CE6503 Highway Materials Lec1

12/11/18
CE 6503 : Highway Materials
Dr. M. Neaz Murshed

Assistant Professor, Dept of C.E.
Course Syllabus
• Origin, production, specifications, properties and uses of
bituminous materials;
• Binder mixtures;
• Design and analysis of bituminous paving mixes;
• Field operations, surface treatments, stabilization methods;
• Aggregates, base, subbase and subgrade;
• Cement concrete in pavement construction.
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References:
• Traffic & Highway Engineering.

• -Nicholas J. Garber.
• Asphalt Materials and Mix Design Manual.

• -By Irving Kett
• Highway Engineering.
• -By Paul H. Wright.
• Principles of Transportation Engineering.

• -By Partha Chakroborty
Origin of Bituminous Material:

• Naturally occurring deposits of bituminous materials are formed from the remains of
ancient, microscopic algae and other once-living things. When these organisms died, their
remains were deposited in the mud on the bottom of the ocean or lake where they lived.
Under the heat and pressure of burial deep in the earth, the remains were transformed
into materials such as bitumen, kerogen, or petroleum. Deposits at the La Brea Tar Pits
are an example.
• During the early and mid20th century when “Town gas” was produced, tar was a readily
available product and extensively used as the binder for road aggregates.
• The addition of tar to macadam roads led to the word Tarmac, which is now used in
common parlance to refer to road-making materials. However, since the 1970s, when
natural gas succeeded town gas, asphalt has completely overtaken the use of tar in these
applications.
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Historical Development:
• Asphalt is by no means a product of our modern civilization which is attested by the fact
that remains of saber-tooth tigers and other prehistoric animals have been found in the
La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. In reality, these so-called "tar pits" are deposits of natural
asphalt.
• The first recorded use of asphalt dates back to 3800 B. C. in Mesopotamia where the
material was used as an adhesive mortar for building stones and paving blocks.
Reservoirs, canals, and bathing pools constructed with these blocks were made watertight
with this material found in natural deposits in the region.
• Asphalt was first used in paving in the middle of the nineteenth century. Natural
deposits of rock asphalt from the Rhone Valley in France served as the source for this
construction. In 1876 portions of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D. C , were paved
using Trinidad lake asphalt.
Bituminous Materials:
• Bitumen:
• A bitumen (according to ASTM) is a class of black or dark-colored (solid, semisolid,
or viscous) cementitious substances, natural or manufactured, composed principally
of high molecular weight hydrocarbons , of which asphalts, tars, pitches, and
asphaltites are typical.
• By definition it is soluble in carbon disulfide.
• Two types are used in construction:-
1. Asphalt &
2. Tar
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1. Asphalt:
• Asphalt (according to ASTM) is a dark brown to black cementitious material in
which the predominating constituents are bitumens which occur in nature or are
obtained by refining petroleum.
• There are two sources of asphalt:-

(1) those occurring naturally, and
(2) those obtained by the refining of petroleum.
• In both cases, asphalt is the product of fractional distillation of petroleum,

