RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF BITUMEN

1. INTRODUCTION

Bitumen is defined as a binder that holds the mineral aggregates together or thermo visco
elastic material of hydrocarbons obtained naturally or as a residue from petroleum
distillation, with excellent binding properties. Bitumen production through distillation
removes lighter crude oil components, such as gasoline and diesel, leaving the “heavier”
bitumen behind. Bitumen can also occur in nature: Deposits of naturally occurring
bitumen form at the bottom of ancient lakes, where prehistoric organisms have decayed
and have been subjected to heat and pressure. Bitumen is composed of
complex hydrocarbons, and contains elements such as calcium, iron, sulphur, and oxygen.
The quality of material and ease of production depends on the source and type of crude oil
it is derived from.
The earliest use of bitumen known to mankind is in Mohenjo Daro, in Indus valley, there
is well preserved water tank which dates back to around 3000 BC.The walls of the tank are
bonded with natural bitumen giving it an excellent waterproofing and adhesive properties.
Bitumen was used by ancient Egyptians to embalm mummies. The Egyptians' primary
source of bitumen was the Dead Sea, which the Romans knew as Palus
Asphaltites (Asphalt Lake).
In the ancient Far East, natural bitumen was slowly boiled to get rid of the higher fractions,
leaving a thermoplastic material of higher molecular weight that when layered on objects
became quite hard upon cooling. This was used to cover objects that needed waterproofing.
There are, of course, extensive crude oil deposits in the Middle East and for thousands of
years there has been corresponding surface seepage of ‘natural’ bitumen. The ancient
inhabitants of these parts were quick to appreciate the excellent waterproofing, adhesive
and preservative properties of the material which was so readily placed at their disposal.
For over 5000 years [1], bitumen, in one form or another, has been used as a waterproofing
and/or bonding agent; the earliest recorded use was by the Sumerians whose empire existed
from around 3500 BC to approximately 2000 BC.
The ancient uses of ‘natural’ bitumen undoubtedly continued in those inhabited parts of the
world where deposits were readily available. However, there seems to have been little
development of usage elsewhere.

1.1 SOURCES OF BITUMEN

1.1.1 Lake Asphalt (Pitch Lake)

This is the most extensively used and best known form of ‘natural’ asphalt. It is found in
well-defined surface deposits, the most important of which is located in Trinidad. It is
generally believed that this deposit was discovered in 1595 by Sir Walter Raleigh. The lake
occupies an area of approximately 35 hectares and is estimated to be some 90 m deep
containing well in excess of 10 million tonnes of material. The enormous mass of the lake
appears to be in constant, very slow, circulatory movement from the centre outwards at the
surface. It is assumed that material returns to the centre within the body of the lake.
Excavated material is refined by heating the material to 1608C, vaporising the water. The
molten material is passed through fine screens to remove the coarse, foreign and vegetable
matter.
The composition of matter obtained from the lake is as follows:

Binder 54%
Mineral matter 36%
Organic matter 10%

1.1.2 Rock Asphalt

Rock asphalt is extracted from mines or quarries depending on the type of deposit. Rock
asphalt occurs when bitumen, formed by the same concentration processes as occur during
the refining of oil, becomes trapped in impervious rock formations. The largest deposits in
Europe were found at Val de Travers in Switzerland, Seyssel in France and Ragusa in Italy,
all of which were mined in underground galleries. These natural asphalts are composed of
limestone or sandstone impregnated with bitumen at concentrations up to 12%.
Today rock asphalt have a very minimal use therefore no attention is given on extracting
the rock asphalt bitumen.

1.2.3 Gilsonite

Gilsonite is a natural occurring bitumen having deposits in USA, discovered by Samuel H

Gilson in 1880. The material is very hard, having a penetration of zero with a softening
point between 115 and 1908 ᵒC. The addition of gilsonite to bitumen reduces the penetration
and increases the softening point. It is used in bridge and roof waterproofing.

