26/5/2015

TOPICS
EAT 360
HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION
ENGINEERING
MATERIALS AND PAVEMENTS
(Bituminous Materials)

Sources of asphalt
Description and uses of bituminous binders
Properties of asphalt materials
Tests for asphalt materials
Asphalt mixtures
Superpave systems

LECTURER : MR. ZUHAYR BIN MD. GHAZALY

H/P : 014-7170838

INTRODUCTION
Used widely all over the world in highway
construction.
Obtained as a product of the distillation of crude
petroleum.
Used in highway construction are either asphalts or
tars.
Vary in consistency from liquid to solid; thus, they
are divided into liquids, semisolids, and solids.

SOURCES OF ASPHALT (CONT.)

Petroleum Asphalt
o obtained from the distillation of petroleum are in the form
of different types of asphalts - asphalt cements, slow-curing
liquid asphalts, medium-curing liquid asphalts, rapid-curing
liquid asphalts, and asphalt emulsions.
o refining processes used to obtain petroleum asphalts
(fractional distillation and destructive distillation (cracking)).
o fractional distillation processes - separation of the different
materials in the crude petroleum without significant
changes in the chemical composition of each material.
o destructive distillation processes - high temperature and
pressure, resulting in chemical changes.

SOURCES OF ASPHALT
Natural Deposits
o occur as either native asphalt or rock asphalt.
o largest deposit of native asphalt is known to have existed in
Iraq several thousand years ago.
o used extensively as binders in highway construction.
o rock asphalt is a natural deposit of sandstone or limestone
rocks filled with asphalt.
o used to surface roads after the mined or quarried material
has been suitably processed.
o not used widely because of its high transportation costs.

SOURCES OF ASPHALT (CONT.)

o fractional distillation process removes the different volatile
materials in the crude oil - higher temperatures until the
petroleum asphalt is obtained as residue. (Steam or a
vacuum is used to gradually increase the temperature)
o steam distillation - continuous flow process in which the
crude petroleum is pumped through tube stills or stored in
batches, and the temperature is increased gradually to
facilitate the evaporation of different materials at different
temperatures.
o lighter fractions of the evaporated materials collect on the
top tray - heavier fractions collect in successive trays, with
the heaviest residue containing asphalt remaining at the
bottom of the distillation tower.

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SOURCES OF ASPHALT (CONT.)

SOURCES OF ASPHALT (CONT.)

o cracking processes - when larger amounts of the light
fractions of materials (such as motor fuels) are required.
o intense heat and high pressures are applied - chemical
changes in the material.
o temperatures as high as 593C and pressure higher than
5068 kN/m2 to obtain the desired effect.
o not used widely in paving - it is more susceptible to
weather changes.

DESCRIPTION AND USES OF BITUMINOUS BINDERS

Describe the different bituminous binders and
identify the type of construction for which each is
used.
Asphalt cement, asphalt cutbacks, and emulsified
asphalt.
Asphalt Cements
o obtained after separation of the lubricating oils.
o semisolid hydrocarbons with certain physiochemical
characteristics that make them good cementing agents.
o manufacture of hot-mix, hot-laid asphalt concrete.
o construction of highways and airport pavement surfaces
and bases, parking areas, and industrial floors.

DESCRIPTION AND USES OF BITUMINOUS BINDERS (CONT.)

o rapid-curing (RC) cutback asphalts - blending asphalt
cement with a petroleum distillate that will evaporate
easily, thereby facilitating a quick change from the liquid
form at the time of application to the consistency of the
original asphalt cement.

Emulsified Asphalts
o breaking asphalt cement, usually of 100 to 250 penetration
range, into minute particles and dispersing them in water
with an emulsifier.
o classified as anionic, cationic, or nonionic.
o based on the electrical charges that surround the asphalt
particles.

DESCRIPTION AND USES OF BITUMINOUS BINDERS (CONT.)

Asphalt Cutbacks
o slow-curing asphalts, medium-curing cutback asphalts,
and rapid-curing cutback asphalts.
o cold-laid plant mixes, road mixes (mixed-in-place), and as
surface treatments.
o slow-curing (SC) asphalts - directly as slow-curing straight
run asphalts through the distillation of crude petroleum.
o lower viscosities than asphalt cement - very slow to harden.
o medium-curing (MC) asphalts are produced by fluxing, or
cutting back, the residual asphalt (usually 120 to 150
penetration) with light fuel oil or kerosene.
o harden faster than slow-curing liquid asphalts

DESCRIPTION AND USES OF BITUMINOUS BINDERS (CONT.)

o used in cold-laid plant mixes and road mixes (mixedinplace) for several purposes (highway pavement surfaces
and bases and in surface treatments).
o anionic emulsions - more effective in treating aggregates
containing electropositive charges (such as limestone)
o cationic emulsions - effective with electronegative
aggregates (such as those containing a high percentage
of siliceous material).

Blown Asphalts
o blowing air through the semisolid residue obtained during
the latter stages of the distillation process.
o stopping the regular distillation while the residue is in the
liquid form and then transferring it into a tank known as a
converter.

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DESCRIPTION AND USES OF BITUMINOUS BINDERS (CONT.)

o 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.
o Useful as a roofing material, for automobile undercoating,
and as a joint filler for concrete pavements.

PROPERTIES OF ASPHALT MATERIALS

Consistency, aging and temperature sustainability,
rate of curing, and resistance to water action.
Consistency

o destructive distillation of such organic materials as coal.

o more susceptible to weather conditions than similar grades
of asphalts, and they set more quickly when exposed to
the atmosphere.

o considered under two conditions: (1) variation of

consistency with temperature and (2) consistency at a
specified temperature.
o variation of consistency with temperature - consistency of
any asphalt material changes as the temperature varies.
o temperature susceptibility of a given asphalt depends on
the crude oil from which the asphalt is obtained.

