Bituminous 10 171

mixtures

INTRODUCTION Bituminous mixtures contain two main ingredients,

The term ‘bituminous mixtures’ is used to denote all
materials in which an aggregate is bound with a
hydrocarbon binder. They are most extensively used as
surfacing material for road construction, where they are
commonly referred to as ‘blacktop’. They were first
produced in the 1870s and became extensively available
by the 1930s.
Roads are built from a number of layers that together
are called a pavement. Bituminous mixtures are used in
the upper layers of flexible or flexible-composite
pavements, as opposed to rigid pavements where the top
layers comprise concrete. Typical flexible pavement
structure is illustrated in Figure 363.
which are aggregate (coarse and fine) and the binder
(petroleum bitumen, natural bitumen, road tar). Various
grades of each may be used in various proportions to
produce mixes with different design properties. Fillers
(fine-grained material such as limestone dust, Portland
cement or PFA) may also be included in the mix to
change its physical characteristics.
Various bituminous mixtures have evolved to suit the
range of different circumstances in which they are used.
They can broadly be divided into two groups, the
macadams and asphalt. Macadams have a high content
of well graded (dense graded) aggregate and a low
content of bitumen binder, giving a dense stable structure
with the load being transmitted through the aggregate. In

363
Layer Properties
Wearing course Upper surfacing layer providing the running surface for
traffic. Usually comprises hot-rolled asphalt (bituminous
mixture)
Basecourse Lower surfacing layer that provides a well-shaped surface
for the wearing course to be applied to. Usually comprises
dense bitumen macadam or can be hot-rolled asphalt
(both bituminous mixtures)
Roadbase Main structural layer of the pavement. May comprise
bituminous mixtures (either macadam or asphalt),
unbound aggregate mixtures, hardcore, or stabilised soil
Sub-base Provides a surface of uniform strength for roadbase and
surfacing layers. Usually comprises unbound aggregate
Capping layer Forms a substructure to sub-base. Only required where
(if required) the subgrade is particularly weak
Subgrade The in situ formation (usually soil). Imported fill may be
added to make up levels or to replace unstable formation
material

363 Typical flexible pavement structure.

172 Bituminous mixtures
contrast, asphalts have a low content of single-sized
(open graded) aggregate, with a high bitumen content
and a high filler/fines content. These provide a dense,
strong, and stiff layer with the load being transmitted
through the binder. Due to the low aggregate content,
bitumen-coated stone chippings are often rolled into the
upper (trafficked) surface of asphalt wearing courses to
increase the skid resistance.
Other bituminous mixtures that the petrographer
should be aware of include mastic asphalt, sand carpet,
porous asphalt, stone mastic asphalt (SMA), and grouted
macadam. Mastic asphalt is dense, voidless asphalt that
is rich in hard bitumen and filler. The filler used is coarser
than that used in road asphalt. The mastic may be
extended with coarse aggregate depending on end-use. It
is impermeable and used to surface large flat roofs,
multistorey car park decks, and bridge decks. Sand carpet
is similar to mastic asphalt in that it is bitumen rich, but
contains less filler, the remainder of the mix being made
up with fine aggregate. Unlike mastic asphalt, it contains
no coarse aggregate. It is used in several specialized
applications such as on bridge decks where it is used to
protect underlying waterproofing polymer membranes
(sand carpet is sometimes coloured red when used for this
application).
Porous asphalt comprises uniformly graded (open-
graded) aggregate with low bitumen content and an open
texture (20% large interconnected air voids). It is free
draining and is used on airfield pavements to prevent
aquaplaning and it is increasingly used on roads as it
reduces the rolling noise of traffic.
Stone mastic asphalt (SMA) comprises gap-graded
aggregate with voids almost completely filled by a rich
mastic of bitumen/fine aggregate/filler. Cellulose fibres
or polymer modified bitumen may also be incorporated.
The material was designed in Germany to resist studded
snow tyres and SMA is now being used in the UK and
North America as it has good resistance to rutting and
high durability.
Grouted macadam is laid using a two-stage process
and comprises open-graded asphalt topping with a void
content of 20–25%, which is later flooded with
cementitious mortar. The resulting composite has a high
resistance to point loading and chemical/fuel spillage. It
is being increasingly used at container parks, docks,
airport aprons, and garage forecourts.
The common causes of premature deterioration in
bituminous mixture surfacings are related to loss of
structural strength and wear, disintegration, or loss of
surface characteristics. Currently under-utilized, micro-
scopy can provide valuable information regarding the
causes and magnitude of road construction material
deterioration.
The principal applications of petrographic
examination to investigation of bituminous mixtures are:
• Determining the number material types and layers
present (and their thickness).
• Identifying aggregates and filler used.
• Determination of the air void structure.
• Identifying the causes and extent of defects and
deterioration.
PETROGRAPHIC EXAMINATION
In the absence of a specific standard procedure for
petrographic examination of bituminous mixtures, the
guidance of EN 12407 (British Standards Institution,
2007) or ASTM C856 (ASTM International, 2004) may be
adapted. An initial visual and low-power microscopical
examination is conducted to determine the number of
layers, their thickness, and to look for any macroscopic
evidence of deterioration. Coarse aggregate and
chippings exposed at the upper surface of roads can be
examined for evidence of damage. Observation of slices
cut perpendicular to the road surface is particularly
useful for studying the properties of coarse aggregate.
Details of the aggregate size, shape, and distribution can
be accurately determined using image analysis
techniques (Schlangen, 1999). Slices that have been
impregnated with fluorescent resin are useful for
observing the air void structure (Eriksen, 1999). High-
power microscopical examination of thin sections is used
to identify the surface texture, geological type, and
potential durability of aggregates and fillers used and to
assess the effectiveness of the bitumen coating.
EXAMPLES OF BITUMINOUS MIXTURES
Figures 364 and 365 show macadam from a roadbase,
comprising well graded crushed dacite aggregate with a
low content of bitumen binder that barely coats the
aggregate and leaves air voids between aggregate
particles. Figure 366 shows hot-rolled asphalt wearing
course comprising single-sized crushed rock aggregate
with a relatively high bitumen content, leaving no voids.
Calcium carbonate dust filler is clearly seen within the
 Examples of bituminous mixtures 173