1.1.4 Tar
Tar’ is a generic word for the liquid obtained when natural organic materials such as coal
or wood are carbonised or destructively distilled in the absence of air. Different types of
tars are made from different materials which are as follows:
 Coal tar
 Wood tar
 Mineral tar

1.1.5 Refined bitumen

It is generally agreed that crude oil formed from the dead remains of marine organisms
and vegetable matter deposited with mud and fragments of rock on the ocean bed. Over
millions of years, organic material and mud accumulated into layers
some hundreds of metres thick, the substantial weight of the upper layers
compressing the lower layers into sedimentary rock. Conversion of the organisms and
vegetable matter into the hydrocarbons of crude oil is thought to be the result of the
application of heat from within the Earth crust and pressure applied by the upper layers
of sediments. As further layers were deposited on the sedimentary rock where the oil
had formed, the additional pressure squeezed the oil sideways and
upwards through porous rock. Where the porous rock extended to the Earth’s surface,
oil seeped through to the surface. The crude oil is extracted from sea bed by off-shore
mining.

Fig. 1 Lake Asphalt (Pitch Lake)

Fig. 2 Coal Tar Fig. 3 Gilsonite

Fig.4 Rock asphalt Fig. 4 Wood tar

1.2 Deposits and reserves of Oil and bitumen

Various types and sizes of bitumen deposits and reserves are found in the word. The main
oil producing countries are Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait etc. forming the
OPEC (Organisation of petroleum Exporting Countries).These counties have the major
share in oil production and exports. The annual oil export exports of OPEC is about $711
billion. Other oil producing countries which are not part of OPEC are Canada, USA, and
Russia etc. India have a very limited amounts of oil reserves located mainly in Bombay
High off the coast of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and in eastern Assam that meet 25%
of the country's demand.

Fig. 5 Deposits of oil reserves of different countries

1.2.1 Production of bitumen by countries

Production of bitumen by different countries depends upon the usage and type of bitumen
produced. The last seven years have seen significant shifts in the demand for bitumen
globally. In 2005, according to figures from Argus Asphalt Report, a weekly publication
that records bitumen prices worldwide, the Americas led demand, using 39% of the
world’s total 105.5 million tonnes; second was Europe and third Asia. The average
annual demand of bitumen in India is around 4MMT (million metric tonnes) and it is
estimated that bitumen works alone cost about 45% of the overall road construction cost.
Bitumen that is generated during the refining process of petroleum tends to become
scarce while the demand is increasing. This has resulted into a situation where the gap
between supply and demand is fast increasing. With the road construction industry
outgrowing, local demand has exceeded the bitumen production and supply. The
completion targets of many road projects thereby are adversely affected and hence the
construction and maintenance require long spreading/deferring of works.

Fig.6 Production of bitumen by different countries

2. COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE AND RHEOLOGY OF
BITUMEN

Rheology is the science that deals with the flow and deformation of matter. The rheological
characteristics of a bitumen at a particular temperature are determined by both the
constitution (chemical composition) and the structure (physical arrangement) of the
molecules in the material.

2.1 BITUMEN COMPOSITION

Bitumen is a complex chemical mixture of molecules that are predominantly hydrocarbons

with a small amount of structurally analogous heterocyclic species and functional groups
containing sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen atoms[25–27]. Bitumen also contains trace
quantities of metals such as vanadium, nickel, iron, magnesium and calcium, which occur
in the form of inorganic salts and oxides or in porphyrine structures.
Composition of bitumen is as follows:
 Carbon 82-88%
 Hydrogen 8-11%
 Sulphur 0-6%
 Oxygen 0-1.5%
 Nitrogen 0-1%
The precise composition varies according to the source of the crude oil from which the
bitumen originates.
The analysis of detailed properties of bitumen is very complex, expensive, and time
consuming. Therefore, to simplify the characterization process, one need concentrate only
on the key properties of bitumen required for a specific evaluation. For example, some of
the most important characteristics of the bitumen are summarized in table 1.The chemical
composition of bitumen is extremely complex. Thus, a complete analysis of bitumen is
extremely difficult However bitumen is broadly separated in two chemical groups called
asphaltenes and maltenes. The maltenes can be further subdivided into saturates, aromatics
and resins.
PROPERTIES AVERAGE VALUE
API 8.0ᵒ API

