Introduction

• Bituminous materials are used widely all over the world in highway
construction.
• These hydrocarbons are found in natural deposits or are obtained as a
product of the distillation of crude petroleum.
• The bituminous materials used in highway construction are either
asphalts or tars.

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State of existance
• All bituminous materials have excellent adhesive properties with
colors ranging from dark brown to black.
• They vary in consistency from liquid to solid, i.e., liquids, semisolids,
and solids.
• The liquid form is obtained from the semisolid or solid forms by:
• Heating
• Dissolving in solvents, or
• Breaking the material into minute particles and dispersing them in
water with an emulsifier to form an asphalt emulsion

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Sources of asphalt
Natural Deposits
• Natural deposits of asphalt occur as either Native Asphalt (NA) or Rock Asphalt (RA).
• The largest deposit of NA is known to have existed in Iraq several thousand years ago.
• NA also have been found in Trinidad, Bermuda, and the La Brea asphalt pits in Los
Angeles, California.
• NA (after being softened with petroleum fluxes) was at one time used extensively as
binders in highway construction.
NA Compositions
• The properties of NA vary from one deposit to another, particularly with respect to the
amount of insoluble material the asphalt contains.
• Trinidad: about 40% insoluble organic and inorganic materials
• Bermuda: about 6% of such materials. 3
Types of Bituminous Materials

Bituminous
Materials

Natural Refined
Bitumen Bitumen

Liquid Penetration
Lake Asphalt Rock Asphalt
Bitumen Grade

Cutbacks Emulsioins

Medium
Slow Curing Rapid Curing Anionic Cationic
Curing
Cutback Cutback Emulsion Emulsion
Cutback 4
Types of Asphalt Products:

• Asphalt used in pavements is produced

in 3 forms: Asphalt Cement (AC), asphalt
cutback, and asphalt emulsion.
• As the distribution shifts toward heavier
molecular weights, the asphalt becomes
harder and more viscous.
• At room temperatures, AC is a
semisolid material that cannot be
applied readily as a binder without
being heated.
• Liquid asphalt products, cutbacks and
emulsions, have been developed and can
be used without heating.

5
6
Petroleum Asphalt
• The asphalt materials obtained from the distillation of petroleum include:
• Asphalt Cements (AC)
• Slow-curing
• Medium-curing liquid
• Rapid-curing
• Asphalt emulsions
• Although the liquid asphalts are convenient, they cannot produce a quality of
Asphalt Concrete (ACo) comparable to what can be produced by heating neat AC
and mixing it with carefully selected aggregates.
• AC has excellent adhesive characteristics, which make it a superior binder for
pavement applications.
7
Blown Asphalts
• Blown asphalt is obtained by blowing air through the semisolid residue obtained
during the latter stages of the distillation process.
• The process involves stopping the regular distillation while the residue is in the
liquid form and then transferring it into a tank known as a converter.
• The material is maintained at a high temperature while air is blown through it.
• Blown asphalts are relatively stiff compared to other types of asphalts and can
maintain a firm consistency at the maximum temperature normally experienced
when exposed to the environment.
• Blown asphalt generally is not used as a paving material.
• However, it is very useful as a roofing material, for automobile undercoating,
and as a joint filler for concrete pavements.
8
Cutback
• A cutback is produced by dissolving asphalt cement in a lighter molecular weight
hydrocarbon solvent.
• When the cutback is sprayed on a pavement or mixed with aggregates, the
solvent evaporates, leaving the asphalt residue as the binder.
Three types of cutbacks are produced, depending on the hardness of the residue
and the type of solvent used.
1. Rapid-curing (RC) cutbacks are produced by dissolving hard residue in a highly
volatile solvent, such as gasoline.
2. Medium-curing (MC) cutbacks use medium hardness residue and a less volatile
solvent, such as kerosene.
3. Slow-curing (SC) cutbacks are produced by either diluting soft residue in
nonvolatile or low-volatility fuel oil or by simply stopping the refining process
before all of the fuel oil is removed from the stock. 9
Drawback of Cutback
1. Petroleum costs have escalated, the use of these expensive solvents as a
carrying agent for the AC is no longer cost effective.
2. Cutbacks are hazardous materials due to the volatility of the solvents.
3. Application of the cutback releases environmentally unacceptable
hydrocarbons into the atmosphere.

10
Asphalt emulsion
• The AC is physically broken down into micron-sized globules that are mixed into
water containing an emulsifying agent.
• Emulsified asphalts typically consist of about 60% to 70% AC, 30% to 40% water,
and a fraction of a percent of emulsifying agent.

