MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, DESIGN, ART AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT

DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT

COURSE UNIT: CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS CMG2108

PROJECT REPORT ON MATERIALS USED ON ROAD CONSTRUCTION

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2021/2022,

SEMESTER TWO, YEAR TWO

LECTURER’S NAME: MADAM NAMAKULA HIDAYA

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The report covers different types of construction materials used in the construction of roads and
building of road support amenities; where and how they were used, stored and other aspects of
construction materials. For the roads, specific construction materials were used as explained in
the later chapters of the writing.

The project was carried out within Makerere University along Kasubi lane view off Lumumba
junction towards the Western gate as a recess project. The basic materials used were; Marrum,
aggregates, stone dust, bitumen forming up the asphalt concrete. Concrete cubes were also used
as road kerbs.

1.1 Objectives/Aims of visiting the road construction site

 To introduce the students to the basic properties of construction materials as pertains road

construction.
 To understand the different tests and test procedures on the used materials at site. 
 To examine the behavior and performance of construction materials under different condi
tions 
 To understand constituent components and preparation of different construction
materials.
2.0 ROAD PAVEMENT
A road pavement is a structure consisting superimposed layers of selected and processed
materials whose primary role is to distribute the applied loads to the sub-grade. There are two
types of pavements namely; flexible and rigid pavements.

Roads are used for various forms of transportation, such as trucks, automobiles, buses,
motorcycles, and bicycles. A safe and efficient land transportation system is an essential element
of sustainable regional or national economy. Roads have been and continue to be the backbone
of the land transportation network that provides the accessibility form the required mobility to
support economic growth and promote social activities.

2.1 MAIN FEATURES OF A PAVEMENT

 Lanes
This is a division of a road, street or highway wide enough for a single line of motor
vehicle and is usually 2.5m or 3.5m wide

 Road shoulder
This is a division of a road beyond the carriage or lane which is usually 1m wide. This acts as
a drain-off system for water from the carriage-way into the side drains.

 Road camber
This is a cross fall on a road, a slight curve in a structure especially in the surface of a road
which makes excess water flow off the road surface.

 Centre line
This is line that divides the width of the road in to two lanes

2.2 TYPES OF ROAD PAVEMENT

Rigid pavements

Rigid pavements are those that have sufficient beam strength to bridge over the localized sub
grade failures and areas of inadequate support. These are made from a mixture of Portland
cement and aggregates.concrete pavement have a long life and require little maintence, a slab
concrete is generally laid as a single thick layer directly on a base course and this make the
construction of the rigid pavements very expensive. The thickness of the concrete slab usually
100mm-300mm.

In practice, only concrete pavements are regarded as rigid. (FWA, 2006).

Flexible pavements

A flexible pavement is a mixture of sand, aggregate, filler material, and asphalt cement
combined in a controlled process, placed, and compacted. (Brokenbrough and Boedecker 2004,
p.263).

The Recess project Road project was a flexible pavement and hence the entire scope of this
report handles the behavior and construction materials of such.

2.2.1 FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT LAYERS

A typical flexible (or asphalt) pavement consists of surface, base course, sub-base and
compacted sub grade (natural soil) over a roadbed as shown in figure 3. (FWA, 2006)
In some case the sub base layer is not used, where as in a small number of case both and sub
base are omitted.

The wearing surface layer may be made of a double surface dressing (prime aggregates) or hot
mix asphalt (asphalt concrete)

Table 2: The layer thickness of a flexible pavement

Pavement layer Thickness(mm)

Wearing surface 25-240

Base course 100-300

Sub base 150-400

Sub grade 300-450

Note
  The highest quality material needs to be at the surface and as the depth increases the
quality of the material should also decrease for economic reasons.
 Unlike rigid pavements, when a load is applied on the surface a localize deformation
occurs underneath the surface of a flexible pavement.
 The required thickness of a flexible pavement varies widely depends on
a) The material used
b) Magnitude and number of repetitions traffic load
c) Environmental condition
d) Desired service life of the pavement

LAYERS OF A FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT

Figure 3: layers of a flexible pavement

2.2.1 Roadbed
The natural in situ material on which the fill, or in their absence, any pavement layers, are to be
constructed.
2.2.2 Sub grade
This is the underlying soil that serves as the foundation for a flexible pavement. It may be native
soil or selected borrow materials that is compacted to a depth below the surface of the sub-base.

2.2.3 Sub base course

This is the layer between the sub grade and base course. The sub-base typically consists of a
compacted layer of G30 from a selected borrow pit or compacted layer of G15 from a selected
borrow pit and CRR in 50:50 ratios.

2.2.4 Base course

This is the layer of material directly under the surface course. The base course rests on the sub-
base or, if no sub-base is provided, on the sub grade.

2.4 PAVEMENT MATERIALS:

2.4.1 SOIL
Soil is any un-cemented or weakly cemented accumulation of mineral particles formed by the
weathering of rocks, the void space between the particles containing water and/or air. (Craig,
2004). Soil is the most important part of the road structure. It is the soil that provides support to
the road from below and therefore it should possess sufficient strength and stability under most
adverse loading and climatic conditions.

Soil used in embankments should be incompressible. This will prevent differential settlement in
the sub-grade, to achieve this incompressibility the soil should be compacted and stabilized
adequately. (Singh, 2004).

Soil index properties

Types of soils vary from place to place and area to area. The index properties of soil are as
follows

Grain size distribution is in coarse grained soils and is determined by sieve analysis. For the
fine grained soils grain size distribution can be analyzed by sedimentation also.
Sieve analysis process is sieving a soil sample through the set of sieves stacked together; the
largest sieve being at the top and the smallest at the bottom. The soil retained on each sieve is
weighed and expressed as a percentage of the total weight of the sample.

