DETAILED THEORY ON BITUMINOUS MATERIALS:

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. Bituminous materials consists of bitumen which is a black or dark coloured solid or
viscous cementitious substances consists chiefly high molecular weight hydrocarbons derived
from distillation of petroleum or natural asphalt, has adhesive properties, and is soluble in
carbon disulphide. Tars are residues from the destructive distillation of organic substances such
as coal, wood, or petroleum and are temperature sensitive than bitumen. Bitumen will be
dissolved in petroleum oils where unlike tar.

Production of Bitumen

Bitumen is the residue or by-product when the crude petroleum is refined. A wide variety of
refinery processes, such as the straight distillation process, solvent extraction process etc. may
be used to produce bitumen of different consistency and other desirable properties. Depending
on the sources and characteristics of the crude oils and on the properties of bitumen required,
more than one processing method may be employed.

Vacuum steam distillation of petroleum oils

In the vacuum-steam distillation process the crude oil is heated and is introduced into a large
cylindrical still. Steam is introduced into the still to aid in the vaporisation of the more volatile
constituents of the petroleum and to minimise decomposition of the distillates and residues.
The volatile constituents are collected, condensed, and the various fractions stored for further
refining, if needed. The residues from this distillation are then fed into a vacuum distillation
unit, where residue pressure and steam will further separate out heavier gas oils. The bottom
fraction from this unit is the vacuum-steam-refined asphalt cement. The consistency of asphalt
cement from this process can be controlled by the amount of heavy gas oil removed. Normally,
asphalt produced by this process is softer. As the asphalt cools down to room temperature, it
becomes a semi solid viscous material.

Different forms of bitumen

Cutback bitumen

Normal practice is to heat bitumen to reduce its viscosity. In some situations preference is given
to use liquid binders such as cutback bitumen. In cutback bitumen suitable solvent is used to
lower the viscosity of the bitumen. From the environmental point of view also cutback bitumen
is preferred. The solvent from the bituminous material will evaporate and the bitumen will bind
the aggregate. Cutback bitumen is used for cold weather bituminous road construction and
maintenance. The distillates used for preparation of cutback bitumen are naphtha, kerosene,
diesel oil, and furnace oil. There are different types of cutback bitumen like rapid curing (RC),
medium curing (MC), and slow curing (SC). RC is recommended for surface dressing and
patchwork. MC is recommended for premix with less quantity of fine aggregates. SC is used
for premix with appreciable quantity of fine aggregates.
Bitumen Emulsion

Bitumen emulsion is a liquid product in which bitumen is suspended in a finely divided

condition in an aqueous medium and stabilised by suitable material. Normally cationic type
emulsions are used in India. The bitumen content in the emulsion is around 60% and the
remaining is water. When the emulsion is applied on the road it breaks down resulting in release
of water and the mix starts to set. The time of setting depends upon the grade of bitumen. The
viscosity of bituminous emulsions can be measured as per IS: 8887-1995. Three types of
bituminous emulsions are available, which are Rapid setting (RS), Medium setting (MS), and
Slow setting (SC). Bitumen emulsions are ideal binders for hill road construction. Where
heating of bitumen or aggregates are difficult. Rapid setting emulsions are used for surface
dressing work. Medium setting emulsions are preferred for premix jobs and patch repairs work.
Slow setting emulsions are preferred in rainy season.

Bituminous primers

In bituminous primer the distillate is absorbed by the road surface on which it is spread. The
absorption therefore depends on the porosity of the surface. Bitumen primers are useful on the
stabilised surfaces and water bound macadam base courses. Bituminous primers are generally
prepared on road sites by mixing penetration bitumen with petroleum distillate.

Requirements of Bitumen

The desirable properties of bitumen depend on the mix type and construction. In general,
Bitumen should posses following desirable properties.

 The bitumen should not be highly temperature susceptible: during the hottest weather
the mix should not become too soft or unstable, and during cold weather the mix should
not become too brittle causing cracks.
 The viscosity of the bitumen at the time of mixing and compaction should be adequate.
This can be achieved by use of cutbacks or emulsions of suitable grades or by heating
the bitumen and aggregates prior to mixing.
 There should be adequate affinity and adhesion between the bitumen and aggregates
used in the mix.

Tests on bitumen

There are a number of tests to assess the properties of bituminous materials. The following
tests are usually conducted to evaluate different properties of bituminous materials.