Sulphur 5.0 wt.%

Nitrogen 4000 ppm
TAN 2.5 mg KOH/g
Ni/V 80/220 ppm
Viscosity(38ᵒ C) 20,000 cSt

The methods available for separating bitumen into fractions can be classified as:
 solvent extraction
 Adsorption by finely divided solids and removal of unadsorbed solution by
filtration.
 Chromatography.
 Molecular distillation used in conjunction with one of the above techniques.
Chromatographic techniques [30–32] have, therefore, been most widely used to define
bitumen constitution as this method gives best results.
Bitumen is better characterized into various classes on the basis of different solvent
extraction techniques. The two most popular classifications are known by their acronyms:

2.2 CHROMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE

The basis of the method is to initially precipitate asphaltenes using n-heptane followed by
chromatographic separation of the remaining material. Using this technique, bitumen
can be separated into the four groups: asphaltenes, resins, aromatics and saturates.
Chromatography technique can be further classified as:
 Liquid chromatography. In the clay-gel procedure, the n-pentane insolubles are
separated followed by adsorption/desorption on clay and silica gel.
 Gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Fractional separation occurs according to
molecular size.
Bitumen is better characterized into various classes on the basis of different solvent
extraction techniques. The two most popular classifications are known by their acronyms:
 SARA (saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes)
 PONA (paraffin, olefins, naphthenes, and aromatics)

2.3 Asphaltenes and Their Role in Bitumen

Asphaltenes are in the fraction of the bitumen that is insoluble in normal paraffin solvent
and soluble in benzene or toluene. They are usually named along with the solvent used for
their precipitation, because every asphaltene is different in quality and quantity on the basis
of the solvent used. For example, n-C5-asphaletene or n-C6-asphaltene means that the
asphaltene was precipitated using normal pentane or normal hexane, respectively, as
solvents.
Asphaltenes comprise a heterogeneous fraction consisting of largely polycondensed
aromatic rings and cyclic naphthenes, containing most of the heteroatoms (S, N, and O)
and metals of the bitumen. Almost all of the heteroatoms and the metals in the asphaltenes
are present in five- or six-member ring structures, in a layer of blocks lying one after
another. As the molecular weight of asphaltenes increases, the nonaromatic nature of their
structure also increases

Fig.7 Molecular structure of asphaltene

The average asphaltene content in Alberta bitumen varies in the range of 15–20 wt. %. It
is aromatic in nature, with an average carbon content of about 80–82 wt. % and hydrogen
content of 8–9 wt. %, with an H/C ratio of 1.22–1.24. It also contains about 7.0–8.0 wt. %
of sulphur and about 1.1–1.5 wt. % of nitrogen.
Asphaltenes are very sensitive to atmospheric oxygen. It has been observed that just the
handling of asphaltenes in the atmosphere oxidizes the sample rapidly enough that its
characteristics change.

2.4 SARA Classification of Bitumen

Bitumen is usually classified based on its four major fractions—namely, saturates,

aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. Together, these are commonly referred to by the
acronym SARA.
The classification is done by column chromatography, using different adsorbing materials
and solvents.

Fig.8 SARA classification of bitumen based on solvent extraction and adsorption

chromatography (percentages are weight % of bitumen in the sample).
2.4.1 Asphaltenes
Bitumen contains asphaltenes in the range of 15–20 wt%, depending on the reservoir and
the type of solvent used. Asphaltene yield is the highest in case of n-pentane (15–18 wt%)
and decreases with the increase in molecular weight of the hydrocarbon solvent.

2.4.2 Maltenes
The maltene fraction is further separated by a clay-packed chromatography column, using
pentane as solvent. The lower-molecular-weight (<800) fraction is eluted out from the
maltene as the pentane-soluble portion, considered as oil, and the higher-molecular
weight (>800) fraction is retained in the column and is considered as resins.

2.4.3 Resins
The resin fraction retained in the column is further separated into low-density and high-
density resin fractions. Low-density resin is a dark-coloured liquid (yield 75–80 wt% of the
total resin), whereas the high-density resin (yield 20–25 wt% of the total resin) is obtained
as a dark-coloured crystalline semisolid.

2.4.4 Saturates and aromatics

The oil fraction further separated into saturated and aromatic fractions. About 25–30 wt%
of the oil fraction consists of colourless liquid that represents the saturated fraction, with
the rest being the coloured aromatic fraction.