11
Asphalt emulsion
• There are many types of emulsifying agents; basically they are a soap material.
• The emulsifying molecule has two distinct components, the head portion, which
has an electrostatic charge, and the tail portion, which has a high affinity for
asphalt.
• The charge can be either +ve to produce a cationic emulsion or -ve to produce an
anionic emulsion.
• When asphalt is introduced into the water with the emulsifying agent, the tail
portion of the emulsifier attaches itself to the asphalt, leaving the head exposed.
• Same electric charge of the emulsifier causes a repulsive force between the
asphalt globules, which maintains their separation in the water and suspension.

12
Breaking or setting
• When the emulsion is mixed with aggregates or used on a pavement, the water
evaporates, allowing the asphalt globs to come together, forming the binder.
• The phenomenon of separation between the asphalt residue and water is
referred to as breaking or setting.
• The rate of emulsion setting can be controlled by varying the type and amount of
the emulsifying agent.
Aggregates:-
1. +Ve surface charges (such as limestone) compatible with anionic emulsions
2. -Ve surface charges (such as siliceous aggregates),  compatible with
cationic, emulsions
3. Nonionic Emulsions that bond well to aggregate-specific types, regardless of
the surface charges 13
Type and their uses
• The selection of the type and grade of asphalt depends on the type of
construction and the climate of the area.
• AC is used typically to make hot-mix ACo for the surface layer of Asphalt
Pavement (AP).
• AC is also used in patching and repairing both asphalt and PC pavements.
• Liquid asphalts (emulsions and cutbacks) are used for pavement maintenance
applications, such as fog seals, chip seals, slurry seals, and microsurfacing.
• Liquid asphalts are mixed with aggregates to produce cold mixes, as well.
• Cold mixtures are normally used for patching (when hot-mix is not available),
base and subbase stabilization, and surfacing of low-volume roads.

14
15
Desirable properties of bitumen
1. It should be FLUID ENOUGH at the time of mixing to coat the aggregate evenly by a
thin film.
2. It should have LOW TEMPERATURE SUSCEPTIBILITY
3. It should show UNIFORM VISCOSITY characteristics
4. Bitumen should have GOOD AMOUNT OF VOLATILES in it
5. The bitumen should be DUCTILE AND NON BRITTLE
6. The bitumen should be CAPABLE OF BEING HEATED to the temperature at which it can
be easily mixed WITHOUT ANY FIRE HAZARDS
7. The bitumen should have GOOD AFFINITY TO THE AGGREGATE and should not be
stripped off in the continued presence off water

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Tests on bituminous materials
Several tests are conducted on bituminous materials to determine
both their consistency and their quality to ascertain whether
materials used in the construction of asphalt concrete or not, as per
the specification
Consistency Tests:- The consistency of bituminous materials is
important in pavement construction because the consistency at a
specified temperature will indicate the grade of the material.

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Bitumen Test Classification
CONSISTENCY AGING TESTS SAFETY TESTS
TESTS OF OTHER TESTS
ON BITUMEN ON BITUMEN
BITUMEN

Penetration
Thin film oven Flash and fire point Specific Gravity
test (ASTM: D5)
test (ASTM-D test (ASTM: D92) test on bitumen
1754) (ASTM: D70)
Viscosity test:
Absolute and
Ductility test (ASTM
Kinematic (ASTM
D113)
D2171)
Solubility test
Softening point
(ASTM: D2042)
test (ASTM: D36)

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Testing of Bitumen
TESTING IS REQUIRED TO VERIFY ITS SUITABILITY OF MEASURE
BITUMEN (ASTM)

Viscosity Test Fluidity

Penetration test Hardness or softness
Ductility test Adhesiveness
Softening point test Temperature susceptibility
Specific Gravity test Quality (impurity)
Flash and Fire Point test Hazardous temperature
Loss on heating test Amount of volatiles
Solubility test Purity/ Quality

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1. Absolute and Kinematic Viscosity Test
• the viscosity test is used to measure
asphalt consistency.
• Two types of viscosity are commonly
measured: absolute and kinematic.
• The absolute viscosity procedure (ASTM
D2171) requires heating the asphalt
cement and pouring it into a viscometer
placed in a water or oil bath at a
temperature of 60°C.

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1. Absolute and Kinematic Viscosity Test
• The viscometer is a U-tube, with a reservoir where the asphalt is introduced and
a section with a calibrated diameter and timing marks.
• For absolute viscosity tests vacuum is applied at one end.
• The time during which the asphalt flows between two timing marks on the
viscometer is measured using a stopwatch.
• The flow time, measured in seconds, is multiplied by the viscometer calibration
factor to obtain the absolute viscosity in units of poises.
• Different-sized viscometers are used for different asphalt grades to meet
minimum and maximum flow time requirements of the test procedure.

