BITUMINOUS MATERIALS

BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
• Introduction
• Origin
• Types of bituminous materials
• Manufacture of bitumen
• Requirements
• Tests
 BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
• Bituminous materials are used for the
construction of wearing courses
– Also used as stabilizing agents for other layers of
flexible pavements
• Basically bituminous materials are
thermoplastic hydrocarbons which possess high
molecular weight
• They become soft on heating and hard on
cooing
 BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
• Bituminous materials are extensively used for
roadway construction, primarily because of
their
– excellent binding characteristics
– water proofing properties and
– relatively low cost
 ORIGIN
• Bituminous materials are obtained from
– Natural sources
• Native bitumen
• Rock Asphalt
• Lake asphalt
– Prepared artificially
• Petroleum Bitumen
TYPES OF BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
• Bitumen
• Asphalt
• Tar
• Modified bituminous materials
– Emulsion
– Cutback
– Rubber modified bitumen/tar
– Polymer modified bitumen
– Sulphur modified bitumen
– Fibre modified bitumen
 BITUMEN
• Bitumen
– It is a black or brown to black, non-crystaline material
in solid or semi-solid state having good adhesive and
water proofing properties
– It is obtained from natural sources or
– Made artificially by vacuum distillation of crude
petroleum products
– Bitumen is completely soluble in carbon disulphide and
carbon tetrachloride
– It softens gradually when heated, resistant to most
acids, alkalis and salts
 ASPHALT
• Asphalt
– Is a mixture in which bitumen associated with a
substantial proportion of inert matter
– If found in lakes, it is known as “Lake Asphalt”
– If found as a naturally occurring calcareous rock, it
is known as “Rock Asphalt”
 TAR
• Tar
– Primarily manufactured from the destructive
distillation of coal/wood and has a very distinct
odor
• Tar is hardly used in paving. Why?
1. Some undesirable physical characteristic such as
very high temperature susceptibility.
2. Significant health hazards such as severe eye and
skin irritation when exposed to its fume.
 EMULSION
• Emulsified asphalt (emulsion) is a mixture of
bitumen, water and an emulsifying agent. This
emulsified asphalt is usually used for prime
coat (binder and road-base) and tack coat
(binder and wearing).
• Because bitumen not dissolve in water,
bitumen and water exist in separate phases in
emulsion.
 CUTBACK
• Cutbacks are liquid bitumen which are manufactured
by adding petroleum solvents to bitumen.
• They are made to reduce the asphalt viscosity for
lower application temperature. Application to
aggregate or pavement causes the solvent to escape
by evaporation and leave the bitumen residue on the
surface.
• Based on the rate of evaporation, cutback asphalt are
divided to three types – rapid curing (RC), medium
curing (MC) and slow curing (SC).
 MODIFIED BINDERS
• Tar-bitumen mixtures
• Rubberised tar and bitumen
• Tar –polymer blends
• Other modified binders
 Tar-Bitumen Mixtures
• Tar and Bitumen possess certain individual characteristics
which is combined by proper blending of the two materials
and provide a road binder of excellent quality
• Bitumen has greater durability and lower temperature
susceptibility than tar
• But bitumen has poor adhesion with certain stone
aggregates, especially in the presence of water, resulting in
stripping
• Tar has better adhesion with aggregates because of the
presence of phenols
• Tar when exposed, weathers and hardens
 Tar-Bitumen Mixtures
• Tar-bitumen blend exhibits the following
improvements
– The mixture has better binding property
– Softening point is increased and penetration
decreased so that the temperature susceptibility
of the mixture is lowered
– Rheological nature of the binder is altered
– Better durability
 Rubberised Tar and Bitumen
• Addition of a small quantity of rubber vastly changes the
properties of tar and bitumen
• The important changes are
– Change in viscosity with temperature of bitumen is significantly reduced
– The softening point of binder is increased and its brittle point is reduced
– The elasticity of binder increased with addition of rubber
– In locations such as bus stops, rotary intersections, and steep grades,
where frequent acceleration and deceleration are happened, it is
advantageous to add rubber so that the flow of the mix is checked and
mixture is toughened
– Rubber improves the adhesion between the binder and the stone
aggregates
 Tar-Polymer Blends
• Coal-tar is found to be compatible with polymers like
styrene and polystyrene and an addition of a small
quantity of these brings about significant changes in
the rheological properties of binder
• The temperature susceptibility is considerably
modified
• Higher stability mixtures are produced with this
addition
• Durability increases and resistance to deformation at
high temperature improves considerably
 Other Admixtures of Bitumen
• Addition of polypropylene fibres to bitumen
mixes is known to improve the properties of the
mix
• Addition of sulphur to bitumen is also known to
improve the properties of the mix
• Other modifiers such as tyre rubber,
polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and polymers
will improve the adhesion, durability, resistance
to rutting etc.
 MANUFACTURE OF BITUMEN
• Bitumen is manufactured from selected crude oils through a
process of fractional distillation