For consistency limits, Atterberg’s tests are carried out to determine the consistency and plastic
behavior of the fine soils.

Liquid limit: It is the minimum moisture content at which the soil will flow under its own
weight when tapped 25 times in Atterberg’s device. This indicates the limit where soil changes
from plastic to liquid state. At this limit of moisture, the effect of cohesion and internal friction
becomes practically zero

Plastic limit: this indicates the percentage of moisture at which the soil sample changes with
decreasing wetness from a plastic to a semi-solid state. It is the maximum water content at which
soils can be rolled into threads approximately 3mm diameter without breaking.

Plastic index: the range of consistency within which soil exhibits plastic properties is called the
plastic range and it is indicated by the plastic index. Plastic index is the numerical difference
between liquid limit and plastic limit.

Shrinkage limit: it is the moisture content expressed as a percentage at which volume change
ceases.

After obtaining the soil limits, the soil is classified using USCS, unified soil classification
system.

2.4.2 MURRAM
Murram is a form of gravelly lateritic material (clayey material) commonly used for road
surfaces and backfilling in tropical African areas. In the recess project, it was used mainly as a
sub-grade material.

Source

Murram is basically a free gift of nature which is be found in most areas which receive alternate
high rainfall and much sunshine (tropical and subtropical areas). In Uganda, almost every district
has a specified deposit of murram.

Excavation of murram.

Murram is basically excavated for large projects basically using machines and if it is on a hilly
area it is excavated in a form of terraces to avoid landslides that may cause harm to people.
Usually it is recommended to excavate murram in bays. Lime was used to stabilize the supplied
murram before application.

Tools used to excavate

 Excavator, bulldozer, back hoe, TLB excavator
 Hand hoe, pick axe, spades
 Dumpers, wheelbarrows

How murram is transported to the road site

After murram was excavated from the quarry, it was loaded on a 2.7cc- truck and then
transported to the site. This was because it far from the murram quarry. And if the site is near the
murram quarry then simple methods of transportation are used like using wheelbarrows
How murram was applied.
After cleaning the area (road), murram is brought from the quarry and then placed on it and then
levelled using rankers, then after it’s compacted with a compactor
Advantages of murram as a road construction material
 It is generally impervious (not allowing fluids to pass through). Laterite or murram, has
a tendency to harden upon exposure, is often satisfactory when traffic is light.
 It can be compacted easily to form hard surfaces.
 Murram is generally compatible with most construction material hence it can be easily
stabilized.
 Construction and maintenance of roads using Murram is environmentally friendly.
 It is of low-cost in the short run.
 It is readily available
Disadvantages of murram
 It generates lot of dust and this reduces visibility when used for road construction.
 Murram roads become impassable during wet weathers due to potholes, ruts and ridges.
 Earth surfaces also absorb some of the surface water unless it is quickly drained
 It is easily damaged hence requires frequent repairs
 If not compacted, it loses most of its construction functional properties.
 It is expensive to compact murram during construction since it involves use of machinery
operated by killed labour.
 During, compaction, the vibration of the jumper weakens the foundation members of the
house.

2.4.3 BITUMEN

Bitumen is a generic name applied to various mixtures of hydrocarbons obtained naturally or as

a residue from petroleum distillation. It is black in colour and in liquid form when it’s hot and
solid form when cold
Extraction of bitumen

It is derived from the distillation of crude oil which originates from the remains of marine and
plant life that died for millions of years. These biological remains were gradually overlaid with
mud and compressed as the layers progressively built up over time. With increasing pressure,
heat and bacterial breakdown, radioactive pressure and a lot of time, the biological matter was
converted into crude oil.

The pressure surrounding the oil forced it up through porous rock until it appeared at or near the
surface of the earth. This oil has been contained in a layer of impermeable rock. Also known as
organic rich sedimentary rocks having travelled upwards and sideways through porous rocks and
then pooled at the point where it can travel no further. Crude oil may be obtained from oil sands
and organic rocks. These rocks are crushed and the crushed rocks or oil sands are mixed with
water and sent to the facility by pipeline a process known as hydro transportation.

Types of bitumen
There are different types of bitumen available with different properties, specifications and uses
based on requirements of the consuming industry. Key bitumen types for road applications
including paving grades, cutback bitumen, and bitumen emulsion. Hard, oxidized and blown
grades and mastic asphalt are used for paints, sealants, adhesives, enamels, water roofing, land
and marine pipe coatings.

Cut-back bitumen.

This is usually kept in liquid state amidst changes in temperature. Incase it solidifies before
application, it is mildly warmed .It was applied as a primer (mixed with stone dust) on the road
surface acting as an impervious layer blocking any water movements to the surface.

Emulsion bitumen

This was used mainly during premixing of the asphalt concrete. It was added in bits during the
drying process of asphalt ingredients upon heating.
2.4.2 Aggregates:
Stone aggregate is a principle material used in pavement construction. In bituminous pavements,
aggregates constitute about 90% of the construction materials. This is the material primarily
responsible for bearing stress occurring on the road and also to resist wear due to abrasive action
of the traffic.

The aggregates are obtained from natural rock. There are soft and hard aggregates. Hard
aggregates are used to resist crushing effects and adverse weather conditions while soft
aggregates are used in murram roads. Aggregates are specified according to their grain size,
shape, texture and gradation.

Favorable properties of aggregates

 Strength
 Hardness
 Toughness
 Soundness
 Shape of aggregate
Several tests that were carried out on aggregates

 Crushing test
 Soundness test
 specific gravity test
 water absorption test
 Ten percent fine value