Bitumen

Highway and Traffic Engineering

Course Instructor:
Engr. Waqas Haroon
 Background
• Asphalt has been used in road construction since the
early 1800s.
• It typically comprises graded aggregate mixed with a
bituminous binder which results in a strong but
flexible material with good durability.
• Initially tar was used as the binder which was later
replaced by bitumen which is refined from crude oil.
 Background
• The origins of bitumen as an engineering material date from
3800–3000 BC when it was used as a mortar for masonry and
waterproofing.
• Bitumen is an extremely temperature dependent material
whose response also depends on loading time.
• In most engineering applications of bitumen's, their inherent
temperature susceptibility is utilized to ensure that they are
sufficiently fluid during application and sufficiently stiff
when in use.
 Background
• Importance of temperature-viscosity relationship in terms of bitumen performance.

• Bitumen must be;

o Fluid enough to coat the aggregate

o Viscous enough not to run off the aggregate

o During mixing or transport

o Fluid enough for the mixture to remain workable during compaction

o Viscous enough to carry the traffic

 Brief History

• The term ‘bitumen’ originated in Sanskrit, where the words

jatu meaning pitch and jatu-krit meaning pitch creating,
referred to the pitch produced by certain resinous trees.

• The later Latin equivalent is claimed to be originally gwitu-

men or pixtu-men, which was subsequently shortened to
‘bitumen’ when passing by way of French to English.
 Brief History
• There are also Biblical accounts of the use of bitumen. Noah
used it on the ark and Moses was hidden as a baby in a basket
waterproofed with bitumen.
• In the middle of the nineteenth century attempts were made to
utilize rock asphalt from European deposits (mines) for road
surfacing and from this there was a slow development of the
use of natural asphalt products, followed by the advent of
coal tar and later of bitumen manufactured from crude oil.
 Bitumen Manufacture
• Although ‘natural’ bitumen's, such as Trinidad Lake Asphalt
(TLA), are still used, most present-day applications make use
of bitumen manufactured from crude oil.
• Crude oil consists of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of
different molecular weight produced by nature primarily from
plant life and the remains of marine micro-organisms over
millions of years under varied conditions of temperature and
pressure.
 Crude Oil

• Four principal crude oil producing areas in the world

o USA
o Middle East
o The countries around the Caribbean
o Russia

• Physically, crude oils range from viscous black liquids to free-

flowing straw-colored liquids.
 Crude Oil

• Chemically crude oils are predominantly paraffinic, naphthenic or

aromatic, with combinations of the first two being most common.

• Crude oils vary widely in the amount and nature of the hydrocarbons
they contain.

• Bitumen being the residue left, after the more volatile fractions of the
crude oil have been distilled off, varies significantly from crude to
crude.
 Crude Oil
• The physical state of crude oil is described by its API (American Petroleum
Institute) gravity.
• API gravity is related to the density of the crude oil.
• The API gravity for crude oils generally varies from 10 to 70°.
• It measures that how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is, compared to
water.
• Water has API gravity of 10°.
• Hydrometer is used for the measurement of API gravity.
 Crude Oil
• Crude oils with a low API gravity are viscous with high density and
generally contain a high percentage of bitumen.
• Of the 1300 types of crude oil classified worldwide, only 10% are
suitable for producing bitumen capable of meeting the specifications.
• These crudes are known as ‘bitumen’ crudes and are defined as
‘heavy’ with an API gravity of <20° API.
• These crudes also tend to have a high Sulphur content (>1% by
weight) and are classified as ‘sour’ compared with the low sulphur
content ‘sweet’ crudes used to produce distillate products (LPG (liquid
petroleum gas), naphtha, and kerosene oil etc.
 Bitumen Manufacture

• The manufacture of bitumen is a very sophisticated activity requiring

extensive expertise and considerable financial investment to provide
consistent products meeting the relevant specification requirements.

