Marshall Stability and Flow of Bituminous Mix

NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

School of Civil and Structural Engineering

LABORATORY - PAVEMENT MATERIALS

MARSHALL STABILITY AND FLOW OF

BITUMINOUS MIX

OBJECTIVES

To measure the resistance to plastic flow of cylindrical specimens of a

bituminous paving mixture loaded on the lateral surface by means of the
Marshall Apparatus. The method is suitable for mixes containing aggregate up to
25 mm maximum size.

BACKGROUND

The most widely used method of bituminous mix design is the Marshall method
developed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Stability and flow, together with
density, voids and percentage of voids filled with binder are determined at
varying binder contents to determine an 'optimum' for stability, durability,
flexibility, fatigue resistance, etc.

The mechanism of failure in the Marshall test apparatus is complex but it is

essentially a type of unconfined compression test. This being so, it can only have
limited correlation with deformation in a pavement where the material is
confined by the tyre, the base and the surrounding surfacing. Wheel tracking
tests have shown that resistance to plastic flow increases with reducing binder
content whereas Marshall stability has an optimum, below which stability
decreases. Improvement on the assessment based on stability is possible by
considering flow and most agencies (e.g. Asphalt Institute, Singapore LTA) set
minima for stability and specified range for flow for various purposes (roads,
airports, etc.).

In addition to binder content, stability and flow are also dependent on type of
binder, grading of aggregate, the particle shape, geological nature of parent rock
(most importantly, porosity), degree of compaction, etc. Temperature is also a
factor but, for the test, it is standardised at 60 oC.

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 Marshall Stability and Flow of Bituminous Mix

PROCEDURE (ASTM 1994)

The dimension and specifications of the Marshall apparatus are laid down in
ASTM D1559. The diameter of the specimen is 101.6 mm and nominal
thickness 63.5 mm. Table 1, taken from ASTM D1559, gives a correlation ratio
whereby the stability of specimens not 63.5 mm thick can be adjusted.

1. Test specimens, prepared according to the Standard, are immersed in a

water bath for 30 to 40 minutes or in an oven for 2 hours at 60 ± 1.0 oC.

2. The testing heads and guide rods are thoroughly cleaned, guide rods
lubricated and head maintained at a temperature between 21.1 and 37.8 oC.

3. A specimen is removed from the water bath or oven, and placed between
the lower jaw and the upper jaw of the specimen holder. The complete
assembly is then placed in the compression testing machine and the flow
meter adjusted to zero.

4. The load is applied to the specimen at a constant strain rate of 50.8 mm/min
until the maximum load is reached. The maximum force (called stability)
and flow at that force are read and recorded. The maximum time allowed
between removal of the specimen from the water bath and maximum load is
30 s.

RESULTS

Each specimen's stability is adjusted if its thickness is not exactly 63.5 mm. The
usual practice is to test 3 specimens for each binder content, and the average of 3
tests taken to be the stability (to nearest Newton) and flow (to nearest unit) at
each of the binder contents.

DISCUSSION

(a) Report the results obtained from the specimen preparation stage -see
specimen preparation experiment.

(b) Report the stability and flow of the mixes (for specimens with various
binder contents) and produce plots of stability and flow against binder
content.

(c) Determine the optimum binder contents for the bituminous mix with
respect to the LTA requirements (see Table 2).

(d) Comment on the applicability of your mix under Singapore conditions.

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 Marshall Stability and Flow of Bituminous Mix

REFERENCES
1. Asphalt Institute (1998). Construction of hot mix asphalt pavements. Manual Series
No. 22, 2nd edition. Asphalt Institute, Lexington, Kentucky 40512-4052.
2. ASTM (1994). ASTM D1559-89, Standard test method for resistance to plastic
flow of bituminous mixtures using Marshall apparatus. 1994 Annual Book of ASTM
Standards, Volume 04.03, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia
19103-1187.
3. PWD (1992). PWD General Specification. Public Works Department, Singapore
1987 (with amendments, 1992).

Table 1. Stability correlation ratio (from ASTM D1559)

Volume of Approximate thickness Correlation ratio
specimen (cm3) of specimen (mm)
200-213 25.4 5.56
214-225 27.0 5.00
226-237 28.6 4.55
238-250 30.2 4.17
251-264 31.8 3.85
265-276 33.3 3.57
277-289 34.9 3.33
290-301 36.5 3.03
302-316 38.1 2.78
317-328 39.7 2.50
329-340 41.3 2.27
341-353 42.9 2.08
354-367 44.4 1.92
368-379 46.0 1.79
380-392 47.6 1.67
393-405 49.2 1.56
406-420 50.8 1.47
421-431 52.4 1.39
432-443 54.0 1.32
444-456 55.6 1.25
457-470 57.2 1.19
471-482 58.7 1.14
483-495 60.3 1.09
496-508 61.9 1.04
509-522 63.5 1.00
523-535 65.1 0.96
536-546 66.7 0.93
547-559 68.3 0.89
560-573 69.8 0.86
574-585 71.4 0.83
586-598 73.0 0.81
599-610 74.6 0.78
611-625 76.2 0.76

Table 2. Marshall design criteria specified by LTA (PWD 1992)

Marshall stability (Number of blows =2 × 75) ≥ 9.00 kN
Flow value (in 0.254-mm unit) 8-16 units (2-4 mm)
Voids in total mix, VTM 3-5 %
Aggregate voids filled with bitumen binder, VFB 75-82 %

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