1

KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

SUBJECT: TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

SUBJECT CODE: CIEG 401
YEAR: FOURTH
SEMESTER: SEVENTH

By:
Chapter: Six Raju Bhele
Highway Material Department of Civil Engineering
17th Oct, 2022 Kathmandu University

10/17/2022 TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING CIEG 401

 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Works involved in road construction

Earth work Drainage work Pavement work Protection work Miscellaneous work

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Different construction materials being used in road construction

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

1. Highway materials.
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 They are materials used in construction of highway.

 Different materials are used at different types of works during road construction
(Earth work, drainage works, pavement work, slope protection work and
miscellaneous work)
 The material that are used in road construction activities can be classified into 3
groups.
a) Minerals materials
b) Binding materials.
c) Other common materials.

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Highway materials.
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Minerals materials.
 Sub grade soil, stone chips, rivers sand, bricks pebbles etc are mineral materials.

 Soil is used for embankment construction and soil stabilized layer.

 Stone aggregates is used in pavement construction and off road structure.

Binding materials.
It includes
 Stone dust or cohesive soil.

 Cement, lime and other inorganic materials.

 Bitumen, tar and organic materials.

 Use for binding of aggregates used in pavement layer construction.

Other common materials.

 This includes reinforcing steel, timber, stone, bricks, boulders, gabion wires.
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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

2. Road aggregates.
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 Road aggregates is defined as material which is primarily responsible for bearing

stresses occurring on roads and also resist wear due to adhesive action of the traffic.
 Most of aggregates are obtained from natural rocks by crushing. Here rocks may be
igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic.
 On the basis of strength, stone aggregates may be classified as hard aggregates and soft
aggregates
 Depending on the size of particles, stone aggregates are classified into coarse and fine
aggregates.
 Coarse aggregate which retained in 4.75 mm IS sieve.
 Fine aggregate is an either natural sand or crushed stone which passes through 4.75
mm IS sieve.
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3. Desirable properties of aggregates.

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Strength
 The aggregates used in road construction mainly in top layers and wearing should be
sufficiently strong and capable to withstand different stresses.
 The aggregates used in top layers are subjected to

 Stress action due to traffic wheel load

 Wear and tear

 Crushing

 For a high quality pavement, the aggregates should posses high resistance to crushing,

and to withstand the stresses due to traffic wheel load.

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Hardness.
 The aggregates used in the surface course are subjected to constant rubbing or abrasion due to
moving traffic. The aggregates should be hard enough to resist the abrasive action caused by the
movements of traffic.
 The abrasive action is severe when steel tyred vehicles moves over the aggregates exposed at the
top surface
Toughness.
 The aggregates used in road construction should be tough enough to resist fracture under impact
due to traffic movement.
Durability.
 The aggregates used in road construction should be durable and should resist disintegration due to
action of weather.
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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Shape of aggregates.
 It is evident that the flaky and elongated particles will have less strength and durability
when compared with cubical, angular or rounded particles of the same aggregate.
 In case of WBM and bituminous road construction aggregates should be angular in
shape. But, in case of cement concrete, round aggregates is preferred.

Adhesion with bitumen:

 The aggregates used in bituminous pavements should

have less affinity with water, otherwise the bituminous

coating on the aggregate will be stripped off in presence
of water.

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

4. Tests on aggregates
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Specific gravity Non destructive

Descriptive test Durability test
test test

Bulk sp. Gradation

Particle size Abrasion
Gravity

Apparent sp. water

Shape Soundness
gravity absorption

Surface Strength and Shape test FI,

texture toughness EI, AN
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Descriptive Tests
 These tests are intended to define the visual examination of an aggregate that
enables it to describe in terms of both the shape and the surface texture of the
particles.
 The particle shape may be described as rounded, irregular, flaky, angular, elongated,

and both flaky and elongated.

 Surface texture may be defined as glassy, smooth, granular, rough, crystalline,
honeycombed and porous.

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Non Destructive quality tests

 These non-destructive tests are carried out on the aggregate to determine its
suitability for a specific use.
 The results obtained are normally compared with aggregate specifications to see

whether they comply with the desired properties and characteristics.