whether over short periods of time as in the refinery or longer periods as in nature.
2. Tar:
• Tars do not occur in nature since they are product of chemical change.
• For example, tars are products of the destructive distillation (as distinguished
from fractional distillation in the case of asphalt) of a number of organic materials
such as coal, wood and sugar.
• Tar obtained from the destructive distillation of bituminous coal is a crude tar which
must undergo further refinement to obtain road tar.
• Tar can also be produced from petroleum by chemical rather than physical change;
that is, the destructive distillation of petroleum.
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Sl. Asphalt Tar
1 Black to brown in color Usually found in brown color
2 Obtained from fractional distillation of Obtained by destructive distillation of
crude oil coal or wood
3 Soluble in carbon disulfide and carbon tetra Soluble in toluene
chloride
4 Molecular weight range for road bitumen is Molecular weight range for road tar is 150
400 to 5000 to 3000
5 Consists of large amount of aromatic Consist of large amount of oily matter
hydrocarbon with lower molecular weight
6 Bitumen show resistance to coating road Tar coats more easily and retain it better
aggregate and also does not retain in in presence of water
presence of water
7 Free carbon content is less Free carbon content is more
8 It shows more resistance to weathering It shows less resistance to weathering
action action
9 Lower temperature susceptibility Higher temperature susceptibility
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Sources of Asphalt:
Asphalt is the product of fractional distillation of petroleum and this fractional distillation
process can occur over a long period of time in nature resulting in deposits of material known
as natural asphalts or in a short period of time in the refinery resulting in manufactured
asphalts.
The refinery is the primary source of asphalt today. Since natural asphalts historically have
been utilized in paving, it is worth while to include a brief discussion of these materials as
well as the manufactured products.
• Natural Asphalts. Natural asphalts can exist either in the relatively pure form in
nature or in impregnated rock deposits. The next table contains a listing of a number
of different natural asphalts together with certain physical properties which give an
indication of the characteristics of these materials. Of these natural asphalts, two still
have commercial significance (1) Trinidad lake asphalt, and (2) Gilsonite.
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Sources of Asphalt:
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Sources of Asphalt:
Natural Deposits
• Natural deposits of asphalt occur as either
1. Native asphalt or 2. Rock asphalt.
• Native Asphalt:
• The largest deposit of native asphalt is known to have existed in Iraq several
thousand years ago. Native asphalts also have been found in Trinidad, Bermuda,
and the La Brea asphalt pits in Los Angeles, California.
• Native asphalt (after being softened with petroleum fluxes) was at one time used
extensively as binders in highway construction.
• The properties of native asphalt vary from one deposit to another, particularly with
respect to the amount of insoluble material the asphalt contains.
• The Trinidad deposit, for example, contains about 40 percent insoluble organic and
inorganic materials, whereas the Bermuda material contains about 6 percent of such
material.
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Sources of Asphalt:
Natural Deposits
• Rock asphalt
• It is a natural deposit of sandstone or limestone rocks filled with asphalt.
• Deposits have been found in California, Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama.
• The amount of asphalt varies from one deposit to another and can be as low as 4.5
percent and as high as 18 percent.
• Rock asphalt can be used to surface roads after the mined or quarried material has
been suitably processed.
• This process includes adding suitable mineral aggregates, asphalt binder, and oil,
which facilitates the flowing of the material.
• Rock asphalt is not used widely because of its high transportation costs.
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Sources of Asphalt:
Petroleum Asphalt
• At present the primary source of asphalt is that
obtained from the refining of petroleum.
• The heavier or more viscous portions of certain crude
oils are asphalts.
• The breakdown of such a crude is shown schematically
on the right.
• Asphalt base crudes can vary in consistency and color
from that of a burgundy wine to material as black and
viscous as the asphalt itself.
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Sources of Asphalt:
Petroleum Asphalt (2)
• All crude oils do not contain asphalt as the heavier portions. In general, there are two
other classifications for crude, depending upon their base or more viscous
constituents- (1) paraffin and (2) mixed base crudes.
• The paraffin or wax base crudes are those in which material left after fractional
distillation of the more volatile constituents is essentially a paraffin wax.