364

364 Macadam with crushed dacite aggregate (pale

green) and bitumen binder (black). Air void shown
yellow; PPT, ×35, 4.5mm across.

365

365 Same view as 364 in cross-polarized light. The

dacite aggregate appears grey, bitumen black, and an
air void is shown dark green; XPT, ×35, 4.5mm across.

366

366 Close view of hot-rolled asphalt with crushed

volcanic rock coarse aggregate particles (grey), bitumen
binder (dark brown), and calcium carbonate filler (pink,
encapsulated by the bitumen); XPT, ×150, 1mm across.
174 Bituminous mixtures
binder. Figure 367 shows sand carpet from a bridge deck.
It consists of natural sand fine aggregate (with no coarse
aggregate) bound by a relatively high content of
bitumen. Figures 368 and 369 show a grouted macadam
from a car park, consisting of open textured asphalt with
the voids filled by cementitious mortar. The cementitious
367
367 Sand carpet comprising bitumen (black) mixed
with natural sand fine aggregate (white). Small air
voids are shown yellow; PPT, ×150, 1mm across.
369
369 Grouted macadam with crushed rock coarse
aggregate (intermediate igneous rock, grey), coated by
bitumen (brown, centre). Large voids are filled by
microsilica improved sand:cement mortar (black,
lower left) with the sand particles appearing white;
XPT, ×35, 4.5mm across.
mortar comprises 25% of the material and contains an
addition of microsilica. Figure 370 shows a bituminous
bedding material of an historic wood block floor (circa
1810). The material comprises a mixture rich in bitumen
(possibly a natural bitumen) combined with a natural
sand fine aggregate.
368
368 Grouted macadam with crushed rock coarse
aggregate (intermediate igneous rock, white/light brown),
coated by bitumen (black). Large voids filled by
microsilica improved sand:cement mortar with the sand
particles appearing white (lower right). Small voids are
unfilled and shown yellow; PPT, ×35, 4.5mm across.
370
370 Historic bituminous floor bedding, with natural
sand consisting of quartz (grey/white) and phosphatic
rock particles (brown), bound by bitumen (black);
XPT, ×35, 4.5mm across.