PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

MODULE 3

BITUMINOUS MIXES

Bituminous mixes: Mechanical properties, dense and open textured mixes, flexibility and brittleness, (No
Hveemstabilo meter and Hubbar- field tests) bituminous mixes, Design methods using Rothfutch’s method
only and specification, Marshall mix design criteria, voids in mineral aggregates, voids in total mix, density,
flow, stability, percentage voids filled with bitumen. Problems on above.

Asphaltic/Bituminous concrete consists of a mixture of aggregates continuously graded from maximum size,
typically less than 25 mm, through the fine filler that is smaller than 0.075 mm. Sufficient bitumen is added
to the mix so that the compacted mix is effectively impervious and will have acceptable dissipative and elastic
properties. The bituminous mix design aims to determine the proportion of bitumen, filler, fine aggregates,
and coarse aggregates to produce a mix which is workable, strong, durable and economical.

Objectives of Mix Design

The objective of the mix design is to produce a bituminous mix by proportionate various components so as
to have:
 Sufficient strength to resist shear deformation under traffic at higher temperature
 Sufficient air voids in the compacted bitumen to allow for additional compaction by traffic
 Sufficient workability to permit easy placement without segregation
 Sufficient flexibility to avoid premature cracking due to repeated bending by traffic
 Sufficient flexibility at low temperature to prevent shrinkage cracks.
 Sufficient bitumen to ensure a durable pavement

Requirements of Bituminous mixes

Desirable properties of a good bituminous mix are:

1. Stability
2. Durability
3. Flexibility
4. Skid resistance
5. Workability
Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT
 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

1. Stability: Stability is defined as the resistance of the paving mix to deformation under traffic load.
Lack of stability leads to two typical failure:
(i) Shoving - a transverse rigid deformation which occurs at areas subject to severe acceleration and
(ii) Rutting - longitudinal ridging due to channelization of traffic.

Stability depends on the inter-particle friction, primarily of the aggregates and the cohesion offered by the
bitumen. Sufficient binder must be available to coat all the particles. However, the stability decreases when
the binder content is high and when the particles are kept apart.

2. Durability: Durability is defined as the resistance of the mix against weathering and abrasive actions.
Weathering causes hardening due to loss of volatiles in the bitumen. Abrasion is due to wheel loads which
causes tensile strains.
Typical examples of failure are:
(i) pot-holes - deterioration of pavements locally
(ii) stripping- loss of binder from the aggregates and aggregates are exposed.
Disintegration is minimized by high binder content since they cause the mix to be air and waterproof and the
bitumen film is more resistant to hardening.

3. Flexibility: Flexibility is a measure of the level of bending strength needed to counteract traffic load and
prevent cracking of surface. Shrinkage and brittleness of binder is the main reasons for formation of cracks
on the surface (hairline-cracks, alligator cracks). Shrinkage cracks are due to volume change in the binder due
to aging. Brittleness is due to repeated bending of the surface due to traffic loads. Higher bitumen content
will give better flexibility and less fracture.

4. Skid Resistance: It is the resistance of the finished pavement against skidding which depends on the surface
texture and bitumen content. It is an important factor in high speed traffic. Normally, an open graded coarse
surface texture is desirable.

5. Workability: Workability is the ease with which the mix can be laid and compacted, and formed to the
required condition and shape. This depends on the gradation of aggregates, their shape and texture, bitumen
content and its type. An angular, flaky and elongated aggregate provides less workability. On the other hand,
rounded aggregates improve workability.

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT

 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Thus, the desirable properties of a bituminous mix can be summarized as follows:

 Stability to meet traffic demand

 Bitumen content to ensure proper binding and water proofing
 Voids to accommodate compaction due to traffic
 Flexibility to meet traffic loads, especially in cold season
 Sufficient workability for construction
 Economical mix

Constituents of a Mix

Coarse aggregates: Offer compressive and shear strength and shows good interlocking properties.
Eg: Granite
Fine aggregates: Fills the voids in the coarse aggregate and stiffens the binder.
Eg: Sand, Rock dust
Filler: Fills the voids, stiffens the binder and offers permeability.
Eg: Rock dust, cement, lime.
Binder: Fills the voids, cause particle adhesion and offers impermeability.
Eg: Bitumen, Asphalt, Tar

Types of Bituminous Mixes:

Well-graded mix: Dense mix, bituminous concrete has good proportion of all constituents and are called
dense bituminous macadam, offers good compressive strength and some tensile strength.
Gap-graded mix: Some large coarse aggregates are missing and has good fatigue and tensile strength.
Open-graded mix: Fine aggregate and filler are missing, it is porous and offers good friction, low strength and
for high speed.
Unbounded: Binder is absent and behaves under loads as if its components were not linked together, though
good interlocking exists. Very low tensile strength and needs kerb protection.