1. Penetration test
2. Ductility test
3. Softening point test
4. Specific gravity test
5. Viscosity test
6. Flash and Fire point test
7. Float test
8. Water content test
9. Loss on heating test
Penetration test

It measures the hardness or softness of bitumen by measuring the depth in tenths of a millimeter
to which a standard loaded needle will penetrate vertically in 5 seconds. BIS had standardised
the equipment and test procedure. The penetrometer consists of a needle assembly with a total
weight of 100g and a device for releasing and locking in any position. 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 test should be conducted at a specified
temperature of 25 C. It may be noted that penetration value is largely influenced by any
inaccuracy with regards to pouring temperature, size of the needle, weight placed on the needle
and the test temperature. A grade of 40/50 bitumen means the penetration value is in the range
40 to 50 at standard test conditions. In hot climates, a lower penetration grade is preferred. The
Figure 4.1 shows a schematic Penetration Test setup.

Figure 1: Penetration Test Setup

Ductility test

Ductility is the property of bitumen that permits it to undergo great deformation or elongation.
Ductility is defined as the distance in cm, to which a standard sample or briquette of the material
will be elongated without breaking. Dimension of the briquette thus formed is exactly 1 cm
square. The bitumen sample is heated and poured in the mould assembly placed on a plate.
These samples with moulds are cooled in the air and then in water bath at 27 C temperature.
The excess bitumen is cut and the surface is leveled using a hot knife. Then the mould with
assembly containing sample is kept in water bath of the ductility machine for about 90 minutes.
The sides of the moulds are removed, the clips are hooked on the machine and the machine is
operated. The distance up to the point of breaking of thread is the ductility value which is
reported in cm. The ductility value gets affected by factors such as pouring temperature, test
temperature, rate of pulling etc. A minimum ductility value of 75 cm has been specified by the
BIS. Figure 4.2 shows ductility moulds to be filled with bitumen.
 Figure 2: Ductility Test

Softening point test

Softening point denotes the temperature at which the bitumen attains a particular degree of
softening under the specifications of test. The test is conducted by using Ring and Ball
apparatus. A brass ring containing test sample of bitumen is suspended in liquid like water or
glycerin at a given temperature. A steel ball is placed upon the bitumen sample and the liquid
medium is heated at a rate of 5 C per minute. Temperature is noted when the softened bitumen
touches the metal plate which is at a specified distance below. Generally, higher softening point
indicates lower temperature susceptibility and is preferred in hot climates. Figure 4.3 shows
Softening Point test setup.

Figure 3: Softening Point Test Setup

Specific gravity test

In paving jobs, to classify a binder, density property is of great use. In most cases bitumen is
weighed, but when used with aggregates, the bitumen is converted to volume using density
values. The density of bitumen is greatly influenced by its chemical composition. Increase in
aromatic type mineral impurities cause an increase in specific gravity.

The specific gravity of bitumen is defined as the ratio of mass of given volume of bitumen of
known content to the mass of equal volume of water at 27 C. The specific gravity can be
measured using either pycnometer or preparing a cube specimen of bitumen in semi solid or
solid state. The specific gravity of bitumen varies from 0.97 to 1.02.

Viscosity test

Viscosity denotes the fluid property of bituminous material and it is a measure of resistance to
flow. At the application temperature, this characteristic greatly influences the strength of
resulting paving mixes. Low or high viscosity during compaction or mixing has been observed
to result in lower stability values. At high viscosity, it resist the compactive effort and thereby
resulting mix is heterogeneous, hence low stability values. And at low viscosity instead of
providing a uniform film over aggregates, it will lubricate the aggregate particles. Orifice type
viscometers are used to indirectly find the viscosity of liquid binders like cutbacks and
emulsions. The viscosity expressed in seconds is the time taken by the 50 ml bitumen material
to pass through the orifice of a cup, under standard test conditions and specified temperature.
Viscosity of a cutback can be measured with either 4.0 mm orifice at 25 C or 10 mm orifice
at 25 or 40 C.

Figure 4: Viscosity Test

Flash and fire point test

At high temperatures depending upon the grades of bitumen materials leave out volatiles. And
these volatiles catches fire which is very hazardous and therefore it is essential to qualify this
temperature for each bitumen grade. BIS defined the flash point as the temperature at which
the vapour of bitumen momentarily catches fire in the form of flash under specified test
conditions. The fire point is defined as the lowest temperature under specified test conditions
at which the bituminous material gets ignited and burns.

Float test

Normally the consistency of bituminous material can be measured either by penetration test or
viscosity test. But for certain range of consistencies, these tests are not applicable and Float
test is used. The apparatus consists of an aluminum float and a brass collar filled with bitumen
to be tested. The specimen in the mould is cooled to a temperature of 5 C and screwed in to
float. The total test assembly is floated in the water bath at 50 C and the time required for
water to pass its way through the specimen plug is noted in seconds and is expressed as the
float value.

