Construction of Wet Mix Macadam (WMM) Sub-base and Base Course

Physical Requirements:
Consists of laying and compacting clean, crushed, graded aggregate and granular material,
premixed with water, to a dense mass on a prepared subgrade/sub-base/base or existing
pavement as the case may be.
The material shall be laid in one or more layers.
The thickness of a single compacted WMM layer shall not be less than 75 mm.
When vibrating rollers are used, the compacted depth of a single layer of the sub-base
course may be increased to 200 mm.
Coarse aggregates shall be crushed stone.
If crushed gravel/shingle is used, not less than 90 percent by weight of the gravel/shingle
pieces retained on 4.75 mm sieve shall have at least two fractured faces.
Physical requirements of coarse aggregates:
S.No. Test Requirement
1 Los Angeles abrasion value (or) 40% (Max.)
Aggregate impact value 30% (Max.)
2 Combined flakiness and elongation indices 35% (Max.)
Aggregate may satisfy the requirements of either Los Angeles abrasion value or the
aggregate impact value.
If the water absorption value of the coarse aggregate is greater than 2 percent, the
soundness test shall be carried out on the material.
Grading requirement of aggregates:
IS Sieve, mm Per cent by weight passing the IS sieve
53.0 100
45.0 95-100
22.4 60-80
11.2 40-60
4.75 25-40
2.36 15-30
0.6 8-22
0.075 0-5
Materials finer than 425 m shall have PI < 6.
The final gradation shall not vary from the low limit on one sieve to the high
limit on the adjacent sieve or vice versa.

Construction Operations:
1) Preparation of Base: (same as WBM)
o The surface of the subgrade/sub-base to receive WBM course shall be prepared to the
specified camber and cleaned of dust and other extraneous material.
o Any ruts or soft yielding places shall be corrected and rolled until firm surface is
obtained.
o Where WBM is to be laid on an existing metalled road, damaged area including
depressions and potholes shall be repaired and made good with suitable material.
o Existing metalled surface shall be scarified and re-shaped to required grade and
camber before spreading coarse aggregate for WBM.
o Laying WBM course over existing bituminous layer shall be avoided since it will
cause problems of internal drainage of the pavement at the interface of two courses.

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 o Desirable to completely remove existing bituminous wearing course where WBM is
proposed over it.
2) Provision of lateral confinement of aggregates:
o While constructing WMM, arrangement shall be made for the lateral confinement of
wet mix.
o This shall be done by laying materials in adjoining shoulders along with that of WMM
layer.
3) Preparation of mix:
o WMM shall be prepared in mixing plant of suitable capacity having provision for
controlled addition of water and mixing arrangement like pug-mill or pan type mixer
of concrete batching plant.
o WMM plant shall have following features:
For feeding aggregates: 3 or 4 bin feeders with variable speed motor
Vibrating screen for removal of oversized aggregates
Conveyor belt
Controlled system for addition of water
Mixing arrangement like pug-mill or pan type mixer
Centralized control panel for sequential operation of various devices and
precise process control
Safety devices
o Optimum moisture for mixing shall be determined after replacing the aggregate
fraction retained on 22.4 mm sieve with material of 4.75 mm to 22.4 mm size.
o While adding water, due allowance should be made for evaporation losses.
o The mixed material shall be uniformly wet without any segregation.
4) Spreading of mix:
o Immediately after mixing, aggregates shall be spread uniformly and evenly over the
prepared subgrade/sub-base course.
o Mix shall not be dumped in heaps directly on the area where it is to be laid.
o The mix shall be spread by a paver finisher.
o In exceptional cases, motor grader may be used.
o The surface of the aggregate shall be checked with templates and all high or low spots
shall be corrected by removing or adding aggregate.
o Segregation of large and fine particles shall not be allowed.
o Aggregate spread shall be of uniform gradation without any pockets of fine materials.
o Manual mixing and laying of WMM may be used in smaller road stretches.
5) Compaction:
o If the thickness of single compacted layer is < 100 mm, smooth wheel roller of 80 to
100 kN weight may be used.
o For a compacted single layer up to 200 mm, the compaction shall be done with the
help of vibratory roller of minimum static weight of 80 to 100 kN with an arrangement
for adjusting frequency and amplitude.
o The speed of the roller shall not exceed 5 kmph.
o In portions having unidirectional cross fall/superelevation, rolling shall commence
from the lower edge and progress gradually towards the upper edge.
o Thereafter, roller should progress parallel to the centre line of the road, uniformly
over-lapping each preceding track by at least one third width until the entire surface
has been rolled.
o Alternate trips of the roller shall be terminated in stops at least 1 m away from any
preceding stop.

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 o In portions with camber, rolling should begin at the edge with the roller running
forward and backward until the edges have been firmly compacted.
o The roller shall then progress gradually towards the centre parallel to the centre line of
the road uniformly overlapping each of the preceding track by at least one-third width
until the entire surface has been rolled.
o Any displacement occurring as a result of reversing the direction of roller or from any
other cause shall suitably be corrected.
o For places not accessible to the roller (kerbs, walls, etc.), the mixture shall be
compacted with mechanical tampers or a plate compactor.
o Rolling should not be done when the subgrade is soft or yielding or when it causes a
wave like motion in the sub-base/base course or subgrade.
o If irregularities develop during rolling which exceed 12 mm when tested with a 3 m
straight edge, the surface shall be loosened and premixed material added or removed
as required before rolling again so as to achieve a uniform surface conforming to the
desired grade and crossfall.
o Unmixed material shall not be permitted to make up the depressions.
o Rolling shall be continued till the density achieved is at least 98 per cent of the
maximum dry density.
o After completion, finisher surface layer shall be well-closed, free from movement of
compaction equipment and free from any compaction planes, ridges, cracks and loose
material.
o All loose, segregated or defective areas shall be made good and re-compacted.
6) Setting and drying:
o After final compaction of WMM course, the road shall be allowed to dry for 24 hours.
7) Opening to Traffic:
o No vehicular traffic of any kind should be allowed on the finished WMM surface till it
has dried and the wearing course laid.
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