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 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Aim/Objectives of Mix Design Method

Any mix design methods should aim at determining the properties of aggregate sand bituminous material
and combination of both which would give a mix having the following properties:

a) Sufficient stability to satisfy the service requirements of the pavement and the traffic conditions,
without undue displacements.
b) Sufficient bitumen to ensure a durable pavement by coating the aggregate and bonding them
together and also by water-proofing the mix.
c) Sufficient voids in the compacted mix as to provide a reservoir space for as light amount of additional
compaction due to traffic and to avoid flushing, bleeding and loss of stability.
d) Sufficient flexibility even in the coldest season to prevent cracking due to repeated application of
traffic loads.
e) Sufficient workability while placing and compacting the mix.
f) The mix should be the most economical one that would produce a stable, durable and skid resistant
pavement

Design of Bituminous Mixes/ Steps in Mix Design Method:

The following steps may be followed for a rational design of a bituminous mix:

i) Selection of Aggregates:
Aggregates having sufficient strength, hardness, toughness, soundness is selected. Crushed aggregates and
sharp sands produce a mix of higher stability of mix compared to natural gravel and rounded sands.

ii) Selection of Aggregate Grading:

The density and stability of the mix depend on the gradation or grainsize distribution of aggregate. Generally,
densely textured aggregate (well graded) is specified instead of open texture (poorly graded or gap graded).
To attain higher stability, higher maximum size aggregate is selected. However, the max size of aggregate
used depends on compacted thickness of particular layer. Therefore, gradation or max size is specified by the
designer or user such as IRC. For a proposed 40 mm thick bituminous concrete layer or bituminous concrete
coarse. The specified gradation of aggregate mix is shown in following table:

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT

 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Table: Grading of aggregates

Percentage Passing
Sieve size in mm
Grade 1 Grade 2
20 - 100
12.5 100 80-100
104.75 80-100 55-75
2.36 55-75 35-50
0.6 35-50 18-29
0.3 18-29 13-23
0.15 13-23 8-16
0.75 8-16 4-10
Binder Content
5-7.5 5-7.5
(% by weight of mix)

If the available gradation is not satisfying the specification or specified gradation proper blending of different
grades is to be adopted for this purpose, either by the method of trials or Rothfuch’s method.

iii) Determination of Specific Gravity:

The specific gravity of aggregate mix is represented as bulk specific gravity or apparent specific gravity or
effective specific gravity of mix. If the overall volume of the aggregate mix is considered, the bulk specific
gravity is obtained in the apparent or effective specific gravity. The volume of capillary which are filled by the
water on 24 hours of soaking or immersion is excluded. When the different aggregate are mixed to obtain
required gradation, the specific gravity of combined mixture denoted as ‘Ga’ is
determined using equation:
100
=
+ + + +⋯

Where,

W1, W2, W3, W4 = percent by weight of aggregates

G1, G2, G3, G4 = specific gravity of each material used in mix
In the above equation, the total weight of aggregate mix is considered which will be in the numerator then
this equation gets modified
+ + +⋯
=
+ + +⋯

Where,
W1, W2, W3 = actual weight of component used in the mix.

