IJSRD - International Journal for Scientific Research & Development| Vol.

5, Issue 09, 2017 | ISSN (online): 2321-0613

Performance and Design of Cold Mix Asphalt

Amit Bharmane1 Shravan Kumar2
1,2
Assistant Professor
1,2
Kommuri Pratap Reddy Institute of Technology, India
Abstract— Hot mix technology has seen significant rural road projects involving several Lakhs and Crores of
advances through many research programs. Cold mix rupees are beyond time. Due to topographical and weather
technology is lagging behind in both research and constraints, it is difficult to work with hot mix technology in
application fields which is quite observable in a developing such hilly regions, heavy rainfall and forest zones. So, it is
country like India. In the absence of uniformity in the desirable to find out a suitable alternative for hot mix
laboratory cold mix design procedures followed by different technology. In the emulsion based cold mix technology, the
researchers / agencies / organization, it is difficult to form addition of pre-wetting water to the aggregate, thereafter
reliable correlations and to have a comparative study addition of emulsion to it, production of the mix, laying and
between experimental results reported by them. The mix compaction, all processes are done at the room temperature
parameters selected for the present work are (i) Method of (23ºC to 25ºC). In addition to this, field trials have proved
compaction, (ii) level of compaction, (iii) additives and that cold mix can be easily produced by using hot mix plant
(iv)aggregate gradation. The first three parameters are and laid in using similar techniques. It is also a labour
selected for their importance as presented in a number of friendly technology.
previous research works. It is observed that Bailey method
for gradation selection is the only method for HMA/SMA II. METHODOLOGY
mixture which analyses the aggregate gradations both
A. Materials Used
considering the blend by volume as well as blend by weight.
In this study Bailey’s concept has been considered for cold 1) Aggregates:
mix design. All the mix parameters have been selected to For preparation of cold mixes, two types of aggregate
assess the effect on Marshall Properties of CMA mixture. gradations such as dense gradation (BC) and gap gradation
Initially a suitable experimental methodology has been (SMA) were taken as per MORTH (2001) and IRC:SP:79
prepared and then the effects of selected mix parameters on (2008) specifications.
performance of compacted mix are studied. Finally a 2) Coarse Aggregates:
comparative study for above results has been done on basis Raw materials consisted of stone chips were collected from
of the Marshall Stability and air void content of the cold a local source. Aggregates up to 4.75 mm are sieve size
mix. Considering all the selected mix parameters it is were used as coarse aggregate. Its specific gravity was
observed that only in case of gyratory compaction the found to be 2.75 as per IS: 2386 (Part-III) procedure.
adequate. Air void range (3 to 5 %) in cold mixes can be 3) Fine Aggregates:
achieved. Besides, though each and every parameter has Raw materials consisted of stone crusher dusts were
contributed to increase the Marshall Stability of cold mixes, collected from a local crusher. Aggregates with fractions
cement and developed gradations have shown more passing 4.75 mm and retained on 0.075 mm IS sieve was
significant increase in stability of cold mixes. used as fine aggregates. Its specific gravity was found to be
Key words: Cold Mix Method, Thanaya, MORTH, Binder, 2.62 as per IS: 2386 (Part-III) procedures.
Marshall Stability, Gyratory 4) Filler:
Raw materials for stone crusher dusts were collected from a
I. INTRODUCTION local crusher while fly ash, lime and portland slag cement
(Grade 43) were collected from local market. Materials are
Several ambitious road construction plans and activities passing 0.075 mm IS sieve was used as filler material.
primarily involve bituminous pavements with hot mix
Specific gravity for stone crusher dusts, fly ash, lime and
technology. Hot mix technology which is a very
cement were found to be 2.7, 2.2, 2.3 and 3.07 respectively.
conventional method for road construction, has structurally
5) Binder:
satisfied the performance requirements over many years.
Cationic medium setting (CMS) Bitumen emulsion collected
The procedures generally followed by the hot mix from the reliable source was used in this investigation to
technology are : heating of binder and aggregate, mixing, prepare the samples. Its residual asphalt content was found
tack coating, laying of mix followed by the compaction
to be 65.4%.
process everything done at high temperature in a range of
120ºC to 165ºC temperature. Though performance wise this B. Laboratory Tests
has been the most suitable for pavement structures, but their 1) Marshall Test:
high use have several drawbacks like environmental The specimen is loaded diametrically at a deformation rate
degradation, high energy consumption, increase in carbon of 50 mm per minute. There are two major features of the
footprint, low output for mix production, low laying work in Marshall method of mix design. (i) density-voids analysis
rains and cold weather, limited construction period in a year, and (ii) stability-flow tests.
oxidative hardening of binder, health and safety hazard to 2) Gyratory compaction:
labour (Pundhir et al., 2012). Besides this, in some North The parameters used in the present study are the 100 mm
and North Eastern parts of India like Jammu and Kashmir, diameter mould, 1.25° gyratory angle 30 rpm gyration rate,
Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and others, 4.711kN vertical load on 100mm diameter specimen.