• Fractional distillation is a process by which components in a

chemical mixture are separated according to their different
boiling points. Vapours from a boiling solution are passed along a
column. The temperature of the column gradually decreases
along its length. Components with a higher boiling point
condense on the column and return to the solution; components
with a lower boiling point pass through the column and are
collected
 MANUFACTURE OF BITUMEN
• The crude oil is heated to temperatures of between 300 and 350 degrees
Celsius and fed into a distillation column allowing the lightest fractions of the
crude to separate, through vaporization, from the heavier fractions, which
remain liquid.

• The higher boiling point fractions are then drawn-off via a heat exchanger
and enter a vacuum distillation column. This process produces a "short
residue" that is used to manufacture several grades of bitumen. The pressure
and temperature conditions within the vacuum process will determine the
hardness of the short residue, and as such the grade of bitumen produced.

• The short residue may be further modified by 'air blowing' in which air is
passed through the residue at temperatures of 250 - 300 degrees Celsius
 REQUIREMENTS OF BITUMEN
• The viscosity of the bitumen at the time of mixing and compaction
should be adequate. This is achieved by heating the bitumen and
aggregate prior to mixing or by use of cutbacks or emulsions of
suitable grade.
• The bituminous material should not be highly temperature
susceptible. During the hottest weather, the bituminous mix should
not become too soft or unstable. During cold weather, the mix
should not become too hard and brittle, causing cracking of surface.
• In presence of water, the bitumen should not strip off from the
aggregate. There should be adequate affinity and adhesion between
bitumen and aggregates used in the mix.
• The bituminous material should be durable
 TESTS ON BITUMEN
• Penetration test
• Ductility test
• Softening point tests
• Viscosity test
• Flash and fire point test
• Loss on heating test
• Solubility test
• Specific gravity test
• Water content test
• Thin film oven test
• Rotating thin film oven test
 Penetration test
• To determine the consistency range or grade
of bitumen based on the penetration of a
standard needle under standard conditions
• A standard needle of 1 mm dia., bearing 100 g
of weight is allowed to penetrate into a
bitumen sample at 250 C for 5 seconds
• Penetration is measured using a dial gauge
having a least count of 0.1 mm
 Ductility test
• Bitumen is heated to become completely fluid and poured into a
briquette mould of standard size.
• It is allowed to cool to room temperature.
• The mould with bitumen is suitably fixed to two jaws in a water
bath which is maintained at 270C
• One side of the mould is fixed to fixed jaw and the other side is
fixed to a movable jaw which is allowed to stretch away at a
constant rate of 5 cm/minute .
• During this process the bitumen become like a thin thread and at a
certain point breaks on further pulling.
• The length of bitumen thread just before breaking is measured on a
scale.
 Softening point test
• In this test, the temperature of the bitumen is measured at the
point when it becomes soft.
• Bitumen sample is heated until it become completely fluid.
• This fluid is filled into two brass rings.
• Steel sphears of weight 3.5 g and diameter 9.5 mm are placed over
the bitumen filled brass rings
• The brass ring with spears are placed on the top plate of a frame.
• The frame is immersed in distilled water bath maintained at 50C for
15 minutes.
• Water is heated at a uniform rate of 50C /minute
• When steel sphears sink through the rings and just touch the
bottom pate of the frame, the temperature is noted
 Viscosity Test
• Viscosity is the internal resistance offered by
the molecules of a substance against flow with
time.
• Glass tube capillary viscometers
– Vacuum tube capillary viscometers
– Gravity flow capillary viscometers
• Orifice Viscometers
• Rotational viscometers
 Glass tube capillary viscometers
• Liquid bitumen is filled in one of the limbs of a U-shaped glass tube
to a predetermined level and allowed to flow further into its other
limb

• Time required for the liquid bitumen to flow between two given
markings on the limb of the U- tube is recorded

• Viscosity is calculated by multiplying the calibration factor of the U-

tube to the recorded time duration in seconds

• Based on geometrical differences, there are different types of

capillary glass tube viscometers
 Vacuum tube capillary viscometer
• Preheated bitumen(in fluid state) is allowed to flow through
a limb of a calibrated capillary glass U-tube which is kept in
water bath at 600C

• A certain amount of vacuum is created at the other end of

the tube and the time duration is recorded when the
bitumen flows between the markings of the tube