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT

 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

iv) Proportioning of Aggregates:

As a first step the design grading is selected based on the type of construction, thickness of the layer and
availability of aggregates. Then the available aggregates are analysed for gradation. Using the graphical
method suggested by Rothfuch’s or method of trial. The required method of each component is to be
determined to satisfy the design gradation.

v) Preparation of Specimen or Sample:

The preparation of specimen depends on the stability test method employed. Hence the size of the specimen,
compaction and other specification should be followed as specified in the stability test method. The stability
test methods which are in common use for the design mix are Marshall, Hubbard-Field and Hveem. Hence
after deciding the test methods, the specimens are molded as per specification.

vi) Determination of Specific Gravity of Compacted Specimen:

The weight and volume of each compacted specimens are determined before conducting stability test and
the density of the compacted mix. Knowing specific gravity of aggregate mix ‘G a’ and that of bituminous
binder ‘Gb’, the theoretical maximum specific gravity of the sample or specimen is determined using the
equation:
100
=
(100 − )/ +

vii) Determination of volume of voids, voids in mineral aggregates and voids filled with bitumen
The percentage of air voids in the compacted specimen of the mix is calculated using values of specific gravity
of test specimen and theoretical maximum specific gravity of mix.
Volume of air voids (Vv) and Volume of bitumen (Vb) in compacted specimen is expressed as percentage of
the volume of the test specimen.
Voids in Mineral Aggregate (VMA) is the total volume of air voids and volume of bitumen in compacted mix.
i.e. VMA = (Vv + Vb)
Voids filled with bitumen is Bitumen (VFB) is the percentage of the volume of bitumen to the total voids in
mineral aggregates of compacted mix.

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT

 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

i.e. VFB = = ( )

Fig: Volumetric Composition of Compacted Mix

viii) Stability Tests on Compacted Specimens:
After completing density test, the specimens are placed in a temperature-controlled chamber for specified
duration at specified test temperature and then stability tests are carried out.

ix) Selection of Optimum Bitumen Content (OBC):

The bitumen content is of the design mix is selected considering
a) OBC corresponding to maximum stability
b) OBC corresponding to maximum density
c) Desired air voids in compacted mix

Bituminous Mix Design by Marshall Method

Marshall stability test is conducted on a cylindrical specimen of bituminous mix of 101.6mm diameter and
63.5mm thickness. The load is applied perpendicular to the axis of cylindrical specimen through testing head
consisting of pair of cylindrical segments, at a constant rate of deformation of 51mm/minute at the standard
temperature of 60 °C.
Marshall stability of the bituminous mix is defined as a maximum load carried in kg by a compacted specimen
at a standard test temperature of 60° C when load is applied at specified test conditions.
Flow Value is measured as the total deformation the Marshall test specimen undergoes at maximum load,
expressed in mm units.
Marshal stability value indicates its resistance to deformation under applied incremental load value and flow
value indicates the extent of deformation it undergoes due to loading or its flexibility.

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT

 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Specimen preparation:
 Approximately 1200gm of aggregates and filler of required gradation is heated to a temperature of
175-190 °C.
 Bitumen is heated to a temperature of 121-125 °C with the first trial percentage of bitumen (say 3.5
or 4% by weight of the mineral aggregates).
 The heated aggregates and bitumen are thoroughly mixed at a temperature of 154-160 °C.
 The mix is placed in a preheated mould and compacted by a rammer with 50 blows on either side at
temperature of 138 °C to 149 °C.
 The weight of mixed aggregates taken for the preparation of the specimen may be suitably altered to
obtain a compacted thickness of 63.5+/-3 mm.
 Vary the bitumen content in the next trial by +0.5% and repeat the above procedure.
 Number of trials are predetermined (3 specimens). The prepared mould is loaded in the Marshall test
setup as shown in the figure below:

Determination of Marshall Stability and Flow Value:

 Before testing each specimen is kept in the water bath maintained at a temperature of 60 °C for half
an hour.
 The load is applied at a constant deformation of 51mm/min, load and deformation readings are
closely observed.
 The maximum load value and corresponding deformation of the specimen at failure are noted. The
maximum load value expressed in kg is recorded as the ‘Marshall Stability’ value of specimen and the
corresponding vertical deformation measured in mm is recorded as Flow Value.