2.5 Metals present in bitumen

Various types of metals are found in the bitumen, all of which are located in the resid
fraction. The concentration of vanadium is always highest of all the metals present in the
bitumen and is almost double that of the nickel. Most of the nickel and vanadium are present
in the form of organometallic complexes, with a cyclic aromatic structure attached through
nitrogen bonds; these are commonly known as porphyrins.5
Calcium, potassium, sodium, iron, and silica are also present in the bitumen as water-
soluble salts.
2.6 Structure of bitumen

Bitumen is traditionally regarded as a colloidal system[38] consisting of high molecular

weight asphaltene micelles dispersed or dissolved in a lower molecular weight oily medium
(maltenes). The micelles are considered to be asphaltenes together with an absorbed sheath
of high molecular weight aromatic resins which act as a stabilising solvating layer. Away
from the centre of the micelle, there is a gradual transition
to less polar aromatic resins, these layers extending outwards to the less aromatic oily
dispersion medium. In the presence of sufficient quantities of resins and aromatics of
adequate solvating power, the asphaltenes are fully peptised and the resulting micelles have
good mobility within the bitumen. These are known as ‘SOL’ type bitumen.
If the aromatic/resin fraction is not present in sufficient quantities to peptise the micelles,
or has insufficient solvating power, the asphaltenes can associate together further. This can
lead to an irregular open packed structure of linked micelles in which the internal voids are
filled with an intermicellar fluid of mixed constitution. These bitumen are known as ‘GEL’
type bitumen.

Fig.9 Structure of bitumen

3. SPECIFICATIONS OF BITUMEN

In the UK, bitumen is manufactured to three standards; BS EN 12591:

2000[49] (which applies throughout Europe), BS 3690-2: 1989[50] and BS
3690-3: 1983[51]. BS EN 12591: 2000 covers bitumen for road purposes,
BS 3690-2: 1989 covers bitumen for industrial uses and BS 3690-3: 1983
covers blends of bitumen with coal tar, lake asphalt and pitch.

Four types of bitumen are manufactured by Shell Bitumen which are

characterised by a combination of penetration, softening point and
viscosity, namely

 penetration grades, characterised by penetration and softening point

 oxidised and hard grades, characterised by softening point and
penetration
 Cutback grades, characterised by viscosity.

3.1 Requirements of Bitumen

 Mixing: type of materials used, construction method, temperature during mixing,

etc.
 Attainment of desired stability of the mix
 To maintain the stability under adverse weather conditions
 To maintain sufficient flexibility and thus avoid cracking of bituminous surface
 To have sufficient adhesion with the aggregates in the mix in presence of water.

3.2 Desirable Properties of Bitumen

3.2.1 Viscosity

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.
3.2.2 Temperature Susceptibility

The bituminous material should not be highly temperature susceptible. During the hottest
weather of the region the bituminous mix should not become too soft or unstable. During
cold weather the mix should not become too hard and brittle, causing cracking. The
material should be durable.

3.2.3 Adhesion Property

In presence of water the bitumen should not strip off from the aggregate. There has to be
adequate affinity and adhesion between the bitumen and aggregate used in the mix.
4. Tests on bitumen

There are a number of tests to assess the properties of bituminous materials. The following
tests are usually conducted to evaluate different properties of bituminous materials.

 Penetration test
 Softening point test
 Ductility test
 Viscosity test
 Specific gravity test
 Heat stability test
1. Flash point test
2. Fire point test
3. Loss on heating test
 Solubility test
 Thin film oven test
 Float test
 Water content test

4.1 Penetration test

An indirect method of measuring viscosity is the measure of penetration of a standard

needle under standard conditions of load, time & temperature. The test measures the
hardness or softness of bitumen in terms of penetration expressed in mm/10th of std needle.

Temperature= 250 ᵒC [test to be performed after sample is kept for 1hr in H2O bath at this
temperature]

Load on needle = 100 g

Time in which penetration is recorded = 5 s

The penetration is measured by a graduated dial.

Bitumen is softens to a poring consistency a depth more than 15mm in the container is
poured. The expected penetration sample is cooled in 60 min in air and 60 min in water
before testing. The standard needle is positioned to get a penetration value for 5sec and is
noted.