 The tests of particular interest are the

 Gradation

 water absorption and

 shape test.

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 A. Gradation
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 A gradation test measures the size distribution, or amount of

coarse and fi ne aggregates in a sample.
 Use a sieve analysis to test gradation.
 Aggregates obtained from pit quarry or river bed or
crushing plant usually do not meet gradation specification Importance:
desired. Grading limits and maximum
aggregate size are specified
 Gradation analysis involves calculation as to determine the
because these properties affect the
proportion of each group size of materials to make the amount of aggregate used as well
aggregates within the specified gradation. as cement and water requirements,
 Combining aggregates is the combination of different workability, pumpability, and
durability of concrete.
proportion of aggregates to produce an aggregate
complying with the specification
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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

B. Water absorption test on Aggregates

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 This test helps to determine the water absorption value of aggregate.

Procedure:
 To perform this test minimum 2 kg sample should be used. The sample should be

cleaned and dried. Place the sample in wire basket and dip the basket in distilled water
bath.
 To release the air between aggregates just lift and dip the basket for about 25 times in
25 seconds.
 Leave the basket for 24 hours and after that allowed it to drain for few minutes.

 Aggregates should be taken on dry cloth and exposed them to atmosphere sunlight.

 After drying, weigh the aggregates W1.

o
 Then place the aggregate in oven at 100-110 c for 24 hrs. After oven drying again
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weight the aggregate W2.
 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

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Water absorption of aggregates =

{(W1-W2)/W2} x 100%

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

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C. Shape test:
 Flakiness Index (F.I)

 Elongation Index (E.I)

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Shape test on Aggregates

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 Shape of aggregate is also important

consideration for the construction of pavement.
 Aggregate should not contain flaky and
elongated particles in it.
 If they contain this type of particles, they will
affect the stability of mix (abrasion, crushing
and impact)
 The percentage by weight of aggregates whose
least dimension is less the 3/5th of its mean
dimension (0.6 times mean dimension) is called
as flakiness index.
 The percentage by weight of aggregate particles
whose greatest dimension is 1.8th times their
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mean dimension is called as elongation index.
 Procedure
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 Sieve the sample through the IS sieves.

 Take a minimum of 200 pieces of each fraction to be tested and weigh them
 To separate the flaky materials, gauge each fraction for thickness on a thickness gauge,
The width of the slot used should be of the dimensions specified in column (4) of the
table for the appropriate size of the material.
 Weigh the flaky material passing the gauge to an accuracy of at least 0.1 per cent of the
test sample
 To separate the elongated materials, gauge each fraction for length on a length gauge.
The width of the slot used should be of the dimensions specified in column (6) of the
table for the appropriate size of the material.

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 Weigh the elongated material retained on the gauge to an accuracy of at least 0.1 per
cent of the test sample.
 Flakiness Index = (X1+ X2+…..) / (W1 + W2 + ….) X 100
 Elongation Index = (Y1 + Y2 + …) / (W1 + W2 + ….) X 100

Length gauge

Thickness gauge

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Size of aggregates
Weight of aggregates
Weight of fraction Thickness Weight of aggregates in
in each fraction Length gauge size,
Passing through Retained on IS consisting of at gauge size, each fraction retained on
passing thickness mm
IS Sieve, mm Sieve, mm least 200 pieces,g mm length gauge,mm
gauge, mm

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
63 50 W1 33.90 X1 - -
50 40 W2 27.00 X2 81.00 Y1
40 31.5 W3 19.50 X3 58.5 Y2
31.5 25 W4 16.95 X4 - -
25 20 W5 13.50 X5 40.5 Y3
20 16 W6 10.80 X6 32.4 Y4
16 12.5 W7 8.55 X7 25.5 Y5
12.5 10 W8 6.75 X8 20.2 Y6
10 6.3 W9 4.89 X9 14.7 Y7
Total W= X= Y=

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

D. Crushing test.
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 It is the percentage by weight of the crushed material obtained when the aggregates
are subjected to a specified load under standardized condition.