• The mixed base crudes are those in which the heavier portions are a mixture of wax
and asphalt. Special treatment is necessary to separate the asphalt from these crudes.
• In general crudes in the California area are asphalt base. Those from the mid-
continent are mixed base and those from Pennsylvania, for example, are paraffin
base.
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Sources of Asphalt:
Petroleum Asphalt
• The asphalt materials obtained from the distillation of petroleum are in the form of
different types of asphalts, which include asphalt cements, slow-curing liquid
asphalts, medium-curing liquid asphalts, rapid-curing liquid asphalts, and asphalt
emulsions.
• The quantity of asphalt obtained from crude petroleum is dependent on the
American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity of the petroleum. In general, large
quantities of asphalt are obtained from crude petroleum with low API gravity.
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Sources of Asphalt:
• Example: Water at the reference temperature and pressure has Gs=1. Accordingly, the
API Gravity Index of water is 10. The API GI is thus inversely related to the specific
gravity of the material.
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Sources of Asphalt:
• Generally speaking, the lower the API GI of a petroleum, the higher will be its asphalt
content, and the lower its content of volatile phases like gasoline and kerosene.
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Refining Processes:
• The refining processes used to obtain petroleum asphalts can be divided into two
main groups:
1. Fractional distillation and
2. Destructive distillation (cracking).
• The fractional distillation processes involve the separation of the different materials
in the crude petroleum without significant changes in the chemical composition of
each material.
• The destructive distillation processes involve the application of high temperature
and pressure, resulting in chemical changes.
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Refining Processes:
Fractional Distillation:
• The fractional distillation process removes the different volatile materials in the crude
oil at successively higher temperatures until the petroleum asphalt is obtained as
residue.
• Steam or a vacuum is used to gradually increase the temperature. Steam distillation is
a continuous flow process in which the crude petroleum is pumped through tube stills
or stored in batches, and the temperature is increased gradually to facilitate the
evaporation of different materials at different temperatures.
• Tube stills are more efficient than batches and are therefore preferred in modern
refineries.
• Immediately after increasing the temperature of the crude in the tube still, it is
injected into a bubble tower which consists of a vertical cylinder into which are built
several trays or platforms stacked one above the other.
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Refining Processes:
Fractional Distillation: (2)
• The first separation of materials occurs in this tower.
• The lighter fractions of the evaporated materials collect on the top tray, and the
heavier fractions collect in successive trays, with the heaviest residue containing
asphalt remaining at the bottom of the distillation tower.
• The products obtained during this first phase of separation are gasoline, kerosene
distillate, diesel fuel, lubricating oils, and the heavy residual material that contains
the asphalt .
• The various fractions collected are stored and refined further into specific grades of
petroleum products.
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Refining Processes:
Fractional Distillation: (3)
• A desired consistency of residue can be obtained by continuing the distillation
process. Attainment of the desired consistency is checked by measuring the
temperature of the residue or by observing the character of the distillate.
• The residue becomes harder the longer the distillation process is continued.
• Further processing of the heavy residue obtained after the first separation will
give asphalt cement of different penetration grades—slow-curing and rapid-
curing asphalts—depending on the additional processing carried out.
Emulsified asphalts also can be obtained.
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Refining Processes:
Fractional Distillation:
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Refining Processes:
Destructive Distillation:
• Cracking processes are used when larger amounts of the light fractions of materials
(such as motor fuels) are required.
• Intense heat and high pressures are applied to produce chemical changes in the
material.
• Although several specific methods of cracking exist, the process generally involves
the application of temperatures as high as 1100° F and pressure higher than 735
lb/in2 to obtain the desired effect.
• The asphalt obtained from cracking is not used widely in paving, because it is more
susceptible to weather changes than that produced from fractional distillation.
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Description And Uses Of Bituminous Binders:

Bituminous binders can be classified into three general groups:
1. Asphalt cement,
2. Asphalt cutbacks, and
3. Emulsified asphalt.
Blown asphalt and road tars are also other types of
bituminous material that now are not used commonly in highway
construction.
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1. Asphalt cement:
• Asphalt cements are obtained after separation of the lubricating oils.
• They are semisolid hydrocarbons with certain physiochemical characteristics
that make them good cementing agents.
• They are also very viscous, and when used as a binder for aggregates in
pavement construction, it is necessary to heat both the aggregates and the
asphalt cement prior to mixing the two materials.
• For several decades, the particular grade of asphalt cement has been
designated by its penetration and viscosity, both of which give an indication
of the consistency of the material at a given temperature.
• The penetration is the distance in 0.1 mm that a standard needle will
penetrate a given sample under specific conditions of loading, time, and
temperature.
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1. Asphalt cement: (2)
• The softest grade used for highway pavement construction has a penetration
value of 200 to 300, and the hardest has a penetration value of 60 to 70.
• For some time now, however, viscosity has been used more often than
penetration to grade asphalt cements.
• USE:
• Used mainly in the manufacture of hot-mix, hot-laid asphalt concrete.
• Asphalt concrete can be used in a variety of ways, including the
construction of highways and airport pavement surfaces and bases,
parking areas, and industrial floors.
• The specific use of a given sample depends on its grade.
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2. Asphalt Cutbacks:
• The asphalt cutbacks are-
a) slow-curing asphalts,
b) medium-curing cutback asphalts, and
c) rapid-curing cutback asphalts.
• They are used mainly in cold-laid plant mixes, road mixes (mixed-in-place),
and as surface treatments.
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2. Asphalt Cutbacks: (2)
a) Slow-Curing Asphalts
• Slow-curing (SC) asphalts can be obtained directly as slow-curing straight
run asphalts through the distillation of crude petroleum or as slow-curing
cutback asphalts by “cutting back” asphalt cement with a heavy distillate,
such as diesel oil.
• They have lower viscosities than asphalt cement and are very slow to harden.
• Slow-curing asphalts usually are designated as SC-70, SC-250, SC-800, or
SC-3000, where the numbers relate to the approximate kinematic viscosity
in centistokes at 60°C (140°F).
• Specifications for SC asphalt is given in ASTM D 2028.
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b. Medium-Curing Cutback Asphalts
• Medium-curing (MC) asphalts are produced by fluxing, or cutting back, the
residual asphalt (usually 120 to 150 penetration) with light fuel oil or
kerosene.
• The term “medium” refers to the medium volatility of the kerosene-type
diluter used.
• Medium curing cutback asphalts harden faster than slow-curing liquid
asphalts, although consistencies of the different grades are similar to those
of the slow-curing asphalts.
• However, the MC-30 is a unique grade in this series as it is very fluid and
has no counterpart in the SC and RC series.
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b. Medium-Curing Cutback Asphalts
• The fluidity of medium-curing asphalts depends on the amount of solvent in
the material.
• MC-3000, for example, may have only 20 percent of the solvent by volume,