The penetration value obtained is represented in 80-100 or 80/100 grade bitumen at

standard consistence and it range from 20-225mm.

In cold region bitumen with High penetration value is used. In warm region low penetration
value is used ex. 30/40 grade.

The factors which affect the Penetration test is test temperature, needle size and weight and
period of cooling

4.2 Softening point

The softening point is the temperature at which the substance attains a particular degree of
softening under specified condition of test. A viscosity material like bitumen or tar doesn’t
have a well-defined softening point. However a std test determines the temperature at
which a std ball will pass through a disc of bitumen contained in ring. The test is known as
ring & ball test.

A brass ring of internal dia 17.5 mm at top and 15.9 mm at bottom and of depth 6.4mm.The
steel ball of 9.5mm dia and 2.5g. Support distance is 25mm between the bottom of the ring
and top surface of the bottom plate of support is provided. Glass container of 85mm dia
and 120mm depth is used. The bitumen is heated to poring consistency and poured into
ring and cooled for half an hour before testing. A brass ring containing the bitumen sample
is suspended in H2O or glycerine at given temperature a steel ball is placed on the disc of
bitumen. The liquid medium is then heated at a rate of 50 ᵒC increase per minute. Metal
plate placed at a specified bituminous material touches the bottom at the softening point.
With increase in temperature bitumen melts and come down with the weight of ball at
particular temperature it touches the bottom plate that point temperature is noted.

The softening point is range between 35 to 750 ᵒC.

The liquid water is used for bitumen having softening point less than 800 ᵒC and Glycerine
is for softening point more than 800 ᵒC.

Higher softening point indicates lower temp. susceptibility and in warm climate.

The factors which affect the softening points are quality and type of liquid used, weight of
ball, distance between bottom of the ring and bottom base plate and rate of temperature.

Fig.10 Softening point test

4.3 Ductility test

In flexible pavement construction it is important that the binders form ductile thin film
around the aggregate. This serves as a satisfactory binder in improving the physical
interlocking of the aggregate bitumen mixes. Under traffic loads the bitumen layer is
subjected to repeated deformation and recoveries. The binder material which does not
possess sufficient ductility would crack and thus provide pervious pavement surface. The
test is believed to measure the adhesive property of bitumen and its ability to stretch. The
ductility of a binder is an indication of its elasticity & ability to deform under load & return
to original condition upon removal of the load. A material which doesn’t possess adequate
ductility would crack under a load.

This is unsatisfactory since water can penetrate into the surfacing through there cracks.
The property is determined by measuring the distance that a std briquette of bitumen,
necked to a cross section of 1 sq-cm will stretch without breaking when elongated at a
rate of 5 cm/min at 270ᵒC. The ductility values should be a minimum of 50 as per IS.

The briquette mould is filled with bitumen and cool for 30 min in air and 30 min in water
before testing. Then it is fixed to expanding machine assembly which stretches the
bitumen at a rate of 5cm/min and expands till to break and the point is noted by scale.
The factors which affect the ductility is pouring and test temperature, dimension of
briquette mould, rate of pulling and period of cooling.

Fig.11 Ductility test

4.4 Viscosity Test

Viscosity is the property of a fluid that determines the resistance offered by the fluid to a
shearing force under laminar flow conditions, it is thus the opposite of fluidity.

The determination of viscosity is generally done by efflux viscometers. They work on

common principles, though they differ in detail. The liquid under test is poured to a
specified level into a container surround by water or oil bath providing temperature control
at the base of the container is a small orifice with a simple valve control on opening valve,
the time in seconds is recorded for a stated quantity of liquid to discharge into a measuring
liquid below. The different type of viscosity testing operator is there they are Efflux
viscometer, Standard tar viscometer (10mm dia orifice and 50ml fluid to discharge),
Saybolt furol viscometer (3mm dia orifice and 60ml fluid to discharge).

The bitumen is placed in to a standard tar viscometer or efflux viscometer and its
temperature is raised to test temperature specified (35, 40, 45, 55& 600ᵒC). When the
temperature reaches respective test temperature orifice valve is open time elapse is noted
to collect the bitumen of 50ml. The time required to collect a bottom container of 50ml is
five indirectly the viscosity of bitumen. Then is specified in VG 10, VG20, VG 30 and VG
40.

