BITUMINOUS MATERIALS

10.1 INTRODUCTION

The term ‘bitumen’ is a generic name applied to various mixtures of hydrocarbons. They may be
gaseous, liquid or semi-solid in nature. They are all completely soluble in carbon disulphide. The
most common materials within the family of bitumens are: tar (and pitches) and asphalts.

i) Tar: is produced from the destructive distillation of materials such as wood, coal ,
shale, peat or bones
ii) Pitches: result from the fractional distillation or partial evaporation of tar producing
the solid or semi-solid residue (known as pitch). The commonest material of this type
is coal-tar-pitch which is used in construction.
iii) Asphalts: are dark brown or black solids or semi-solids which are found in the
natural state and which are also produced by the refining of petroleum. The best
known deposits of natural asphalt are found in Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies) in
asphalt lakes, and in Kentucky, Utah, Colorado and California all in the USA. Most
of the asphalt used today (95%) is obtained from refining petroleum.

10.2 STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS

Bitumen as used by architects and engineers are covered under various specific British standards
such as:

BS EN 12591:2009 Bitumen and bituminous binders. Specifications for paving grade bitumens

BS EN 13924:2006 Bitumen and bituminous binders. Specifications for hard paving grade
bitumens

BS 6925:1988 Specification for mastic asphalt for building and civil engineering (limestone
aggregate)

BS 1446:1973 Specification for mastic asphalt (natural rock asphalt fine aggregate) for roads and
footways

BS 598-1:2011 Sampling and examination of bituminous mixtures for roads and other paved
areas. Methods for the measurement of the rate of spread of coated chippings and the
temperature of bituminous mixtures using non-contact temperature-measuring devices and for
the assessment of the compaction performance of a roller

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10.3 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF BITUMEN

They should have:

 Durability
 Stiffness
 Flexibility
 Skid resistance
 Imperviousness
 Non-reactive with other materials

10.4 TYPES OF BITUMENS

There are two basic types of bitumens as shown below

Tar and Pitch Asphalt

 Coal tar
 Wooden tar
 Mineral tar

Tar and pitch bitumens

These are made by the distillation of coal. Tar is used to saturate felt paper and to coat kraft
paper to make it water proof. The coal tar pitch is used to make roofs. These materials oxidize
rapidly when exposed to ultraviolet rays of the sun. They should therefore be well protected (e.g.
by a coating of gravel or slags)

Asphalt

These are produced by refining crude oil using various conditions depending on the grade
required. They are also termed straight-run-asphalts. There are three main groups of asphalt
products produced from straight-run-asphalts, namely

i) Hot asphalt-those which can be softened by heat

ii) Cut-back asphalts-those which can be dissolved in mineral solvents
iii) Emulsion asphalts-those which are suspended in or dispersed in a water base.

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10.5 PROPERTIES OF BITUMEN

Bitumens have a number of properties which make them useful in the building and construction
industry. These include: adhesiveness, water resistance, viscosity, elasticity and durability.

1. Adhesiveness: this is the tendency to adhere to a solid surface. This depends on the
nature of the surface (must be clean) and the state of the bitumen (must be semisolid or
liquid state). Presence of water prevents proper adhesion.
2. Water resistance-of bitumen is excellent. Hence bitumens are used as water proofing
materials.
3. Viscosity-flow properties of bitumens are useful both at high temperatures i.e. when
heated during application and at low temperatures when subjected to service. Viscocity or
flow properties are very complex. Hence tests have been developed to measure the
viscosity of the materials at temperatures comparable to those encountered during the
service life of the bitumen. There are three basic tests: penetration tests, softening point
tests and ductility tests.

i) Penetration tests(or Pen tests)

Measures the depth of penetration in tenths of millimeters of a weighted needle in bitumen after
a given time, at a known temperature. Usually, a weight of 100g for 5 seconds at a temperature
of 250C. The penetration is actually a measure of how hard the bitumen is. Greater value of
penetration indicates softer consistency. Generally higher penetration bitumen is preferred for
use in cold climate and smaller penetration bitumen is used in hot climate areas.

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 A sample is heated until it becomes
fluid. It is then cooled in an atmospheric
temperature.