whereas MC-70 may have up to 45 percent.
• Uses: For the construction of pavement bases, surfaces, and surface
treatments.
• Specification for MC asphalt is given in ASTM D 2027.
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c. Rapid-Curing Cutback Asphalts
• Rapid-curing (RC) cutback asphalts are produced by blending asphalt
cement with a petroleum distillate that will evaporate easily, thereby
facilitating a quick change from the liquid form at the time of application to
the consistency of the original asphalt cement.
• Gasoline or naphtha generally is used as the solvent for this series of
asphalts.
• The grade of rapid-curing asphalt required dictates the amount of solvent to
be added to the residual asphalt cement.
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c. Rapid-Curing Cutback Asphalts
• For example, RC-3000 requires about 15 percent of distillate, whereas RC-
70 requires about 40 percent.
• Uses: These grades of asphalt can be used for jobs similar to those for which
the MC series is used.
• Specifications for RC asphalt is given in ASTM D 2026.
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3. Emulsified Asphalt:
• Emulsified asphalts are produced by breaking asphalt cement, usually of 100
to 250 penetration range, into minute particles and dispersing them in water
with an emulsifier.
• These minute particles have like-electrical charges and therefore do not
coalesce. They remain in suspension in the liquid phase as long as the water
does not evaporate or the emulsifier does not break.
• In asphalt emulsions, lightly heated asphalt is run through a colloidal mill
together with an emulsifying agent to produce 5-10 µm sized globules. The
asphalt globules are mixed with water to form a liquid mixture of roughly
75% asphalt and 25% water by mass. The emulsifying agent coats the asphalt
globules and imparts a surface charge that makes the globules repel rather
than coalesce.
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3. Emulsified Asphalt: (2)
• Asphalt emulsions therefore consist of asphalt, which makes up about 55 to 70
percent by weight, water, and an emulsifying agent, which in some cases also
may contain a stabilizer.
Emulsions are typically classified by four different factors:
1) Charge:
• The emulsifying agent can impart either a positive or negative charge on the
asphalt globules.
• Anionic emulsions have negative charges on the asphalt, whereas cationic
emulsions have positive charges.
• Anionic emulsions should be used with aggregates that have positive surface
charges (such as limestone), and cationic emulsions with aggregates having
negative surface charges (such as quartz, siliceous gravels, etc.).
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3) Emulsified Asphalt: (3)
• In the alpha-numeric designation system for emulsions, the letter “C” indicates
that an emulsion is cationic. Lack of the letter “C” in the designation indicates
that the emulsion is anionic.
• When an emulsion is mixed with an appropriate aggregate, the asphalt in the
emulsion coalesces on the aggregate causing the mixture to “set” or “break.”
The water can then be squeezed/pumped out of the asphalt-aggregate mixture,
or it can gradually evaporate away.
2) Setting rate:
• Emulsions are further classified on the basis of how quickly the asphalt will
coalesce; i.e., revert to asphalt cement.
• The terms RS, MS, and SS have been adopted to simplify and standardize this
classification.
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DESCRIPTION AND USES OF BITUMINOUS BINDERS:

2) Setting rate:
• These (RS, MS, SS) are relative terms only and mean rapid-setting, medium-
setting, and slow-setting, respectively. The tendency to coalesce is closely
related to the mixing of an emulsion.
• An RS emulsion has little or no ability to mix with an aggregate, an MS
emulsion is expected to mix with coarse but not fine aggregate, and an SS
emulsion is designed to mix with fine aggregate.
3) Viscosity:
• Emulsions are further subdivided by their viscosity. In the alpha-numeric
designation system, an digit of either 1 or 2 indicates the relative viscosity of
the emulsion, with digit “1” indicates a “normal” viscosity and “2” indicates a
“higher than normal” viscosity.
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3) Viscosity:
• The digit “h” can also be used in the designation for emulsions to indicate
the underlying hardness or viscosity of the asphalt cement as opposed to
that of the emulsion itself.
• Example: The designation CRS-1 indicates a cationic, rapid-setting
emulsion of normal viscosity suitable for mixing with coarse aggregates
in which the base asphalt cement also has normal viscosity.
• Example: The designation SS-1h indicates an anionic, slow-setting
emulsion of normal viscosity in which the base asphalt cement has a
higher than normal viscosity.
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3) Float:
• The "HF" preceding some of the anionic MS grades indicates high-float, as
measured by the Float Test (ASTM D 139 or AASHTO 50). High-float
emulsions have a quality, imparted by the addition of certain chemicals, that
permits a thicker asphalt film on the aggregate particles with minimum
probability of drainage.
• Three grades of high-float, medium-setting anionic emulsions designated as
HFMS have been developed and are used mainly in cold and hot plant mixes
and coarse aggregate seal coats.
• Example: The designation HFMS-2 for an emulsion indicates that it is a
medium setting high-float anionic emulsion with a higher than normal
viscosity.
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• Emulsified asphalts are used in cold-laid plant mixes and road mixes (mixed in-
place) for several purposes, including the construction of highway pavement
surfaces and bases and in surface treatments.
• Specifications for the use of emulsified asphalts are given in AASHTO M140 and
ASTM D977.
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4. Blown Asphalts:
• Blown asphalt is obtained by blowing air through the semisolid residue
obtained during the latter stages of the distillation process.
• The process involves stopping the regular distillation while the residue
is in the liquid form and then transferring it into a tank known as a
converter.
• The material is maintained at a high temperature while air is blown
through it. This is continued until the required properties are achieved.
• Blown asphalts are relatively stiff compared to other types of asphalts
and can maintain a firm consistency at the maximum temperature
normally experienced when exposed to the environment.
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4. Blown Asphalts: (2)
• Blown asphalt generally is not used as a paving material. However, it is
very useful as a roofing material, for automobile undercoating, and as a
joint filler for concrete pavements.
• If a catalyst is added during the air-blowing process, the material
obtained usually will maintain its plastic characteristics, even at
temperatures much lower than that at which ordinary asphalt cement
will become brittle.
• The elasticity of catalytically blown asphalt is similar to that of rubber,
and it is used for canal lining.
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5. Road Tars:
• Tars are obtained from the destructive distillation of such organic
materials as coal. Their properties are significantly different from
petroleum asphalts.
• In general, they are more susceptible to weather conditions than similar
grades of asphalts, and they set more quickly when exposed to the
atmosphere.
• The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) has classified road
tars into three general categories based on the method of production.
a. Gashouse coal tars are produced as a by-product in gashouse
retorts in the manufacture of illuminating gas from bituminous
coals.
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5. Road Tars: (2)
b. Coke-oven tars are produced as a by-product in coke ovens in the
manufacture of coke from bituminous coal.
c. Water-gas tars are produced by cracking oil vapors at high
temperatures in the manufacture of carbureted water gas.
• Road tars also have been classified by AASHTO into 14 grades: RT-1
through RT-12, RTCB-5, and RTCB-6.
• RT-1 has the lightest consistency and can be used effectively at normal
temperatures for prime or tack coat.
• The viscosity of each grade increases as the number designation
increases to RT-12, which is the most viscous.
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5. Road Tars: (3)
• RTCB-5 and RTCB-6 are suitable for application during cold weather,
since they are produced by cutting back the specific grade of tar with
easily evaporating solvent. Detailed specifications for the use of tars are
given by
• AASHTO Designation M52-78.
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Properties of Asphalt Materials