12.5mm
to 10mm

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Procedure.
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 Take 5 kg of aggregate passing through 12.5 mm and retained on 10 mm. The aggregates may be
dried by heating at 100 C to 110 C for not more than 4 hours and cooled to room temperature before
testing.
 Take 3.25 kg of this material (W1)
 Pour aggregates to fill about just more than 1/3 depth of measuring cylinder.
 Compact the material by giving 25 gentle blows with the rounded end of tampering rod.
 Add two more layers in similar manner such that the cylinder is full.
 Remove the excess material with a straight edge.
 Place the plunger on the top of the test specimen and put whole apparatus in the compression testing
machine.
 Load the specimen with a total load of 40 T at rate of 4 T/min.
 Remove the test cylinder from the compression machine and sieve the aggregates through 2.36 mm
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sieve. Cut material passing through 2.36 mm sieve (W2)
 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)
Observation
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Sample Sample 2
1
Total wt of dry material W1

Wt of material passing through 2.36 mm sieve W2

Aggregates crushing value in % = W2 X1 X2

x100
W1

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E. Impact test.
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 The property of a material to resist impact is known as

toughness.
 Due to movement of vehicles on the road, the aggregates are
subjected to impact resulting in their breaking down into
smaller pieces.
 Thus, aggregates should have sufficient strength to resist
such impact. So, aggregates impact value is a measure of
resistance to sudden impact or shock.

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Procedure:
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 Test sample includes material passing through 12.5 mm and retained on 10.0 mm.
 Pour the aggregates to fill about just 1/3 depth of measuring cylinder.
 Compact the material by giving 25 blows with tamping rod.
 Add two more layers in similar manner.
 Strike off the surplus aggregates.
 Determine net wt of the aggregates.
 Place test sample on cylindrical cup and compact by giving 25 gentle stroke with
tamping rod.
 Raise hammer and allow to freely falling on aggregates.
 Remove crushed aggregates from cup and sieve it through 2.36 mm sieve. Wt fraction
passing and retained on sieve.
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Sample 1 Sample 2
Total wt of dry sample taken W1
Wt of portion passing 2.36 mm sieve (W2)

Aggregate impact value

W2
x100
W1

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

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Sn Aggregates impact value Remarks

1 Less than 10 % Exceptionally strong

2 10 to 20 % Strong
3 10 to 30 % Satisfactory for road surfacing

4 Greater than 30% Weak for road surfacing.

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

F. Los Angeles Abrasion Test on Aggregates

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 Los Angeles abrasion test on aggregates is the measure of aggregate toughness and
abrasion resistance such as crushing, degradation and disintegration.
 The aggregate used in surface course of the highway pavements are subjected to
wearing due to movement of traffic.
 When vehicles move on the road, the soil particles present between the pneumatic
tyres and road surface cause abrasion of road aggregates
 The principle of Los Angeles abrasion test is to produce abrasive action by use of
standard steel balls which when mixed with aggregates and rotated in a drum for
specific number of revolutions also causes impact on aggregates.
 The percentage wear of the aggregates due to rubbing with steel balls is determined
and is known as Los Angeles Abrasion Value.
 An abrasive charge consisting of cast iron spherical balls of 48 mm diameters and
weight 340-445 g is placed in the cylinder along with the aggregates.
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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Determination of Los Angeles Abrasion Value

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The Los Angeles abrasion test on aggregates are done for following purposes:
 To determine the Los Angeles abrasion value.

 To find the suitability of aggregates for use in road construction.

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Procedure for Los Angeles Test

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 Select the grading to be used in the test such that it conforms to the grading to be used
in construction, to the maximum extent possible.
 Take 5 kg of sample for gradings A, B, C & D and 10 kg for gradings E, F & G.
 Choose the abrasive charge as per Table 2 depending on grading of aggregates.
 Place the aggregates and abrasive charge on the cylinder and fix the cover.
 Rotate the machine at a speed of 30 to 33 revolutions per minute. The number of
revolutions is 500 for gradings A, B, C & D and 1000 for gradings E, F & G. The
machine should be balanced and driven such that there is uniform peripheral speed.
 The machine is stopped after the desired number of revolutions and material is
discharged to a tray.
 The entire stone dust is sieved on 1.70 mm IS sieve.
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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Table 2
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Grading No of Steel balls Weight of charge in gm.