Fig.12 Apparatus for viscosity test

4.5 Specific gravity test

In most applications bitumen is weighed, but finally in use with aggregate the bitumen
content is converted on volume basis. Hence determine of specific gravity value is required
for conversion of weight to volume. Specific gravity of a binder doesn’t influence its
behaviour but all the same, its value is needed for mix design.

Specific gravity of bitumen varies from 0.97 to 1.02.

There are two methods to test the specific gravity of bitumen.

1. Pycnometer method
2. Balance method

Generally balance method is used in that a cup of 50ml capacity is used and it is oiled
before using. The bitumen is poured in to cup and cooled and its weight is noted and weight
of cup with bitumen when immersed in distilled water is weighed f. Specific gravity of
bitumen is the ratio of e to the difference between (e and f).

It is used to convert the weight in to volume. Determines Purity of bitumen if the impurity
present in the bitumen by showing high value of specific gravity.

4.6 Heat stability test

When a bituminous binder is heated continuously it starts emitting volatile vapours above
a certain temperature and these volatile vapours can momentarily catch fire in form of flash
and continued heating get fired.

4.6.1 Flash point

The flash point of bitumen is that temperature at which it gives off vapours, which ignites
in the pressure of a flame, but don’t continue to burn. The flame point is an induction of
critical temperature at & above which suitable precautions should be taken to eliminate fire
hazards. The ISI test describes the Penske-Martin method. The method involves a cup into
which the bitumen is filled. The bitumen sample is then heated at a rate of 5-6 ᵒC/min
stirring the material continuously.
The test flame is applied at intervals. The flash point is taken at the temperature read on the
thermometer when flame causes a bright flash in the interior of cup in a closed system &
at the surface of material in open system. It is 220ᵒ C.

4.6.2 Fire point test

If heating is continued beyond the flash point, the vapours ignite in the pressure of a flame
& continue to burn indicating the fire point temperature. There is no standard method to
determine the spontaneous ignition temperature, which can only broadly indicate.

4.6.3 Loss on heating test

The effect of heat on a bituminous binder is the loss of volatile constituents. This loss causes
the binder to harden. Thus one method of testing the desirable property of a binder is to
find out the loss on heating. This is achieved by an accelerated heating test a 50 gm sample
is weight is taken and maintained at a temperature of 160 ᵒC for 5hours. Then it expressed
as a percentage of loss in original weight is determined.

4.7 Solubility test

It has already been indicated that all bitumen are substantially soluble in CS2. This is one
of the points that define bitumen. Hence any impurity in bitumen in the form of inert
minerals, carbon, salts etc. could be quantitatively analysed by dissolving the samples of
bitumen in any of the two solvents.

A sample of 2g of bitumen is dissolved in 100ml of solvent and filtered in soluble material

is washed, dried and weighed then it is expressed in percent of original sample. The Indian
specifications require 99% solubility.

4.8 Thin film oven test

In this test, a sample of bitumen is subjected to hardening conditions as would be expected

during hot mixing operations. A 50 ml sample of bitumen is placed in a flat bottomed
sample pan 140mm inside diameter & 10mm deep, the weighed sample & container are
placed in a shelf which rotates at 5 to 6 rpm for 5 hrs in a ventilated oven maintained at
163 ᵒC. The loss in weight of the sample is expressed as % of the original weight. This
method is then used for identify short term aging or hardening of bitumen.
5. MODIFIED BITUMEN

Certain additives or blend of additives called as bitumen modifiers can improve properties
of Bitumen and bituminous mixes. Bitumen treated with these modifiers is known as
modified bitumen. Polymer modified bitumen (PMB)/crumb rubber modified Bitumen
(CRMB) should be used only in wearing course depending upon the requirements of
extreme climatic variations. The detailed specifications for modified bitumen have been
issued by IRC: SP: 53-1999.

For many years, researchers and development chemists have experimented with modified
bitumen, mainly for industrial uses, adding asbestos, special fillers, mineral fibres and
rubbers. In the last thirty years many researchers have looked at a wide spectrum of
modifying materials for bitumen used in road construction.

