process is to provide the following The Superpave mix-design process
properties: consists of (AASHTO R35-09):
1) stability or resistance to permanent  Selection of aggregates
deformation under the action of traffic  Selection of binder
loads, especially at high temperatures  Determination of the design aggregate
2) fatigue resistance to prevent fatigue structure
cracking under repeated loadings
 Determination of the design binder content
3) resistance to thermal cracking that might
 Evaluation of moisture susceptibility
occur due to contraction at low
temperatures
Design Level for Superpave Consensus
4) resistance to hardening or aging during
Aggregate Properties
production in the mixing plant and in
a) Light traffic
service
b) Medium traffic
5) resistance to moisture-induced damage
c) Heavy traffic
that might result in stripping of asphalt
from aggregate particles
 Aggregate Selection
6) skid resistance, by providing enough
The following consensus aggregate
texture at the pavement surface
properties are required:
7) workability, to reduce the effort needed
1) coarse aggregate angularity measured
during mixing, placing, and compaction
by the percentage of fractured faces
2) fine aggregate angularity (AASHTO
ASPHALT CONCRETE MIX DESIGN
TP33)
 Before the Superpave mix design method 3) flat and elongated particles (ASTM
was developed, there were two common D4791)
asphalt concrete design methods:

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 CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING

4) sand equivalency (ASTM D2419) CHARACTERIZATION OF ASPHALT

CONCRETE
 Binder Selection
 Design Aggregate Structure 1. Indirect Tensile Strength - used for
 Design Binder Content determining moisture susceptibility
 Moisture Sensitivity Evaluation 2. Asphalt Mixture Performance Tester
 Dynamic Modulus Test
4) Superpave Refinement
 Triaxial Static Creep Test
5) Marshall Method of Mix Design  Triaxial Repeated Load Permanent
The basic steps required for performing Deformation Test
Marshall mix design are as follows:
HOT-MIX ASPHALT CONCRETE
1.) aggregate evaluation
PRODUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION
2.) asphalt cement evaluation
1.) Production of Raw Materials
3.) specimen preparation
2.) Manufacturing Asphalt Concrete
4.) Marshall stability and flow
3.) Field Operations
measurement
5.) density and voids analysis RECYCLING OF ASPHALT CONCRETE
6.) design asphalt content Recycling asphalt has the following advantages:
determination a) economic saving of about 25% of the price
of materials
6) Evaluation of Moisture Susceptibility b) energy saving in manufacturing and
 There are several ways to alter asphalt transporting raw materials
concrete’s susceptibility to water damage. c) environmental saving by reducing the
Methods identified by the Asphalt Institute amount of required new materials and by
include the following: eliminating the problem of discarding old
1.) increasing asphalt content materials
2.) using a higher viscosity asphalt d) eliminating the problem of reconstruction
cement of utility structures, curbs, and gutters
3.) cleaning aggregate of any dust and associated with overlays
clay e) reducing the dead load on bridges due to
4.) adding antistripping additives (ASA) overlays
o Liquid ASA are surfacant f) maintaining the tunnel clearance,
chemicals that displace water compared with overlays
from aggregate promoting
better bonding. Liquid ASA  Recycling can be divided into three types:
are generally added to the surface recycling, central plant
binder prior to mixing with recycling, and in-place recycling.
the aggregates.
o Powder ASA are either 1.) RAP Evaluation
2.) RAP Mix Design
hydrated lime or portland
3.) RAP Production and Construction
cement. Powder ASA are
generally distributed onto the ADDITIVES
aggregates prior to drying. a) Fillers
5) altering aggregate gradation b) Extenders
c) Polymer Modified Asphlat
d) Antistripping Agents
e) Others
o Fibers

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 CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING

o Oxidants
o Antioxidants
o Hydrocrabons

 Asphalt Cement and Asphalt Concrete

Modifiers
o Filler
o Extender
o Rubber
o Plastic
o Rubber–plastic combinations
o Fiber

 Warm-mix asphalt is the generic term for

a variety of technologies that allow the
producers of hot-mix asphalt pavement
material to lower the temperatures at
which the material is mixed and placed on
the road

ASPHALT SUSTAINABILITY
I. LEED Considerations
The National Asphalt Pavement
Association (NAPA 2015) has
summarized potential LEED credits in
four rating categories:
 Stormwater Design
 Heat Island Effect
 Construction Waste Management
 Exceptional Performance
Exceeding Expectations or Areas
Not Addressed

II. Other Sustainability Considerations

o Conducting energy and emissions
analysis of local asphalt plants,
including survey tools and audit
methods.
o Refine/develop analysis tools for
sustainability indicators, such as
life-cycle cost analysis, into an
eco-efficiency model.
o Develop a certification program
for identifying and rewarding
advances in sustainable pavement
construction.
o Focus industry research on cold
asphalt technologies that could
supplement/ replace hot mix for
appropriate applications.