A 12 5000 ± 25
B 11 4584 ±25
C 8 3330 ± 20
D 6 2500 ± 15
E 12 5000 ± 25
F 12 5000 ± 25
G 12 5000 ± 25
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Observations of Los Angeles Test

 Original weight of aggregate sample = W1 g

 Weight of aggregate sample retained = W2 g

 Weight passing 1.7mm IS sieve = W1 – W2 g

 Abrasion Value = (W1 – W2 ) / W1 X 100

Results
 Los Angeles Abrasion Value =

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Recommended Los Angeles Test Values for Pavements

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Max. permissible abrasion

Sl. No. Type of Pavement
value in %
1 Water bound macadam sub base course 60

2 WBM base course with bituminous surfacing 50

3 Bituminous bound macadam 50

4 WBM surfacing course 40
5 Bituminous penetration macadam 40

Bituminous surface dressing, cement concrete surface

6 35
course

7 Bituminous concrete surface course 30

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F. Soundness Test
 Study of resistance of aggregates to disintegrate due to alternate cycle of dry and
wet condition conducting accelerated weathering test cycle
Procedure
 Weight and count the dry and clean aggregate of specific size.

 Immersed in the saturated solution of sodium sulphate or magnesium sulphate for

16 to 18 hours.
 Oven dry the specimen at 105-110°C thus making one cycle of immersion and
drying.
 The average loss in weight of aggregates to be used in pavement construction after

10 cycles should not exceed 12 percent when tested with sodium sulphate and 18
percent when tested with magnesium sulphate 10/17/2022
 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

G. Determination of Specific Gravity of Fine Aggregate

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 Specific gravity of fine aggregate (sand) is the ratio of the weight of given volume
of aggregates to the weight of equal volume of water.

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Procedure of Test
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 Take about 500g of sample and place it in the pycnometer.

 Pour distilled water into it until it is full.
 Eliminate the entrapped air by rotating the pycnometer on its side ,the hole in the apex of the cone being
covered with a finger.
 Wipe out the outer surface of pycnometer and weigh it (W)
 Transfer the contents of the pycnometer into a tray , care being taken to ensure that all the aggregate is
transferred .
 Refill the pycnometer with distilled water to the same level .
 Find out the weight (W1)
 Drain water from the sample through a filter paper .
 Place the sample in oven in a tray at a temperature of 100ºC to 110º C for 24±0.5 hours ,during which
period ,it is stirred occasionally to facilitate drying .
 Cool the sample and weigh it (W2)
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Calculations
 Apparent specific gravity = (Weight of dry sample/Weight of equal volume of water )

= W2/(W2- (W1-W2))

Apparent specific gravity

the ratio of the mass of a volume of the impermeable portion of
a material at a stated temperature to the mass of an equal
volume of distilled water at a stated temperature

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 5. Bituminous Road Binder
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 Bituminous binder used in pavement construction work includes bitumen and tar.
 Bituminous materials or asphalts are extensively used for roadway construction,
primarily because of their excellent binding characteristics and water proofing
properties and relatively low cost.
 Though the tar is different than bitumen in all aspect, the tar is discussed here as it is
also used as a binding material and that it falls in the group of organic binding material

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 Classification of road binder
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1.Bitumen
 Bitumen is a viscous liquid or solid material,

 black or dark brown in color,

 having adhesive properties,

 consisting essentially of hydrocarbon,

 derived from crude oil fractional distillation of petroleum or natural asphalt and
soluble in carbon disulphide.
 Because of their water proofing and binding character, they are used in road
construction.
 There may be petroleum bitumen or natural bitumen depending upon their source of
origin

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A. NATURAL BITUMEN
 Extracted from natural rock or native asphalt (lake)

NATIVE LAKE ASPHALT

 Sometimes crude petroleum comes up through cracks in earth crust to the surface
where sun and wind drive away lighter oils leaving behind a black and plastic
material on the top of the earth’s surface, called asphalt.
 Largest natural deposition of bitumen occurs in the island of Trinidad- “Trinidad
Asphalt Lake”.