Water content test

It is desirable that the bitumen contains minimum water content to prevent foaming of the
bitumen when it is heated above the boiling point of water. The water in a bitumen is
determined by mixing known weight of specimen in a pure petroleum distillate free from water,
heating and distilling of the water. The weight of the water condensed and collected is
expressed as percentage by weight of the original sample. The allowable maximum water
content should not be more than 0.2% by weight.

Loss on heating test

When the bitumen is heated it loses the volatility and gets hardened. About 50gm of the sample
is weighed and heated to a temperature of 163 C for 5hours in a specified oven designed for
this test. The sample specimen is weighed again after the heating period and loss in weight is
expressed as percentage by weight of the original sample. Bitumen used in pavement mixes
should not indicate more than 1% loss in weight, but for bitumen having penetration values
150-200 up to 2% loss in weight is allowed.
Table 1: Tests for Bitumen with IS codes
Type of test Test Method
Penetration Test IS: 1203-1978
Ductility test IS: 1208-1978
Softening Point test IS: 1205-1978
Specific gravity test IS: 1202-1978
Viscosity test IS: 1206-1978
Flash and Fire Point test IS: 1209-1978
Float Test IS: 1210-1978
Determination of water content IS: 1211-1978
Determination of Loss on heating IS:1212-1978
Modified Bitumen

Certain additives or blend of additives called as bitumen modifiers can improve properties of
Bitumen and bituminous mixes. Bitumen treated with these modifiers is known as modified
bitumen. Polymer modified bitumen (PMB)/ crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB) should
be used only in wearing course depending upon the requirements of extreme climatic
variations. The detailed specifications for modified bitumen have been issued by IRC: SP: 53-
1999. It must be noted that the performance of PMB and CRMB is dependent on strict control
on temperature during construction. The advantages of using modified bitumen are as follows

 Lower susceptibility to daily and seasonal temperature variations

 Higher resistance to deformation at high pavement temperature
 Better age resistance properties
 Higher fatigue life for mixes
 Better adhesion between aggregates and binder
 Prevention of cracking and reflective cracking

Need for Modified Bituminous Binders

 Heavy channelized traffic to be carried in hot climate of India; and high tyre pressures in
trucks (need ability to resist permanent deformation/rutting)
 Higher potential for developing fatigue cracking due to repeated loads (need elasticity for
fatigue resistance)
 Higher potential for thermal cracking at sites where pavements are subjected to sub-zero
temperatures for extended periods (need resistance to thermal cracking)

Types of Polymers

 Polymers most often used in modifying bitumen can be grouped in two general
categories: elastomers and plastomers.
 As the name implies, elastomers can be stretched like a rubber band and recover their
shape when the stretching force is released. Therefore, elastomers have the ability to
resist permanent deformation (rutting). Several different types of elastomeric polymers
are used for modifying bitumen.
Examples are: styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) block copolymer; styrene-butadiene
rubber; styrene isoprene styrene (SIS); and ethylene terpolymer (ETP).
 Plastomers form tough, rigid, three dimensional networks within the bitumen. These
plastomers give high initial strength to the bitumen to resist heavy loads. However, they
have lower strain tolerance and may crack at high strains.
Examples of plastomers for modifying bitumen are: ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA);
ethylene butyl acrylate (EBA); polyethylene; and ethylene-methyl-acrylate (EMA)
copolymer.

Crumb Rubber Modified Bitumen (CRMB)

 During the time period when highway engineers in the US were trying to understand
complex polymer modified bitumen (PMB) systems as previously discussed, came
another far more complex and least understood modified binder: crumb rubber modified
 bitumen (CRMB). In the US, CRMB is simply called Asphalt-Rubber (AR) binder.
Rubber from discarded tyres is ground to a particulate or crumb prior to adding it to
bitumen to produce CRMB.

Recommendations for use of modified binders in India.

 It has been well established that modified binders made with different polymers
(elastomers and plastomers) and different modifiers (crumb rubber and natural
rubber) cannot have a common specification. Each type must have its own separate
specification similar to AASHTO, ASTM, IRC: SP:53-1999, or IS: 15462.
 In case of a common specification like in IRC:SP:53-2010, the following
consequences are expected:
(a) lowering the requirements to the level where a weak modifier like crumb rubber
can also qualify, would lower the performance standard for all modifiers;
(b) suppliers of better and more expensive products will tend to downgrade the
quality of their products so as to be more competitive pricewise if that is the
criterion for decision making; and
(c) lowering the quality will come in the way of producing still better products thus
having a negative effect on further R&D activities.