• Dynamic viscosity of bitumen is calculated by multiplying the

time duration in seconds to the calibration factor of the
capillary glass tube
 Gravity flow capillary viscometers
• Kinematic viscosity of bituminous materials is measured
using a gravity flow viscometer
• The liquid bitumen at a pre-determined height is allowed
to flow by gravity through a calibrated capillary tube of
standard size and shape, kept in oil bath maintained at
1350C
• Time taken for liquid to flow in between two markings of
the capillary tube is measured
• Kinematic viscosity of bitumen is calculated by multiplying
the time duration in seconds to the calibration factor of the
capillary glass tube
 Orifice Viscometers
• A specified volume of liquid bitumen
maintained at standard temperature is
allowed to flow by gravity through an orifice of
standard diameter
• The time in seconds is measured
• Tar viscometer (10 mm dia. Orifice, 50 ml vol.)
• Saybolt Furol viscometer (3mm dia. Orifice, 60
ml vol.)
 Rotational viscometers
• A spindle is vertically inserted into a chamber
filled with bitumen liquid and allowed to
rotate at a given rate
• The torque required to maintain the specified
rate of rotations of the spindle per minute at a
standard test temperature gives the viscosity
• Brookfield viscometer is an example.
 Flash and fire point test
• Flash and fire point tests are conducted to
determine at what temperatures the surface
of heated bitumen can flash and be ignited
• Test results are useful to prevent fire hazards
during heating, mixing and compaction of
bituminous layers.
• Flash point test can be conducted using
Pensky Marten’s apparatus
 Flash and fire point test
• To determine flash point, a suitable quantity of bitumen
is taken in a cup and heated at a rate of 5 to 60 per
minute
• The molten bitumen is stirred at a rate of 60 rpm
• A thermometer is kept inserted in the molten bitumen
to take temperature measurements
• During the process of heating, a small test flame is
frequently brought over the surface of molten bitumen
• Temperature is recorded at the earliest spark of flash
and is reported as the flash point of bitumen
 Flash and fire point test
• For the fire point test, above test is continued
by further heating of bitumen until the surface
ignites by itself at east for 5 seconds
• At this exact point of ignition, the temperature
on the thermometer is recorded and reported
as the fire point of bitumen
 Loss on heating test
• Loss of volatile matter of bitumen (in % by
weight) is determined in this test
• About 50 g of bitumen is weighed into a
container and the container is placed in an
oven for 5 hours at temperature 1630C
• Then the weight of bitumen is recorded and
the loss is reported as a % of original weight
 Solubility test
• Test to determine the purity of bitumen
• About 2 g of bitumen is dissolved in 100 ml of
trichloroethylene and filtered through an
asbestos fibre mat.
• The amount of contaminants retained on the
mat is weighed and expressed as a % of
weight of the original bitumen sample taken
 Specific gravity test
• Specific gravity of bitumen is the ratio of weight of a
given volume of bitumen to the weight of an equal
volume of water at a given temperature

• Specific gravity can be measured by weighing in air and

weighing when completely immersed in distilled water at
the standard temperature

• The test is usually performed with a pycnometer

 Thin Film Oven (TFO)Test
• This test is conducted to test the short term aging of
bitumen

• This test is intended to evaluate the changes in

characteristics of bitumen such as loss in value of weight,
penetration and viscosity, when a sample is subjected to
hardening in the presence of hot air

• Susceptibility of bitumen to heating is evaluated when it is

exposed to adverse hot conditions that are present during
mixing operations
• 50 ml sample of bitumen is placed in a steel pan of 140
mm internal diameter and 10 mm depth
• The pan filled with bitumen is weighed and placed on a
rotating shelf mounted in a ventilated oven for 5 hours at
1630C
• The rotating shelf rotates in the horizontal plane at a rate
of 5 to 6 rpm
• After completing the prescribed number of rotations, pan
filled with bitumen is weighed and the bitumen residue is
use for further testing to determine change in values of
viscosity and penetration due to hardening effect in oven
 Rotating thin film oven (RTFO)test
• The objective of this test is same as that of
TFO test but the procedure is different
• Bitumen sample is filled in standard glass
bottle and suitably fixed on to a rotating rack
• The rack rotates about its centre in a vertical
plane at a pre-determined rate 15 rpm.
• The bottle filled with bitumen rotates about its
horizontal axis
• The rotating rack system is assembled in a oven
maintained at a temperature of 1630C
• While bottle is rotating, the liquid bitumen also
rolls inside the bottle and is exposed to heat
• To accelerate hardening, hot air is blown into the
bottle by means of air jet after each rotation of
the rack
• After the test, the %loss in weight of bitumen is
determined and the residual bitumen is used to
conduct further tests for determining change in
value of viscosity, penetration and softening point