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 ROCK ASPHALT
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 Some lime stones or sand stones deposition are found in combination with crude oil,
which is known as natural rock asphalt.
 Native asphalt which are associated with a large proportion of mineral matter are
called rock asphalt.

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B. PETROLEUM ASPHALT
 By product of the fractional distillation of petroleum at refinery plant

 When the residue is further processed to a definite consistency without additional

treatment, the product is known as straight run bitumen.
 Straight run bitumen is classified into 9 different grades from 15 - 450 penetration
grades.

Liquid Bitumen
 For the workability it is normal to heat the bitumen before use in road construction

 When it is undesirable and not necessary to use hard bitumen, preference is given to
use of liquid binders such as cutback and emulsion.

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a. Cutback Bitumen
 Bitumen whose viscosity has been reduced by using volatile solvent. (Kerosene or diesel)
 Importance features of the cutback are its viscosity and the rate at which it sets.
 Rate of setting is the rate at which its solvent evaporates.
 The purpose of cutback is to increase fluidity.
 Increasing fluidity has the following advantages.
 Substitute of Heating
 Suitable for direct application
 Liquefying effect remains for longer period.
 Good manual mixing
 Can be transported for long distance.

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 Based on the rate of curing cutback bitumen is classified into three types:
 Slow curing (SC): solvent is low volatile (diesel) and non volatile oils and used for
premix with appreciable quantity of fine aggregates.
 Medium curing (MC): if the fluidity is increased by adding medium volatile
(kerosene) and recommended for premix with less quantity of fine aggregates
 Rapid curing (RC): mixing the bitumen with highly volatile (gasoline) agent and
recommended for surface dressing and patchwork

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b. Bitumen Emulsion
 The bitumen content in the emulsion is around 60% and the remaining is water.

 It is not soluble in an aqueous medium.

 When emulsion is applied on the road, it breaks down resulting in release of water
evaporated slowly and the mix starts binding to set
 Bitumen emulsions are ideal binders for hill road construction where heating of

bitumen or aggregates are difficult.

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 Bituminous emulsions may be Rapid setting (RS), Medium setting (MS), and Slow setting
(SS).
 RS emulsions are used for surface dressing work.
 MS emulsions are preferred for premix jobs and patch repairs work.
 SS emulsions are preferred in rainy season.

 Advantages of bitumen emulsion:

 Reduces environmental pollution
 Can be used, when relatively cold weather.
 Ideal for patching and repair work (because they do not require heating before use)
 Useful for sealing cracks.

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2. Road Tar
 It is viscous liquid, black in color, with adhesive properties obtained by the
fractional distillation of crude tar produced by destructive distillation of coal, wood,
shale etc.
 Destructive distillation- is the process of heating in the absence of air.

 Road tar is produced:

 Carbonization (Destructive distillation) of coal or wood to produce crude tar.

 Fractional distillation of crude tar

 Blending of residue of crude tar with distillate oil fraction to give the desired road
tar.

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Types of Road Tar:

 IS classifies road tar in five different grades:

 RT-1, RT-2, RT-3, RT-4 and RT-5 based on viscosity. RT- 1 grade have very low

viscosity and RT-5 has highest.

 Typical use:

 RT-1 grade tar is for surface painting exceptionally at cold

 RT-2 for standard surface painting

 RT-3 for surface painting and premixing chips for top course

 RT-4 for premixing macadam in base course

 RT-5 is commonly used for grouting because of its highest viscosity

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A. Consistency Test:
 Indicates the property of binder to flow.

 It is the function of temperature.

B. Composition Test:
 To determine the properties of specific fractions and components of the bituminous
binder.
C. Specific Gravity Test:
 Comparing specific gravity of the supplied bitumen with the specific gravity of

standard bitumen also gives rough idea in its purity.

D. Safety Test:
 Flash and fire point test is the most common test in this category.
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A. Consistency Test:
1. Penetration Test:
 Measurement of hardness of bitumen under specified temperature.

 The test consists of determining how far a standard steel needle will penetrate
vertically into binder under standard condition of temperature.
 Temperature is 25 degree Celsius, weight is 100gm, and time is 5 sec.