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1. Absolute and Kinematic Viscosity Test
• The kinematic viscosity test procedure
(ASTM D2170) is similar to that of the
absolute viscosity test, except that the
test temperature is 135°C.
• Since the viscosity of the asphalt at
135°C is fairly low, vacuum is not
used.
• The time it takes the asphalt to flow
between the two timing marks is
multiplied by the calibration factor to
obtain the kinematic viscosity in units
of cenistokes (cSt).
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 Low viscosity
• Lubricates the aggregate
instead of providing
uniform film

Very high /low viscosity High viscosity

• Results lower stability • Resists the compaction
effort results in
heterogeneous mix

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2. Penetration Test
• It MEASURES the HARDNESS OR SOFTNESS of
bitumen by measuring the depth in tenths of a
millimeter ( 1/10 mm) to which a standard loaded
needle will penetrate vertically in 5 seconds.
• The penetrometer consists of a needle assembly
with a total weight of 100 g and time of application
of load being 5 seconds
• The test should be conducted at a specified
temperature of 25°C.
• A grade of 60/70 bitumen means the penetration
value is in the range 60 to 70 at standard test
conditions.
• In hot climates, a lower penetration grade is
preferred.
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Cont’d
A sample of the asphalt cement to be tested is placed in a container,
which in turn is placed in a temperature-controlled water bath

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3. 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

5/23/22 07:26 PM ch4 Bitumen Binders and Properties 26

Cont’d

5/23/22 07:26 PM ch4 Bitumen Binders and Properties 27

4. Durability Tests
Thin Film Oven Test(TFOT) ASTM D1754
• When bitumen is heated, it loses the volatiles
and get hardened.
• To study the effect of heating, an accelerated
heating procedure is adopted
• About 50 g of sample is heated to a
temperature 163⁰C for 5 hours in a special oven.
• The properties of the asphalt before and after
the TFOT procedure are measured to determine
the change in properties that might be expected
after a hot-mix plant operation.

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Cont’d
The procedure is performed by pouring 50
cc of the material into a cylindrical flat-
bottom pan, 14 cm (5.5 in) inside diameter
and 1 cm (3/8 in) high.
The pan containing the sample is then
placed on a rotating shelf in an oven and
rotated for 85 minutes at a temperature of
163oC (325oF).
If sample keep in dish having top open and
same temp and time duration as per step 3
the same sample used for viscocity and
ductility test – called as residue from thin
film oven test
ch4 Bitumen Binders and Properties 29
Cont’d
• The amount of penetration after the TFO
test is then expressed as a percentage of
that before the test to determine percent
of penetration retained.
• If sample keep in dish having top open and
same temp and time duration as per step
3 the same sample used for viscocity and
ductility test – called as residue from thin
film oven test

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5. Ductility
• Bitumen should be sufficiently ductile
and capable of being stretched without
breaking.
• Ductility is measured as the distance in
cm to which standard briquette can be
stretched before the thread breaks at a
standard temperature of 25⁰ C and the
rate of elongation is 50 mm/ minute.
• Ductility is a measure of adhesiveness
and elasticity of bitumen
• The result is reported in cm.

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6. Flash-Point Test(ASTM D92)
• At high temperatures depending upon the grades of
bitumen materials leave out volatiles and these
volatiles catch fire causing a flash.
• This condition is very hazardous and therefore it is
essential to qualify this temperature for each bitumen
grade.
• The flash point as the lowest 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 at least
for 5 seconds.

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7. Solubility Test(ASTM D4)
• Pure bitumen is completely soluble in solvents like carbon disulphide and carbon
tetrachloride
• Hence any impurity in bitumen in the form of inert minerals, carbon, salts etc.
could be quantitively analyzed by dissolving the samples of bitumen in any of the
two solvents
• A Sample of about 2.0 g of bitumen dissolved in about 100 ml of solvent
• The solution is filtered and the insoluble material retained is dried and weighed,
the insoluble material is expressed as a % by weight of original sample
• The insoluble material should be preferably less than 1.0%
• The minimum proportion of bitumen soluble in carbon disulphide is specified as
99%

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Conventional Asphalt Grading
There are three conventional methods of grading asphalt cements. These three
methods are
(1) Grading by penetration at 25°C,
(2) Grading by absolute viscosity at 60° C, and
(3) Grading by absolute viscosity of aged asphalt residue after the rolling thin film
oven test (RTFOT) procedure.