5.1 Desired properties of modified bitumen

The modifier, when blended with bitumen, should

 maintain its premium properties during storage, application and in

service
 be capable of being processed by conventional equipment
 be physically and chemically stable during storage, application and
in service
 achieve a coating or spraying viscosity at normal application temperatures.

5.2 Modifiers

Type of modifier Example

Thermoplastic elastomers Styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS)

Styrene–butadiene–rubber (SBR)

Styrene–isoprene–styrene (SIS)
 Natural rubber

Crumb tyre rubber

Polyisoprene

Thermoplastic polymers Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)

Ethylene methyl acetate (EMA)

Ethylene butyl acetate (EBA)

Thermosetting polymers Epoxy resin

Polyurethane resin

Chemical modifiers Organo-metallic compounds

Sulphur

Lignin

Filler Carbon black

Hydrated lime

Fly ash
6. Literature review

6.1 “Performance of modified asphalt binder with tire rubber

powder”

Author: Mohd. Rosli Hainina , Md. Maniruzzaman A. Aziza, Abbas Mukhtar

Adnana , Norhidayah Abdul Hassana, Ramadhansyah Putra Jayaa , Hong Y Liu

The two major distresses associated with flexible pavement are rutting deformation and
fatigue cracking in world highways. This is mainly because of the increasing load and
higher tire pressure of vehicles which are applied to highway pavements today. Tire rubber
can be used as a modifier which increases the resistance to permanent deformation and
thermal and fatigue cracking. It also decreases the penetration values. Scrap or waste tire
are used for this which also helps in the safe disposal of the waste rubber which harmful
for the environment and also difficult to get rid off.

6.2 “Evaluation Of Volumetric Properties And Resilient Modulus

Performance Of Nanopolyacrylate Polymer Modified Binder
(NPMB) Asphalt Mixes”

Author: Ekarizan Shaffie, Juraidah Ahmad, Ahmad Kamil Arshad, Dzraini

Kamarun

This paper presents the potential benefits of nanopolyacrylate (NPA) for the asphalt
mixtures used on pavement. This research evaluates the resilient modulus performance of
dense graded Super pave-designed HMA mix. The bitumen modified with
Nanopolyacrylate polymer is compared with the normal bitumen. The physical properties
of asphalt bitumen are improved by means of nanopolyacrylate polymer modifications.
This is evident when 6 percent of NPA polymer was the optimum content that could be
added to the asphalt bitumen which is increase in softening point and decrease in
penetration value whereby indicate that Nanopolyacrylate bitumen mix have more
strength and durability than using unmodified bitumen mix.
6.3 “Effect of E-Waste Plastic as Aggregate Replacement on
Marshall Mix Design of Dense Bituminous Macadam”

Author: Pakhare Jagjit Laxman and Bhosale Sukhanand Sopan

In this study, E-waste plastic is used as aggregate replacement to modify the properties of
Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM) mix. Two sizes of aggregates 20mm and 2.36mm
are replaced with E-waste which includes abandoned computers and other electronic
appliances. Stability of the mix increases, and bulk modulus decrease E-waste improves
interlocking between the particles.

6.4 “Potential of Ferro Chrome Slag as Construction Material”

Author: B. Sanghamitra, C.N.V. Satyanarayana Reddy

High Carbon Ferro Chrome Slag is generated as waste material at Ferro Alloys
manufacturing units. This can be used in construction as be Ferro chrome slag satisfies all
the requirements specified by MORTH 2001 and can be used in construction of different
layers of pavement.

6.5 “Investigating effects of ethylene vinyl acetate and gilsonite

modifiers upon performance of base bitumen using Superpave
tests methodology”

Author: Mahmoud Ameri, Ahmad Mansourian , Amir Hossein

Sheikhmotevali

In this research study, relative performance of a series of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)
and gilsonite modified bitumens were evaluated in terms of three main distress modes of
flexible pavement namely rutting, fatigue damage and low temperature cracking. The
experimental tests performed were dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), bending beam
rheometer (BBR) and rotational viscosity (RV). Both EVA and gilsonite improve rutting
resistance of unmodified bitumen. Addition of EVA increases fatigue cracking resistance
of modified bitumens while addition of gilsonite decreases fatigue resistance of modified
bitumens.