 Apparatus:

 Penetrometer consists of a needle assembly with a total of 100 gm and device for
releasing and locking in any position.
 A graduated dial to read penetration values.

 Needle

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Procedure:
 The bitumen is softened to a pouring consistency, stirred
thoroughly and poured into containers at a depth at least 15 mm in
excess of the expected penetration.
 The sample container is placed in a temperature controlled water

bath at a temperature of 25°C for one hour.

 The sample container is taken out and the needle is arranged to

make contact with the surface of the sample.

 The dial is set to zero or the initial reading is taken and the needle
is released for 5 seconds. The final reading is taken on dial gauge.
 Three penetration tests are made on this sample by testing at

distances of at least 10 mm apart. 10/17/2022

56

Significance:
 A grade of 40/50 bitumen means the penetration value is in the range 40 to 50 at
standard test conditions.
 Bitumen with low penetration values(<20) are known for bad cracking.

 Lower penetration grade are recommended for hot climates and higher penetration
grade in cold climates

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2. Ductility Test
 The ductility of the bituminous binder is expressed as the distance in centimeters
that a standard briquette will elongate before breaking.
 The binders which do not possess sufficient ductility would crack under repeated
traffic loads.
 The test measures the adhesiveness and elasticity of bitumen

 Apparatus:

 The test is carried out in a standard ductility test apparatus. Specified conditions
for ductility test are:
 Mould - 8 shaped standard dimension

 Temperature - 27°C

 Pull rate - 50 mm/min

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Significance:
 Ductility value is the measure of adhesiveness and elasticity of bitumen.

 It varies from 5 to 100 cm . Most appropriate value is 50 cm.

 Ductile bitumen forms thin ductile films around aggregate.

 Brittle bitumen doesn’t form films & does crack under lower adverse temperature.

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3. Viscosity test
 Defined as the inverse of fluidity and indicates fluid property of bituminous material.
 This property greatly influences on the ability of bituminous material to spread, penetrate into voids
and also coat the aggregates.
 Highly viscous binder may not fill up the voids completely resulting in poor density whereas lower
viscous binder does not hold the aggregates together but just acts as lubricant.
 Generally it is carried out for cutback, emulsion and road tar. Specified Conditions of Test:
 Apparatus
 Orifice type Viscometer
 Diameter - 4 and 10 mm
 Temperature – 25 degree Celsius & 40 degree Celsius
 Quantity of Binder - 50 cc
 Time taken to flow - Sec – Viscosity. 10/17/2022
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Significance
 The viscosity of the bitumen and tar binder carries in a very wide range of 10-
140 seconds. The viscosity values should therefore be mentioned with the test
temperature and orifice size in every case.
 Very low viscous binder used in exceptionally cold weather whereas high viscous

has to be heated before application.

 Equi-viscous temperature (evt) is defined as the temperature at which viscosity is

50 seconds.

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4. Float Test
 When it is not possible to carry out the viscosity or
penetration test to determine the consistency, this test is
carried out.
 A float made of aluminum and a brass collar (mould) filled

with sample material to be tested is used. Specimen should

be at 50 degree Celsius.
 Float assembly is floated in water bath at 50 degree Celsius.

The time required in seconds for water to force its way

through the bitumen plug is noted as “float test value”.
 Higher this value material is stiffer.

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5. Softening Point
 Temperature at which the bitumen attains a particular degree of softening under
specified conditions of test.
 It is carried out in Ring & ball test apparatus. It consists of brass Ring and Steel

ball.
 Ring is plugged with the sample of bitumen & then heated of 50 degree Celsius per
minute till the bitumen softens and touches the bottom of metal plate placed at
specified distance below the ring.
 This temperature is the softening point of bitumen

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 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

BITUMINOUS MIXES AND ASPHALT CONCRETE

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 Bitumen mixes are composed of a mixture of aggregates (coarse and fine) with
bituminous binder with or without mineral filler.

1. Coarse aggregate:
 Material retain on 4.75 mm sieve,

 Offer compressive and shear strength and shows good interlocking properties. E.g.