PROPERTIES OF ASPHALT MATERIALS (CONT.)

PROPERTIES OF ASPHALT MATERIALS (CONT.)

Aging and Temperature Sustainability

Rate of Curing

Road tars

o exposed to environmental elements, natural deterioration

gradually takes place - eventually lose their plasticity and
become brittle.
o chemical and physical reactions that take place in the
material.
o the ability of an asphalt material to resist weathering - the
durability of the material.
o oxidation, volatilization, temperature, and exposed surface
area.

PROPERTIES OF ASPHALT MATERIALS (CONT.)

Resistance to water action
o important that the asphalt continues to adhere to the
aggregates even with the presence of water.
o bond between the asphalt and the aggregates is lost, the
asphalt will strip from the aggregates - deterioration of the
pavement.

o process through which an asphalt material increases its

consistency as it loses solvent by evaporation.
o rate of curing of any cutback asphalt material depends on
the distillate used in the cutting-back process.
o indicates the time that should elapse before a cutback will
attain a consistency that is thick enough for the binder to
perform satisfactorily.
o rate of curing for emulsified asphalts - depend on the rate
at which the water evaporates from the mixture.

TESTS FOR ASPHALT MATERIALS

determine both their consistency and quality to
ascertain whether materials used in highway
construction meet the prescribed specifications.
AASHTO and ASTM
Consistency Tests
o consistency at a specified temperature will indicate the
grade of the material.
o asphalt materials can exist in either liquid, semisolid, or solid
states.
o liquid state is the viscosity, which can be determined by
conducting either the Saybolt Furol viscosity test or the
kinematic viscosity test.

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TESTS FOR ASPHALT MATERIALS (CONT.)

o semisolid and solid states include the penetration test and
the float test.

Saybolt Furol Viscosity Test

o standard viscometer tube, which is 5 in. long and about
1in. in diameter.
o temperatures tested include 25C (77F), 50C (122F), and
60C (140F).
o higher the viscosity of the material, the longer it takes for a
given quantity to flow through the orifice.

TESTS FOR ASPHALT MATERIALS (CONT.)

Penetration Test
o gives an empirical measurement of the consistency of a
material in terms of the distance a standard needle sinks
into that material (loading and time).
o penetrate the sample of asphalt for the prescribed time of
exactly 5 seconds.
o distance in units of 0.1 mm that the needle penetrates the
sample.

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TESTS FOR ASPHALT MATERIALS (CONT.)

Durability Tests
o subjected to changes in temperature and other weather
conditions over a period of time.
o natural weathering of the material which may lead to loss
of plasticity, cracking, abnormal surface abrasion, and
eventual failure of the pavement.
o Thin-film oven test.
o measures the changes that take place in asphalt during
the hot-mix process (subjecting the asphalt material to
hardening conditions).
o consistency - before and after the TFO procedure
(penetration test / viscosity test) - estimate the amount of
hardening that will take place in the material.

ASPHALT MIXTURES (CONT.)

Hot-Mix, Hot-Laid Asphalt Mixture
o properly blending asphalt cement, coarse aggregate, fine
aggregate, and filler (dust) - 175 to 325F, depending on
the type of asphalt cement used.
o used for high-type pavement construction
o mixture can be described as open-graded, coarsegraded, dense-graded, or fine-graded.
o designing a hot-mix asphalt mixture, a favorable balance
must be found between a highly stable product and a
durable one.
o objective of the mix design is to determine an optimum
blend of the different components.

ASPHALT MIXTURES
uniformly mixed combination of asphalt cement,
coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, and other
materials, depending on the type of asphalt
mixture.
hot-mix, hot-laid and cold-mix, cold-laid.
must resist deformation from imposed traffic loads,
be skid resistant even when wet, and not be
affected easily by weathering forces.

ASPHALT MIXTURES (CONT.)

Hot-Mix, Hot-Laid Asphalt Mixture
o properly blending asphalt cement, coarse aggregate, fine
aggregate, and filler (dust) - 175 to 325F, depending on
the type of asphalt cement used.
o used for high-type pavement construction
o mixture can be described as open-graded, coarsegraded, dense-graded, or fine-graded.
o designing a hot-mix asphalt mixture, a favorable balance
must be found between a highly stable product and a
durable one.
o objective of the mix design is to determine an optimum
blend of the different components.

ASPHALT MIXTURES (CONT.)

Aggregate Gradation
o crushed rock, sand, and filler.
o Table 18.3 on the following page gives suggested grading
requirements of aggregate material based on the ASTM
Designation 3515.
o The rock material (No. 8 sieve), sand (passing the No. 8
sieve), and filler (mineral dust that passes the No. 200
sieve).

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ASPHALT MIXTURES (CONT.)

Asphalt Content
o the next step is to determine the optimum percentage of
asphalt.
o these determined proportions usually are referred to as the
job-mix formula.
o Marshall method and the Hveem method.

Marshall Method Procedure.

o developed by Bruce Marshall, a bituminous engineer with
the Mississippi State Highway Department.
o test specimens of 4 in. diameter and 21/2 in. height are
used in this method.
o subjected to a stability-flow test and a density-voids
analysis.

ASPHALT MIXTURES (CONT.)

o stability - maximum load resistance N in pounds that the
specimen will achieve at 140F under specified conditions.
o flow - total movement of the specimen in units of 0.01 in.
during the stability test as the load is increased from zero to
the maximum.