• Relevant specifications can be found in the European Standard BS

EN12591: 2000
 Bitumen Manufacture
• The manufacture of bitumen from crude oil involves several distillation processes
and, if required, further treatments including air blowing and blending.
• Initially, crude oil is refined by atmospheric fractional distillation to separate gas,
gasoline, kerosene, gas oil and long residue (heaviest fraction consisting of a
complex mixture of high molecular weight hydrocarbons).
• The long residue is then further distilled under vacuum at 350–400°C to produce
short residue, which is the feedstock used in the manufacture of different grades of
bitumen
• The physical properties of the short residue may be further modified by processes
such as air ratification (blowing) or blending of different short residues to produce
a range of bitumen's with different consistencies (degrees of hardness)
• Bitumen manufactured directly from the short residue is known as ‘straight run’
bitumen
Bitumen Manufacture
Bitumen Manufacture
 Distillation
• Atmospheric distillation
o Separation of mixtures by heating, boiling/vaporizing and condensing at
atmospheric pressure
• Vacuum Distillation
o Compounds with high boiling point
o Pressure is reduced to achieve boiling at lower temperatures
o Also good for compounds having boiling temperature greater than their
decomposition temperature
• Fractional distillation/successive distillations also referred as rectification
Production Process
 Cutbacks and Emulsions
• Bitumen Emulsion
o Dispersion of bitumen in water by using some chemical emulsifying agent.
• Bitumen Cutback
o Bitumen is ‘cutback’ by adding controlled amounts of petroleum distillates
such as kerosene. This is done to reduce the viscosity of the bitumen
temporarily so it can penetrate pavements more effectively or to allow
spraying at temperatures that are too cold for successful sprayed sealing with
neat bitumen. The materials used to cutback bitumen will evaporate after
application to leave the remaining material similar in hardness to the original
bitumen.
 Emulsion and Cold Mix Asphalt
• In order to adhere bitumen to aggregate it is important that aggregates
are heated sufficiently to drive off all the moisture.

• This is a costly and energy intensive procedure and has strong

economic and environmental impact.

• Cold-mix technology utilizes a form of bitumen which is workable at

ambient temperatures and which can mix with cold, wet aggregate
cold-mix technology however has its own drawbacks.
Bitumen Emulsions
 Foamed Bitumen
• An alternative form of cold-mix asphalt utilizes bitumen in the form of a
foam
• The foam is produced by the very rapid transformation of water into steam
as it comes into contact with hot (typically 160- 180°C) bitumen, aided by
the addition of air.
• The water content within the foam is generally between 2 and 5% of the
bitumen volume but, once transformed into steam, the foam expands to
many times the volume of the bitumen itself, and in this state, it can readily
be mixed into an aggregate.
 Foamed Bitumen
• The ratio of peak foam volume to original bitumen volume is known as the
‘expansion ratio’, while the time until this peak volume is halved is known
as the ‘half life’.

• The expansion ratio is typically between 5 and 20; the half life is typically
between 10 and 40 seconds

• Emulsions can be stored for months before use, whereas foamed bitumen
has to be used immediately.

• However, the advantage is that foamed bitumen requires less water.