Granite
2. Fine aggregate
 Material passes on 4.75 mm sieve

 Retain on 75 micron (0.075 mm) and

 Fills the voids in the coarse aggregate and stiffens the binder. E.g. Sand, Rock dust.
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3. Mineral filler
 Dust ingredient passes 75 micron and

 Fills the voids, stiffens the binder and offers permeability. E.g. Rock dust,

cement, lime

4. Binder
 Fills the voids, cause particle adhesion and gluing and

 Offers impermeability. E.g. Bitumen, Asphalt, Tar

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Design of bitumen mixes

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 Design procedure

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 Selection of aggregates
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Description Maximum percent

Aggregates impact value 24
Los Angeles abrasion value 30
Combines flakiness and elongation index 30
Stripping test 5
Soundness test:
1. loss with sodium sulphate 5 cycles 12
2. Loss with magnesium sulphate 5 cycle 18
Water absorption 2

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 Selection of binder
depends upon the nature of traffic and climatic conditions
penetration grade bitumen is considered suitable
71

Uses Hot arid Hot humid Moderate Cold

Highway
1. Heavy and very 30/40 or 60/70 60/70 80/100 80/100
heavy traffic
2. Medium to light 80/100 80/100 80/100 80/100
traffic
Street
1. Heavy and very 30/40 or 60/70 60/70 80/100 80/110
heavy traffic
2. Medium to light 80/100 80/100 80/100 80/100
traffic
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• Determination of optimum binder content

To ensure resistance of pavement mix to deformation under load
Two methods:
1. Surface Area Concept
 Binder must be enough to form thin film around all minerals particles.

 Excess of bitumen cause flow of the mix and various surface distortion.

2. Void concept method

 Void in minerals mass must be minimized to improve the stability by the selection of
appropriate well graded materials
 Binder should not take more space in the voids available in minerals mass

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Marshall test and design procedure

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 Used in designing and evaluation of bituminous paving mixes.

 Major features of the Marshall method of designing mixes are to determine the two
important properties of strength and flexibility.
 In this test, an attempt is made to obtain optimum binder content for the type of
aggregate mix used and the expected traffic intensity.
 Strength is measured in term of the ‘Marshall’s Stability’ of the mix which is defined
as the maximum load carried by a compacted specimen at a standard test temperature
of 60°c .
 Flexibility is measured in term of the “flow value” which is measured by the change
in diameter of the sample in the direction of load application between the start of
loading and the time of maximum load.
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DESIGN STEPS
 Select aggregate grading
 Determine the proportion of each aggregate size required to produce the design grading.
 Determine the specific gravity of the aggregate combination and asphalt cement.
 Prepare the trial specimens with varying asphalt contents.
 Determine the specific gravity of each compacted specimen.
 Perform stability tests on the specimens.
 Calculate the percentage of voids, and percent voids filled with Bitumen in each
specimen.
 Select the optimum binder content from the data obtained.
 Evaluate the design with the design requirements.
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Procedure
 In the Marshall test method of mix design three compacted samples are prepared for
each binder content.
 At least four binder contents are to be tested to get the optimum binder content.

 All the compacted specimens are subject to the following tests:

 Bulk density determination.

 Stability and flow test.

 Density and voids analysis.

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 Theoretical specific gravity of mix

W 1  W 2  W 3  W 4  Wb Wm
Gt  
V 1  V 2  V 3  V 4  Vb Vm  Va

 Bulk specific gravity of mix,

Wm
Gm 
Vm

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Percentage air voids (va)

81

Wm
Va Vm  (Vm  Va) Gt Gm
va  100  x100  (1  ) x100  (1  ) x100
Vm Vm Wm Gt
Gm

Where,
Gt = Specific gravity of the mix
Gm = Bulk specific gravity of the mix

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 Percentage volume of bitumen (vb)
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Wb
Vb Gb Wb Gm
vb  x100  x100  x100 x
Vm Wm Wm Gb
Gm
Voids in mineral aggregates
VMA= va+vb
Voids filled with bitumen, VFB
vb
VFB  x100
v a  vb 10/17/2022
 By: Raju Bhele (Kathmandu University)

Prepare graphical plots

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