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Penetration Grading Methods
• Various AC grades base on
penetration
The grades correspondand
to the on their
allowable penetration range; i.e., the penetration of a
40–50 grade must be in the range of 40 to 50.
properties (ASTM D946).
• The grades correspond to
the allowable penetration
range; i.e., the penetration
of a 40–50 grade must be
in the range of 40 to 50.

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AC Grading Methods
• Various AC grades based on
viscosity
The and their
grades correspond to properties
the allowable are
penetration range; i.e., the penetration of a
shown
40–50 in must
grade Tablebe(ASTM D3381).
in the range of 40 to 50.
• The AC grade numbers are 1/100
of the middle of the allowable
viscosity range; i.e., an AC-5 has
an absolute viscosity of 500±100
poises.
• Therefore, high viscosity ACs have
a high designation number.
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Aged-Residue (AR) Grades
• AR grades are based on the absolute
viscosity
The grades of the asphalt
correspond after
to the it has penetration range; i.e., the penetration of a
allowable
been grade
40–50 conditioned tothe
must be in simulate
range of the
40 to 50.
effects of the aging that occur when
the AC is heated to make ACo.
• The AR grade numbers are at the
middle of the allowable viscosity
range after conditioning, as shown in
Table (ASTM D3381).
• For example, an AR-1000 has an
absolute viscosity of 1000±250
poises.
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Mix Design
Two key components of pavement design are:-
Mix design
Structural design
The goal of mix design is to determine the optimum mixture of
component materials for a given application
This includes detailed evaluation of
aggregates
asphalt binder and
determination of their optimum blending ratios

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Design of HMA Mixtures
Commonly followed methods of mix design are:-
Hveem mix design
 Marshall mix design
 Superpave mix design
Marshall mix design method will be discussed here.

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Volumetric Properties of Asphalt Mixtures
• A compacted asphalt mixture consists primarily of aggregate, asphalt
and air.
• Volumetric properties of asphalt mixtures are properties that are
directly related to the proportioning of the volumes of these three
components.
• Volumetric properties have been widely used in the design and
control of production of asphalt mixtures.

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Volumetric Properties of Asphalt Mixtures

5/23/22 07:26 PM ch4 Bitumen Binders and Properties 41

Volumetric Properties of Asphalt Mixtures
Few of computational volumetric equations are tabulated below
• Theoretical maximum specific gravity of mix(Gmm):

• Bulk specific Gravity of mix(Gmb):

• Effective specific gravity of aggregate(Gse)

42
Volumetric Properties of Asphalt Mixtures
• Voids in total mix(VTM%) or commonly known as Percent of air(Pa):

• Voids in mineral aggregate(VMA%):

• Voids filled with Asphalt(Bitumen)(%VFA)

43
Marshall Method of Mix Design
Aggregate selection
• The aggregate characteristics that must be evaluated before it can be used
for an ACo mix include the durability, soundness, presence of deleterious
substances, polishing, shape, and texture.
• Agency specifications define the allowable ranges for aggregate
gradation.
• The standard Marshall method is applicable to densely graded aggregates
with a MAS ≤ 25 mm (AASHTO T245).
• A modified Marshall method is available using larger molds and a different
compaction hammer for mixes with a nominal MAS up to 50 mm (ASTM
D5581).
44
Marshall Method of Mix Design
AC selection
• The grade of AC is selected based on the expected temperature range and traffic
conditions.
• Most highway agencies have specifications that prescribe the grade of asphalt for the
design conditions.
Specimen Preparation
• The full Marshall mix-design procedure requires 18 specimens 101.6 mm in diameter
and 63.5 mm high.
• The stability and flow are measured for 15 specimens.
• In addition, 3 specimens are used to determine the Gmm.
• This value is needed for the void and density analysis.
45
Marshall Method of Mix Design
AC selection
• The grade of AC is selected based on the expected temperature range and traffic
conditions.
• Most highway agencies have specifications that prescribe the grade of asphalt for the
design conditions.
Specimen Preparation
• The full Marshall mix-design procedure requires 18 specimens 101.6 mm in diameter
and 63.5 mm high.
• The stability and flow are measured for 15 specimens.
• In addition, 3 specimens are used to determine the Gmm.
• This value is needed for the void and density analysis.
46
Marshall Method of Mix Design
Specimen…….
• The specimens for Gmm determination are prepared at the estimated design
asphalt content.
• Samples are also required for each of 5 different asphalt contents; the expected
design asphalt content, ±0.5% and ±1.0%.
• Engineers use experience and judgment to estimate the design asphalt content.
• Specimen preparation for the Marshall method uses the Marshall compactor.
• The Marshall method requires mixing of the asphalt and aggregates at a
temperature where the kinematic viscosity of the AC is 170±20 cSt and
compacting temperature corresponds to a viscosity of 280±30 cSt.