Foamed Bitumen Production
 Bitumen Modification
• Unmodified/virgin/raw bitumen has certain weaknesses;
o It can ‘flow’ at high temperature, leading to pavement
rutting.
o It can fracture at low temperature, leading to pavement
cracking.
o The adhesion between bitumen and aggregate can break
down under a combination of ageing and water attack.
 Polymer
• Bitumen modifications can be generally divided into
three categories
o Polymers
✓ The word Polymer comes from the Greek "poly“ meaning
many, and "meros", meaning parts or units
✓ A substance that has a molecular structure built up from a
large number of similar units bonded together
o Natural rubbers
o Simple chemicals
 Polymers
• Additives are designed to enhance the beneficial properties of bitumen while
retarding the less important ones
• Common examples are;
o Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS)
o Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR)
o Ethyl Vinyl Acetate (EVA)
• These products increase the viscosity (and visco-elastic stiffness) of the bitumen at
high temperatures but not at low temperatures
• They may also give benefit in fatigue life, particularly in the case of SBS
• Polymer usage is a specialist field and not all bitumen's are suited to blending with
all modifiers
• It is quite possible to blend an otherwise excellent additive with a given bitumen
and to achieve no benefit at all
 Natural Rubbers
• Various forms of rubber can be added to bitumen in an
attempt to enhance the ‘resilience’ of a binder, i.e. the
resistance to damage.
• Very recent example and rather hot issue these days is the use
of tire rubber in asphalt mixtures which may be beneficial for
asphalt (debatable) but considered a very environmentally
friendly solution of getting rid of waste tires.
 Simple Chemicals
• Sulphur and manganese have both been used in significant quantities.
• Manganese addition is really just a means of increasing the cross-
linkage of bitumen molecules and thereby increasing viscosity and
stiffness. However, the disadvantage is that the bitumen becomes more
brittle.
• Sulphur, which is a liquid at >115°C, enhances workability at high
temperature; as a solid at in-service temperatures it then acts as
aggregate.
• One of the inevitable problems with bitumen modification is its
complexity and this means that modifications are not as straight-
forward as they seem theoretically.
 Bitumen Chemistry
• A non-polar material but have very small amounts of
polar organic compounds.
• Complex combination of organic molecules which
vary in their composition.
• Components ranging from relatively light oils to high
molecular mass solid asphaltenes.
 Elemental Composition
• Carbon • 82% - 88%
• Hydrogen • 8% - 11%
• Sulphur • 0% - 6%
• Oxygen • 0% - 1.5%
• Nitrogen • 0% - 1%
Molecular Structure
 Fractional Composition
• The individual molecules in a bitumen are large and
non-uniform, varying tremendously in molecular
weight and therefore in resulting physical attributes.
• Separation of bitumen into homogenous fractions.
• Groups or generic fractions based on
o Molecular size
o Chemical reactivity and/or polarity
• SARA (Saturates, Aromatics, Resins & Asphaltenes)
 SARA Analysis
• A method for characterization of heavy oils based on fractionation, whereby
a heavy oil sample is separated into smaller quantities or fractions, with
each fraction having a different composition.
• Fractionation is based on the solubility of hydrocarbon components in
various solvents used in this test.
• Each fraction consists of a solubility class containing a range of different
molecular-weight species.
• In this method, the crude oil is fractionated to four solubility classes,
referred to collectively as SARA: saturates, aromatics, resins, and
asphaltenes
• Saturates are generally paraffins, while aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes
form a continuum of molecules with increasing molecular weight,
aromaticity, and heteroatom contents. Asphaltenes may also contain metals
such as nickel and vanadium
 SARA Analysis
• Asphaltenes
o Asphaltenes are ‘polar’, which means the molecules carry
positive and negative charge at different points and that
bonds between the molecules can therefore form easily.
Basically, the more asphaltenes there are in a bitumen, the
harder and more viscous that bitumen is likely to be
o Insoluble in n-heptane, black or brown amorphous (non-
crystalline) solids (fairly high molecular weight 1,000 -
100,000)
o 5nm - 30nm (30x10-9m) particle size
o Principal viscosity enhancing components, constitute 5% -
25% of the bitumen
 SARA Analysis
• Saturates
o At the other end of the scale, saturates are a lighter non-
polar fraction and they form a ‘soup’ surrounding the
other types of molecule, giving fluidity to the overall
compound
o A bitumen with plenty of saturates will be softer
and have a lower viscosity and may also be more
readily able to ‘heal’, i.e. to self-repair and reform
broken bonds
o Viscous oils, straw or white in color
o 5% - 20% of the bitumen
 SARA Analysis
• Resins
o Resins are highly polar, and they strongly affect
the degree to which asphaltenes are dispersed
within the bitumen
o Soluble in n-heptane, dark brown solid or semi-
solid
o Dispersing agents (peptisers) for asphaltenes
o 1nm - 5nm particle size (molecular weight 500 -
50,000)
o Constitute 5% - 20% of the bitumen
 SARA Analysis
• Aromatics
o Aromatics make up the largest volume fraction;
they are non-polar and act as a solvent to both
asphaltenes and resins
o Dark brown viscous liquids with high dissolving
ability
o 40% - 65% of the total bitumen (lowest molecular
weight 300 - 2,000)
o Resins and aromatics, are intermediate components
in the soup
Schematic Representation of Bitumen
 Bitumen Tests (Physical Properties)
• Needle Penetration Test
• Ring & Ball Softening Point Test
• Viscosity Tests
• Fraass Breaking Point
• Ductility Test
 Viscosity
• High Temperature Measurements
• Absolute Viscosity @ 60°C (poises)
• Kinematic Viscosity @ 135°C (centistokes, 1cSt = 1 mm²/s)
• Rotational Viscometer; torque required to rotate the spindle at a pre-
specified shear rate is measured and converted to viscosity
• 1 Pa.s = 10 P = 1000 cP
• 1 cP = 1 mPa.s
 Viscosity
• In general, about 0.2 Pa.s is required for mixing, giving a
temperature range of 140 to 180°C.
• 30Pa.s is a maximum value for compaction, giving a
minimum compaction temperature of between 70 and 80°C.
• Temperature variations between a hot summer’s day, when
the pavement temperature is well over 40°C, and that
expected in the winter are quite high. It is therefore
immediately obvious that asphalt performance will be quite
different in summer compared to winter.
Viscosity
U-Tube Reverse Flow Viscometer
Rotational Viscometer
 Fraass Breaking Point
• Temperature at which bitumen reaches a critical stiffness and
cracks.
• Fraass temperature is equivalent to the temperature at which
the bitumen has a penetration of 1.25.
• Low Temperature Measurements
• Less than 0°C
• Fracture strength of bitumen
• Steel plaque coated with bitumen is flexed and released
• Temperature of the plaque is reduced at 1°C per minute
Frass Breaking Point
 Bitumen Test Data Chart (BTDC)
• The Bitumen Test Data Chart (BTDC) was developed for
showing the effect of temperature on the mechanical behavior
of bitumen's utilizing an approximate relationship between
penetration and viscosity.
• The BTDC provides a convenient means of plotting routine
bitumen data, enabling interpolation and tentative
extrapolation of data, since the majority of bitumen's produce
data that plot as a straight line on the chart.
BTDC
BTDC
 Penetration Value

Fraass Breaking Point

Softening Point

Viscosity