The properties of asphalt materials pertinent to pavement construction can be
classified into four main categories:

1. Consistency
2. Aging and temperature sustainability
3. Rate of curing
4. Resistance to water action
1. Consistency
• The consistency properties of an asphalt material usually are considered
under two conditions:
(1) variation of consistency with temperature and
(2) consistency at a specified temperature.
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1. Consistency: Variation of Consistency with Temperature
• The consistency of any asphalt material changes as the temperature
varies. The change in consistency of different asphalt materials may
differ considerably even for the same amount of temperature change.
• For example, if a sample of blown semisolid asphalt and a sample of
semisolid regular paving-grade asphalt with the same consistency at a
given temperature are heated to a high enough temperature, the
consistencies of the two materials will be different at the high
temperatures with the regular paving-grade asphalt being much softer
than the blown asphalt. Further increase in temperature eventually will
result in the liquefaction of the paving asphalt at a temperature much
lower than that at which the blown asphalt liquefies.
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1. Consistency: Variation of Consistency with Temperature
• If these two asphalts then are cooled down gradually to about the
freezing temperature of water, the blown asphalt will be much softer
than the paving-grade asphalt.
• Thus, the consistency of the blown asphalt is affected less by
temperature changes than the consistency of regular paving-grade
asphalt.
• This property of asphalt materials is known as temperature
susceptibility. The temperature susceptibility of a given asphalt depends
on the crude oil from which the asphalt is obtained, although variation
in temperature susceptibility of paving-grade asphalts from different
crudes is not as high as that between regular paving-grade asphalt and
blown asphalt.
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1. Consistency: Consistency at a Specified Temperature
• The consistency of an asphalt material will vary from solid to liquid
depending on the temperature of the material.
• It is therefore essential that when the consistency of an asphalt material
is given, the associated temperature also should be given.
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2. Aging and Temperature Sustainability
• When asphaltic materials are exposed to environmental elements,
natural deterioration gradually takes place, and the materials eventually
lose their plasticity and become brittle. This change is caused primarily
by chemical and physical reactions that take place in the material.
• This natural deterioration of the asphalt material is known as
weathering. For paving asphalt to act successfully as a binder, the
weathering must be minimized as much as possible. The ability of an
asphalt material to resist weathering is described as the durability of the
material.
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• Some of the factors that influence weathering are oxidation, volatilization,
temperature, and exposed surface area.
• Oxidation: Oxidation is the chemical reaction that takes place when the
asphalt material is attacked by oxygen in the air. This chemical reaction
causes gradual hardening (eventually permanent hardening) and
considerable loss of the plastic characteristics of the material.
• Volatilization: Volatilization is the evaporation of the lighter hydrocarbons
from the asphalt material. The loss of these lighter hydrocarbons also
causes the loss of the plastic characteristics of the asphalt material.
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• Temperature: It has been shown that temperature has a significant effect
on the rate of oxidation and volatilization. The higher the temperature, the
higher the rates of oxidation and volatilization. The relationship between
temperature increase and increases in rates of oxidation and volatilization
is not linear; however; the percentage increase in rate of oxidation and
volatilization is usually much greater than the percentage increase in
temperature that causes the increase in oxidation and volatilization. It has
been postulated that the rate of organic and physical reactions in the
asphalt material approximately doubles for each 10°C (50° F) increase in
temperature.
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• Surface Area: The exposed surface of the material also influences its rate of
oxidation and volatilization. There is a direct relationship between surface
area and rate of oxygen absorption and loss due to evaporation in
grams/cm3/minute. An inverse relationship, however, exists between
volume and rate of oxidation and volatilization. This means that the rate of
hardening is directly proportional to the ratio of the surface area to the
volume. This fact is taken into consideration when asphalt concrete mixes
are designed for pavement construction in that the air voids are kept to the
practicable minimum required for stability to reduce the area exposed to
oxidation.
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3. Rate of Curing
Curing is defined as the process through which an asphalt material increases its
consistency as it loses solvent by evaporation.
• Rate of Curing of Cutbacks:
• The rate of curing of any cutback asphalt material depends on the
distillate used in the cutting-back process. This is an important
characteristic of cutback materials, since the rate of curing indicates the
time that should elapse before a cutback will attain a consistency that is
thick enough for the binder to perform satisfactorily.
• The rate of curing is affected by both inherent and external factors. The
important inherent factors are-
Ø Volatility of the solvent
Ø Quantity of solvent in the cutback
Ø Consistency of the base material
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3. Rate of Curing : Rate of Curing of Cutbacks
• The more volatile the solvent is, the faster it can evaporate from the asphalt
material, and therefore, the higher the curing rate of the material.
• This is why gasoline and naphtha are used for rapid-curing cutbacks,
whereas light fuel oil and kerosene are used for medium-curing cutbacks.
• For any given type of solvent, the smaller the quantity used, the less time is
required for it to evaporate, and therefore, the faster the asphalt material
will cure.
• Also, the higher the penetration of the base asphalt, the longer it takes for
the asphalt cutback to cure.
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3. Rate of Curing : Rate of Curing of Cutbacks:
• The important external factors that affect curing rate are