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 Performance and Design of Cold Mix Asphalt
(IJSRD/Vol. 5/Issue 09/2017/245)

3) Static Indirect Tensile Strength Test: ORAC (Soaked Retained Stability (Dry
A loading rate of 50 mm/minute was adopted. The load was Stability Test)Retained Stability Test at ORAC)
applied and the failure load was noted from the dial gauge of Stability (Dry Stability
the proving ring. The tensile strength of the specimen was Test at ORAC)
calculated by using the formula given in ASTM D 6931
(2007) and mentioned in equation below. III. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
St = (2000 × P) / (π × t × D)
Marshall compaction (50 Gyratory compaction (40
4) Static Creep Test:
blows) gyrations)
In this case there are two stages: 1) a vertical load of 0.55
Dense graded Gap graded Dense Gap graded
kN was applied for 60 minutes. The deformation was
mix mix graded mix mix
registered during 10 minutes intervals using a dial gauge
graduated in units of 0.002 mm. 2) its deformation was Marshall Marshall Marshall Marshall
registered during next 10 minutes at 5 minutes interval of Stability= stability= Stability= Stability=
time. 5.88kN 3.46kN 6.02kN 4.54kN
Air Air void = Air void = Air void =
C. Cold Mix Design Method Procedure void=8.32% 9.22 % 4.82 % 4.91 %
All the processes are clearly elaborated in following steps Table 2: Marshall Stability and Air Void Results of Cold
are given below. Mixes for Marshall and Gyratory Compaction
1) Determination of Aggregate Gradation: Comparative study between dense graded and gap
This simply follows standard specifications for aggregate graded cold mixes: From the comparative study it was
gradation selection. Determination of Initial Residual observed that though gyratory compaction method did not
Asphalt Content (IRAC) and the Initial Emulsion Content show much influence on the Marshall Stability but it was
(IEC): highly effective to reduce the air void content in cold mix
Initial Residual Asphalt Content (IRAC) is calculated asphalt and to get the adequate air void range (3 to 5 %)
utilizing an empirical formula: even at 40 numbers of gyrations.
IRAC = (0.05 A + 0.1 B + 0.5 C) × (0.7).IEC is calculated
using formula: IEC = IRAC / [X (in %)].
2) Test and Determination of optimum pre-wetting water
content (OPWC):
Using the IEC value coating test is carried out by mixing dry
aggregates and filler with varied amount of water.
3) Dry Stability Test and Determination of Optimum Total
Liquid Content at Compaction (OTLC):
Utilizing the IEC, the mix is compacted at the
predetermined compaction level (50 Marshall blows on each
side of the sample).This test gives the OTLC at which the
dry stability of the sample is maximum.
4) Soaked Stability Test and Variation of Residual Asphalt
Content (RAC):
By maintaining a constant OTLC value, the RAC is varied
in a range of 7 to 10 % emulsion content (EC) value with
0.5 % increment in RAC. Specimens are mixed, compacted Fig. 1: Marshall Stability Results of Cold Mixes for
at each of these RAC values. Marshall and Gyratory Compaction
5) Determination of Optimum Residual Asphalt Content
(ORAC):
ORAC is determined by optimizing the parameters such as
soaked stability, air void, flow value for soaked samples of
all residual asphalt content (RAC) variation.
Determination of Retained Stability: Retained stability is the
ratio of soaked stability to dry stability.
Marshall compaction Gyratory compaction
Determination of Determination of Aggregate
Aggregate gradation (As gradation (As per
per Specifications) Specifications)IRAC and IEC
IRAC and IEC (As per (As per MS 14 formula)
MS 14 formula) OPWC (Coating Test)
OPWC (Coating Test) Compaction Level i.e. number
50 blows of compaction of gyrations to achieve air void
level.(as per MORTH) target (Dry Stability Test)
OTLC(Dry Stability OTLC (Dry Stability Test) Fig. 2: Air Void Results of Cold Mixes for Marshall and
Test) ORAC (Soaked Stability Test) Gyratory compaction

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 Performance and Design of Cold Mix Asphalt
(IJSRD/Vol. 5/Issue 09/2017/245)

IV. LITERATURE REVIEW

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH, 2001)
specification for Road and Bridge Works (Fourth Revision)
introduced the procedures for bituminous cold mix. The
design guidelines were based on those of Asphalt Institute
Manual Series 14 (MS 14). During the literature review it
was observed that Thanaya (2007) provided some useful
recommendations for the cold mix design procedure. The
main difference between the procedures provided by MS 14
and Thanaya is the optimum total liquid content (OTLC)
and optimum residual asphalt content (ORAC)
determination process. To determine the ORAC value, MS
14 suggested to conduct both dry stability and soaked
stability test at each residual asphalt content (RAC) while
Thanaya suggested to conduct only soaked stability test at
each RAC and to find out the dry stability value only at
ORAC to determine the retained stability. Later one is more
efficient and economic.

V. CONCLUSIONS
1) Initial stability of the mix is dependent on optimum
total liquid content (OTLC) of the compacted mix. At
same binder content higher the total liquid content,
greater is the curing time to obtain full strength of the
mix.
2) Increase in number of gyrations has resulted in the
increased stability and reduced air void content of
compacted cold mixes.
3) Comparing lime and fly ash as substituted for filler,
greater stability but higher air void content is noticed in
case of cold mixes modified with lime.
4) The Bailey method for gradation selection has been
found to be effective for improving the stability of both
dense and gap graded cold mixes even without addition
of cement.
In between dense and gap graded cold mixes,
though the dense graded mixes has resulted in higher
stability value.
5) Considering all the selected mix parameters it is noticed
that only in case of gyratory compaction the adequate
air void range (3 to 5 %) in cold mixes has been
achieved.

REFERENCES
[1] AASHTO R 35 (2009), “Superpave Volumetric Design
for Hot‐Mix Asphalt (HMA)”, American Association of
State and Highway Transportation Officials, USA
[2] Gyratory Compactor Manual Code: B041 (2012),
“Instruction Manual”, Material Testing Equipment
(MATEST)
[3] Asphalt Institute Manual Series No.14 (MS-14) (1997),
“Asphalt cold mix manual (Third Edition)”, Lexington,
KY 40512-4052 USA
[4] MORTH (2001), “Specifications for Road and Bridge
Works (Fourth Revision)”,Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways, New Delhi, Section 500, bituminous
cold mix, Clause 519.1., pp. 227-232.

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