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Pavements and Bituminous Materials
Pavements and Bituminous Materials
PAVEMENT: Definition
Pavement is defined as a road or highway with hard, smooth, and leveled
surface made using a suitable material such as Portland cement concrete or
asphalt concrete.
• Portland cement concrete possesses a substantially higher stiffness (EI) than asphalt
concrete due to higher modulus of elasticity of Portland cement concrete as
compared to asphalt concrete.
• Due to high stiffness of Portland cement concrete the total structure of a rigid
pavement "bends" or "deflects" very little under traffic loads. This is the logic behind
calling such a pavement as “rigid pavement”.
• Rigid pavements act as flexural members and distribute the wheel load fairly
uniformly over the area under the pavement slab, as shown below:
• The asphalt cement can readily be liquefied by applying heat for mixing with
mineral aggregates to produce asphalt concrete.
TYPES OF PETROLEUM ASPHALTS:
Asphalt cement---contd.
• Several standard grades of asphalt cement, based on consistency, are
available commercially.
– The penetration grades, as specified in ASTM D946 are: 200-300; 120-150; 85-
100; 60-70; and 40-50 (higher the penetration, the softer the asphalt cement,
therefore, 40-50 is the hardest grade and 200-300 is the softest grade.
TYPES OF PETROLEUM ASPHALTS:
Asphalt cement---contd.
TYPES OF PETROLEUM ASPHALTS:
Emulsified asphalt
• Emulsified asphalt (also simply called emulsion) is a mixture of asphalt
cement, water, and emulsifying agent.
• Because the asphalt cement will not dissolve in water, asphalt cement and
water exist in separate phases as shown in the following figure:
• To mix the asphalt cement with water, an emulsifying agent (usually a type of
soap) is added.
TYPES OF PETROLEUM ASPHALTS:
Emulsified asphalt-----contd.
• Process of manufacture of emulsified asphalt consists passing the hot asphalt
cement and water containing the emulsifying agent under pressure through a
colloid mill, as shown in the following figure:
• The anionic emulsified asphalts include rapid setting (RS), medium setting
(MS), and slow setting (SS), as specified in ASTM D977.
• The cationic emulsified asphalts include rapid setting (CRS), medium setting
(CMS), and slow setting (CSS), as specified in ASTM D2397.
TYPES OF PETROLEUM ASPHALTS:
Emulsified asphalt-----contd.
• Selection and uses of emulsified asphalts are given in ASTM D3628. Generally,
they are used as follows:
• The thinnest and most fluid grade is designated by the suffix number 30,
which is available in MC type only.
TYPES OF PETROLEUM ASPHALTS:
Liquid or cutback asphalt------contd.
Emulsified asphalts are increasingly being used in lieu of cutback asphalts for
the following reasons:
– Environmental regulations: Emulsions are relatively pollution free.
– Loss of high-energy products: When cutback asphalts cure, the diluents
which are high energy, high price products are wasted into atmosphere.
– Safety: Emulsions are safe to use.
– Lower application temperature: Emulsions can be applied at relatively low
temperatures saving the fuel costs. Emulsions can also be applied
effectively to a damp pavement, whereas dry conditions are required for
cutback asphalts.
PROPERTIES OF ASPHALTS
• Following are the properties of asphalt that are of great importance
in pavement design and construction:
– Consistency
– Specific gravity
– Ductility
– Purity
– Flash point
– Rate of curing
– Aging or hardening
– Resistance to reaction with water
– Durability
PROPERTIES OF ASPHALTS
Consistency
• Consistency describes the degree of fluidity of asphalt cement at any
particular temperature.
• Since the volume of asphalt changes with temperature (with the change
from semisolid to liquid state), the specific gravity of asphalt is expressed at
a given temperature (usually at 77°F or 60°F)
• Petroleum asphalts have specific gravity values close to unity (0.95 – 1.05).
• Ductility is sometimes
used as an indirect
gage of adhesion and
cohesion of asphalt.
• Adhesion is the ability
to stick to aggregate
particles in the asphalt
concrete.
• Cohesion is the ability
to hold the aggregate
particles firmly in place.
PROPERTIES OF ASPHALTS
Purity
• Refined asphalt cements consist of almost pure bitumen, which
by definition is entirely soluble in carbon disulfide. Only very
little amounts of impurities are generally present in refined
asphalt cements.
• Flash point is the temperature below that of the fire point, which is the
temperature where a material combusts.
• Flash point test is conducted in accordance with ASTM D92 to indicate the
temperature to which asphalt cement may be safely heated without the
danger of instantaneous flash in the presence of an open flame.
PROPERTIES OF ASPHALTS
Rate of curing
• The process of evaporation of solvents from cutback asphalts, and the
attendant thickening of the material, is called curing.
• Curing can also be described as the change in consistency of an asphalt due
to the progressive loss of diluents by evaporation.
• The rate of curing, or the time required for a cutback asphalt to harden
(from its original liquid consistency) and develop a consistency that is
satisfactory for the function as a binder in pavements is an important
property of cutback asphalts.
• The rate of curing is influenced by the following factors:
– Volatility or evaporation rate of the solvent
– The amount of solvent
– Penetration (or viscosity) of the asphalt base
– Temperature and humidity of the environment
– Wind velocity
– Surface area of the pavement
PROPERTIES OF ASPHALTS
Aging or hardening
• Aging or hardening is the process under which asphalt becomes harder and brittle
due to increase in the viscosity of asphalt caused by:
– the evaporation and oxidation of the lighter, oily constituents during mixing at high
temperatures, called “volatilization” (short-term aging or hardening)
– the oxidation of the oils to resins and resins to asphaltenes when used over a period of
years (long-term or in-service aging or hardening)
Durability of pavement
is adversely affected by
aging.
PROPERTIES OF ASPHALTS
Resistance to action of water
• Asphalt materials designed for pavements should be able to withstand the
effects of water.