47
Marshall Method of Mix Design
Specimen…….
• The Asphalt Institute permits 3 different levels of energy to be used for the
preparation of the specimens: 35, 50, and 75 blows on each side of the sample.
• Most mix designs for heavy-duty pavements use 75 blows, since this better
simulates the required density for pavement construction.

48
Marshall Method of Mix Design

49
Marshall Stability and Flow Measurement
• The Marshall stability of the ACo is the maximum load the material can carry when
tested in the Marshall apparatus.
• The test is performed at a deformation rate of 51 mm/min and a temperature of
60°C.
• The Marshall flow is the deformation of the specimen at maximum load which is
designated as marshal stability
• Stability is reported in Newton's (N) and flow is reported in units of 0.25 mm of
deformation.
• The stability of specimens that are not 63.5 mm thick is adjusted by multiplying by
the factors (shown in Table below).
• All specimens are tested and the average stability and flow are determined for each
asphalt content.
50
Marshall Stability and Flow Measurement

51
Density and Voids Analysis
• The values of VTM, VMA, and VFA are determined using Equations as discussed
earlier.

52
Design Asphalt Content Determination
• Traditionally, test results and calculations are tabulated and graphed to help
determine the factors that must be used in choosing the optimum asphalt
content.
• Table 9.13 presents examples of mix design measurements and calculations.
• Figure 9.31 shows plots of results obtained from Table 9.13, which include
asphalt content versus air voids, VMA, VFA, unit weight, Marshall stability, and
Marshall flow.

53
54
55
56
57
58
Summary of Marshal Mix Design
Marshal Mix design is summarized in the following 3 steps:
A. Computation of volumetric properties of the specimens by using specific
gravities
B. Marshall mix design criteria — The Marshall mix design method as
recommended by the Asphalt Institute uses five mix design criteria. They are:
(1) a minimum Marshall stability,
(2) a range of acceptable Marshall flow
(3) a range of acceptable air voids
(4) percent voids filled with asphalt (VFA), and
(5) a minimum amount of VMA.

59
Summary of Marshal Mix Design
C. Determination of design asphalt content — To facilitate the selection of
optimum asphalt content, the following six plots are made:
1. Average unit weight versus asphalt content
2. Average air voids versus asphalt content
3. Average Marshall stability versus asphalt content
4. Average Marshall flow versus asphalt content
5. Average VMA versus asphalt content
6. Average VFA versus asphalt content

60
Summary of Marshal Mix Design
• From the plot of air voids versus asphalt content, determine the asphalt content
at an air voids content of 4%.
• Using plots (3) through (6), determine the Marshall stability, Marshall flow, VMA
and VFA at this asphalt content.
• compare them with the Marshall mix design criteria as given in Tables 9.14 and
9.15.
• If all the mix criteria are met, this asphalt content is the preliminary design
asphalt content.

61
Example
The Marshall method was used to design an asphalt concrete mixture.
AC-20 with a specific gravity (Gb) of 1.031 was used. The mixture
contains a 9.5 mm nominal maximum particle size aggregate with a
bulk specific gravity (Gsb) of 2.696. The Gmm at asphalt content of 5.0%
is 2.470. Trial mixes were made with average results as shown in the
following table:

62
 Determine the design asphalt content using the Asphalt Institute
design criteria for medium traffic (Table 9.14). Assume a design air
void content of 4% when using Table 9.15.
• The calculations in steps 2–5 are for 4.0% asphalt content as an
example.
• Repeat for other asphalt contents.
• Use Gse to determine Gmm for the other asphalt contents
Solutions
• Analysis steps:
1. Determine the effective specific gravity of the aggregates Gse,

63
2. Determine the theoretical maximum specific gravity Gmm,

3. Compute voids in the total mix for each asphalt content

4. Compute voids in mineral aggregate

64
5. Compute voids filled with asphalt

6. A summary of all calculations is given in the following table:

65
5. Compute voids filled with asphalt

6. A summary of all calculations is given in the following table:

66
67
7. Plot stability, flow and volumetric parameters versus Pb.
8. Determine the asphalt content at VTM = 4% and the corresponding
parameters. Compare with criteria:

Therefore, the design asphalt content is 4.6%.

68