The water bath is used to maintain the

temperature of the specimen.

A needle with a weight on top is

mounted such that it just touches the
surface of the bitumen. The stop watch
is then started and the penetration needle
allowed to penetrate freely at the same
time for 5 seconds. The reading is then
taken.

The penetration test is also used to grade bitumens. A grade of 40/50 bitumen means the
penetration value is in the range 40 to 50 at standard test conditions.

ii) Softening-point test

Measures the temperatures at which a steel ball falls a known distance through the bitumen when
the test assembly is heated at a known rate.

Unlike some substances (e.g. water which changes from solid to liquid at 00C) bituminous
materials do not have a definite melting point. Instead, as the temperature rises, these materials
slowly change from brittle or very thick and slow-flowing materials to softer and less viscous
liquids.

Also called the Ring-and-Ball Test, it is a valuable consistency test. It is also an indirect measure
of viscosity or, rather, the temperature at which a given viscosity is evident.

The softening point value has particular significance for materials which are to be used as thick
films, such as joint and crack fillers and roofing materials.

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A high softening point ensures that they will not flow in service. For a bitumen of a given
penetration (determined at 250C), the higher the softening point the lower the temperature
sensitivity.

Two horizontal disks of bitumen, cast in shouldered brass rings, are heated at a controlled rate in
a liquid bath while each supports a steel ball. The softening point is reported as the mean of the
temperatures at which the two disks soften enough to allow each ball, enveloped in bitumen, to
fall a distance of 25 mm.

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 iii) Ductility tests

Are conducted to determine the amount bitumen will stretch at a temperature below its softening
point. Ductility is the property of bitumen that permits it to undergo great deformation or
elongation.

Ductility is defined as the distance in cm, to which a standard sample or briquette of the material
will be elongated without breaking. Dimension of the briquette thus formed is exactly 1 cm
square. The bitumen sample is heated and poured in the mould assembly placed on a plate. These
samples with moulds are cooled in the air and then in water bath at 27 °C temperature. The
excess bitumen is cut and the surface is leveled using a hot knife. Then the mould with assembly
containing sample is kept in water bath of the ductility machine for about 90 minutes. The sides
of the moulds are removed, the clips are hooked on the machine and the machine is operated.

The distance up to the point

of breaking of thread is the
ductility value which is
reported in cm. The ductility
value gets affected by factors
such as pouring temperature,
test temperature, rate of
pulling etc.

4. Elasticity- at low temperatures and for short durations of loading, bitumens display
elastic properties i.e. deforming under load and recovering on removal of the load.
However, if the loads are applied for an appreciable time and at higher temperatures,
viscous flow develops.
5. Durability- depends on the exposure of the bitumens to environmental conditions.
Exposure in hot climates for long periods (years) results in to evaporation, oxidation and
polymerization all of which may occur together. These cause hardening of bitumen.

The design of bitumen mixes is about being able to obtain the appropriate mix based on economy
and the Rheological properties of the bitumen components.

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10.6 USES OF BITUMINOUS MATERIALS

Advantages

Bituminous materials have a number of advantages which have been useful for construction and
building works. These include their:

i) relative cheapness
ii) availability in large quantities
iii) durability
iv) adhesive properties
v) water proofing properties
vi) ease of handling

Main areas of use

The main areas of use are two i.e. Road works and Hydraulic works.

i) Road works

Bitumens are used for surfacing works for the wearing and base courses in Flexible pavement
design of roads. The surfacing provides non-skid and good riding properties to the road and also
protects the less durable materials underneath. It is also water proof.

ii) Hydraulic works

Bituminous materials are used as waterproofing materials due to 2 basic reasons, and these are:

a) To prevent water passing through or penetrating into structures

b) To provide a strong layer capable of resisting erosion by water and wave action. These
uses.

For the reasons above, bitumens are used in areas such as:

 waterproof coatings-paint treatment of materials

 tanking-the provision of an impervious layer in floors and walls of basements
 Flat roofs-for water proofing flat roofs. Three types are used: Asphalt, Bituminous
felt and Proprietary bituminous material.
 Canals, dams and other hydraulic structures-for water proofing and prevention of
erosion.

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