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT

 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Correction for Marshal Stability Value:

If the average thickness of specimen is exactly 63.5mm, it is not necessary to apply the correction. If the
average thickness is not 63.5mm or if the volume is not in the range 509 to 522 cm3, it is necessary to apply
correction factor as given in table below. The measured value of maximum load is kg is to be multiplied by
the appropriate correction factor to obtain corrected value of Marshall Stability.
Table: Correction factor for Marshall Stability Value

Basic Properties of Bituminous mix

The volumetric composition of compacted bituminous mix is as given in figure:

Let the weight of compacted specimen (weight in air) be Wm
Let the volume of compacted specimen be V cm3
Total or bulk volume of compacted specimen = V
Solid/void-less volume all the mineral aggregate and filler = Vm
Volume of Voids in Mineral Aggregates, VMA = V – Vm
Total volume of bituminous binder in the mix = Vb
Part of volume of binder absorbed by the aggregates = Vab

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 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Rest of binder filled in part of voids in mineral aggregates = Vbf

Therefore, Vb = (Vab + Vb)
Volume of air voids in mix, Vv = V – (Vm + Vbf)
Volume of voids filed with bitumen, VFB = (VMA - Vv)
Void-less volume of paving mix = (V - Vv)
Theoretical specific gravity value of bituminous mix specimen, Gt is given by:
100
=
+ + +

Where,

W1, W2, W3, Wb = percent by weight of coarse aggregates, fine aggregates, filler and bitumen respectively
G1, G2, G3, Gb = specific gravity of coarse aggregates, fine aggregates, filler and bitumen respectively

Bulk specific gravity or the actual specific gravity of the mix, Gm is the specific gravity considering air voids
and is found out by:

=
−
where, is the weight of mix in air, is the weight of mix in water

Void Analysis:
( )
Volume of voids, Vv(%) =

Volume of bitumen, Vb = ×

Voids in Mineral Aggregates, VMA = Vv + Vb

Voids Filed with Bitumen, VFB = = ( )

Determine optimum bitumen content:

The average value of the above properties is determined for each mix with different bitumen content and
the following graphical plots are prepared:

 Binder content versus corrected Marshall stability

 Binder content versus Marshall flow
Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT
 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

 Binder content versus percentage of void (Vv) in the total mix

 Binder content versus voids filled with bitumen (VFB)
 Binder content versus unit weight or bulk specific gravity (Gm)

Determine the optimum binder content for the mix design by taking average value of the following three
bitumen contents found form the graphs obtained in the previous step.

 Binder content corresponding to maximum stability

 Binder content corresponding to maximum bulk specific gravity (Gm)
 Binder content corresponding to the median of designed limits of percent air voids (Vv) in the total
mix (i.e. 4%)
 The stability value, flow value, and VFB are checked with Marshall mix design specification chart given
in Table below.
Table: Marshall Mix Design Specifications

Test Property Specified Value

Marshal Stability, kg 340(minimum)
Flow Value, 025 mm units 8-17
Percentage of air voids in mix, Vv % 3-5
Voids filled with bitumen, VFB % 75-85

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT

 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

Mixes with very high stability value and low flow value are not desirable as the pavements constructed with
such mixes are likely to develop cracks due to heavy moving loads.

Numerical 1: The specific gravities and weight proportions for aggregate and bitumen are as under for the
preparation of Marshall mix design. The volume and weight of one Marshall specimen was found to be 475cc
and 1100 gm. Assuming absorption of bitumen in aggregate is zero, find Vv, Vb, VMA and VFB;

Solution:

Theoretical specific gravity value of bituminous mix specimen, =

100
=
825 1200 325 150 100
2.63 + 2.51 + 2.46 + 2.43 + 1.05
= 2.406

Bulk specific gravity, =

= 2.316
( )
Volume of voids, Vv (%) =

( . . )
=
.
= 3.714%

Volume of bitumen, Vb = ×
.
= ×
.

= 20.052%

Voids in Mineral Aggregates, VMA = Vv + Vb

= 3.714 + 20.052
= 23.793%

Voids Filed with Bitumen, VFB =

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT

 PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

× .
=
.

= 84.277%

Numerical 2: The results of Marshall test for five specimens is given below. Find the optimum bitumen
content of the mix.

Solution:

Plot the graphs:

 Binder content versus corrected Marshall stability
 Binder content versus Marshall flow
 Binder content versus percentage of void (Vv) in the total mix
 Binder content versus voids filled with bitumen (VFB)
 Binder content versus unit weight or bulk specific gravity (Gm)

Optimum binder content is determined by considering average of:

 Binder content corresponding to maximum stability = 5%

 Binder content corresponding to maximum bulk specific gravity (Gm) = 5%
 Binder content corresponding to 4% air voids (Vv) =3%

The optimum bitumen extent is the average of above = 4.33%

Nisarga P, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, SJBIT