v Temperature
v Ratio of surface area to volume
v Wind velocity across exposed surface
• These three external forces are related directly to the rate of curing in that
the higher these factors are, the higher the rate of curing. Unfortunately,
these factors cannot be controlled or predicted in the field, which makes it
extremely difficult to predict the expected curing time.
• The curing rates of different asphalt materials usually are compared with
the assumption that the external factors are held constant.
58

3. Rate of Curing: Rate of Curing for Emulsified Asphalts
• The curing and adhesion characteristics of emulsions (anionic and cationic)
used for pavement construction depend on the rate at which the water
evaporates from the mixture.
• When weather conditions are favorable, the water is displaced relatively
rapidly, and so curing progresses rapidly. When weather conditions include
high humidity, low temperature, or rainfall immediately following the
application of the emulsion, its ability to properly cure is affected adversely.
• Although the effect of surface and weather conditions on proper curing is
more critical for anionic emulsions, favorable weather conditions also are
required to obtain optimum results for cationic emulsions. A major
advantage of cationic emulsions is that they release their water more
readily.
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59

4. Resistance to Water Action
• When asphalt materials are used in pavement construction, it is important
that the asphalt continues to adhere to the aggregates even with the
presence of water.
• If this bond between the asphalt and the aggregates is lost, the asphalt will
strip from the aggregates, resulting in the deterioration of the pavement.
• The asphalt therefore must sustain its ability to adhere to the aggregates
even in the presence of water. In hot-mix, hot-laid asphalt concrete, where
the aggregates are thoroughly dried before mixing, stripping does not
normally occur and so no preventive action is usually taken.
• However, when water is added to a hot-mix, cold-laid asphalt concrete,
commercial antistrip additives usually are added to improve the asphalt’s
ability to adhere to the aggregates.
60

5. Temperature Effect on Volume of Asphaltic Materials
• The volume of asphalt is affected by changes in temperature significantly.
• The volume increases with an increase in temperature and decreases with a
decrease in temperature.
• The rate of change in volume is given as the coefficient of expansion, which
is the volume change in a unit volume of the material for a unit change in
temperature.
• Because of this variation of volume with temperature, the volumes of
asphalt materials usually are given for a temperature of 60° F (15.6° C).
• Volumes measured at other temperatures are converted to the equivalent
volumes at 60°F by using appropriate multiplication factors published by
the ASTM in their Petroleum Measurement Tables (ASTM D-1250).
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61
Thanks !
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12/11/18

CE 6503 : Highway Materials

Dr. M. Neaz Murshed

• Origin, production, specifications, properties and uses of

• Design and analysis of bituminous paving mixes;

• Field operations, surface treatments, stabilization methods;

• Aggregates, base, subbase and subgrade;

• Cement concrete in pavement construction.

• Traffic & Highway Engineering.

• Asphalt Materials and Mix Design Manual.

• Principles of Transportation Engineering.

Origin of Bituminous Material:

or viscous) cementitious substances, natural or manufactured, composed principally

of high molecular weight hydrocarbons , of which asphalts, tars, pitches, and

asphaltites are typical.

• By definition it is soluble in carbon disulfide.

• Two types are used in construction:-

• There are two sources of asphalt:-

• In both cases, asphalt is the product of fractional distillation of petroleum,

from fractional distillation in the case of asphalt) of a number of organic materials

such as coal, wood and sugar.

must undergo further refinement to obtain road tar.

that is, the destructive distillation of petroleum.

• It is a natural deposit of sandstone or limestone rocks filled with asphalt.

• Deposits have been found in California, Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama.

percent and as high as 18 percent.

been suitably processed.

which facilitates the flowing of the material.

obtained from the refining of petroleum.

• The heavier or more viscous portions of certain crude

oils are asphalts.

• The breakdown of such a crude is shown schematically

• Asphalt base crudes can vary in consistency and color

from that of a burgundy wine to material as black and

viscous as the asphalt itself.

constituents- (1) paraffin and (2) mixed base crudes.

distillation of the more volatile constituents is essentially a paraffin wax.

different types of asphalts, which include asphalt cements, slow-curing liquid

asphalts, medium-curing liquid asphalts, rapid-curing liquid asphalts, and asphalt

• The quantity of asphalt obtained from crude petroleum is dependent on the

American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity of the petroleum. In general, large

1. Fractional distillation and

2. Destructive distillation (cracking).

in the crude petroleum without significant changes in the chemical composition of

• The destructive distillation processes involve the application of high temperature

and pressure, resulting in chemical changes.

asphalt remaining at the bottom of the distillation tower.

process. Attainment of the desired consistency is checked by measuring the

temperature of the residue or by observing the character of the distillate.

give asphalt cement of different penetration grades—slow-curing and rapid-

curing asphalts—depending on the additional processing carried out.

Emulsified asphalts also can be obtained.

(such as motor fuels) are required.

lb/in2 to obtain the desired effect.

susceptible to weather changes than that produced from fractional distillation.

Description And Uses Of Bituminous Binders:

2. Asphalt cutbacks, and

Blown asphalt and road tars are also other types of

bituminous material that now are not used commonly in highway

Description And Uses Of Bituminous Binders:

Description And Uses Of Bituminous Binders:

Description And Uses Of Bituminous Binders:

Description And Uses Of Bituminous Binders:

Description And Uses Of Bituminous Binders: