ASSIGNMENT

SEEMAB ALI
(BSCT01161074)
cv-7(M)

ASPHALT AND ITS TYPES

Asphalt
Asphalt is the most common substance used for paving roads and driveways. In fact, asphalt is
used to pave everything from parking lots and roads to schoolyards and tennis courts.Throughout
the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), asphalt is used for residential, commercial, public,and
industrial properties.

Asphalt is called a bituminous material because it contains bitumen, a hydrocarbon material

soluble in carbon disulfate. The tar obtained from the destructive distillation of soft coal also
contains bitumen.

Asphalt is a versatile substance and can be used to address a variety of different concerns.
Choosing the right asphalt type depends on the circumstances of your job.

Mix type selection is important. When selecting an asphalt type for public roads and property,
public officials will consider traffic volume, climate, weather conditions, and a variety of other
factors. Property owners should also take similar considerations when choosing from the
following asphalt types.

Fig 1: Asphalt
Types of Asphalt
1. Perpetual Pavement
Perpetual pavement is designed to extend the lifespan of roads and other asphalt surfaces. With
this multi-layered process, property owners do not have to worry about extensive or severe repair
in the long run. A tough, flexible base is used to resist cracks, and a strong, permanent asphalt
layer is built over top. On the surface, a smooth top layer is used, allowing for ease of driving
and use. After years of use, the top layer can be removed and replaced simply and affordably
without having to touch the asphalt beneath.

2. Porous Asphalt
Porous asphalt is used to manage water runoff and to drain standing water. With porous asphalt,
water actually seeps through the asphalt into an open-graded stone bed, from where it then
slowly is drained into the soil beneath. Porous asphalt removes standing water from paved
surfaces, where it could lead to damage, and drains it in a way that prevents degradation to the
asphalt. Porous asphalt also improves the quality of groundwater. Most commonly, this type of
asphalt is used for parking lots and other large surfaces.

3. Quiet Asphalt
One of the more common asphalt types for driveways and residential roads is quiet asphalt.
Using a stone-mix “quiet” asphalt, noise pollution can be reduced by up to 50%. Using this type
of asphalt is typically more economical and simpler than using sound barriers. Quiet asphalt is
often used in residential communities.

4. Warm-Mix Asphalt
Warm mix asphalt is mixed and paved at lower temperatures than usual, which has many
environmental benefits. It releases fewer greenhouse gases, uses less fuel, and is much safer for
the contractors or workers who are applying it. As well, warm mix asphalt can be applied further
into the usual “off season.”

5. Hot Mix Asphalt

Hot mix asphalt is typically the most effective choice for driveways, providing enhanced
durability, ease of use, and protection against the elements. Not only can it last longer and resist
damage, but it’s also affordable and allows for a great-looking, smooth surface.
Prepration of Asphalt

The quality of any asphalt surface is more than skin deep. When it comes to asphalt paving,
proper surface preparation is just as important as the quality of the asphalt itself. In fact, it is the
surface preparation – proper clearing, excavation, ground compaction and base materials – that
truly affects the life of an asphalt surface.

Before a pavement is placed the surface to be paved must be prepared. Adequate surface
preparation is essential to long-term pavement performance. Pavements constructed without
adequate surface preparation may not meet smoothness specifications, may not bond to the
existing pavement (in the case of overlays) or may fail because of inadequate subgrade support.

Specific actions for each method depend upon the pavement type and purpose, environmental
conditions, subgrade conditions, local experience and specifications.

Fig 2: Milling Machine Fig 3: Pavement Cleaning After Milling

Surface preparation generally takes one of two forms:

 Preparing the subgrade and granular base course for new pavement. This can involve such
activities as subgrade stabilization, over-excavation of poor subgrade, applying a prime
coator compacting the subgrade.
 Preparing an existing pavement surface for overlay. This can involve such activities as
replacing localized areas of extreme damage, applying a leveling course, milling, applying
a tack coat, rubblizing or cracking and seating an underlying rigid pavement, and replacing
localized areas of extreme damage.

When surface preparation is complete, the asphalt is then transported to the construction site and
laid using an asphalt paver and compacted using asphalt rollers. Once the asphalt is compacted, it
is left to solidify for a minimum of 24 hours. If this timetable is not adhered to, the quality of the
asphalt can be compromised.

When it comes to asphalt paving, each step is as important as the next. Because of this, you need
an asphalt contractor who takes pride in their work and who treats each and every step with the
attention to detail it requires. You need a reliable contractor.

Sources of Asphalt
Native Asphalt

It is a natural part of bitumen. Whenever crude petroleum is evaporated in the atmosphere due to
rising of temperature or due to action of wind. Remaining residue is called native asphalt.

Pure asphalts occur in nature in the form of solid or semi-solid deposits in certain parts of the
world.The best known are the Lake Asphalt deposits of Venezuela. Sometime the asphalt rock
may contain other mineral impurities.

Rock Asphalt

It is a type of limestone converted to asphalt rock. This has happened at places where natural
bitumens have entered the crevices of limestone rock and changed it to an asphaltic composition.

The asphalt rock is used at places of occurrence for road paving and road making.It is available
in the form of semi rock depositing in California and Brazil. Its presence is 5-10 % in the world.
Petroleum Asphalt

It is the major portion of asphalt which is used in world and is obtained by the distillation of
crude petroleum.Some asphaltites are used considerably in electrical storage batteries, thermo-
plastic molded goods, mastic flooring and pipeline coatings.

Dead Sea

The collection of asphalt from the surface of the Dead Sea was a major economic resource for the
city of Jericho, near the north end. The asphalt rises to the surface as clumps or masses, which are
then collected. Along with salts and a little sulphur, the Dead Sea was exploited from the earliest
times. The supply of asphalt was so well known that the Romans called it Lacus Asphaltites.

Is River, Near Hit

About 150 miles to the northwest from Babylon are wells from which asphalt was extracted. This
was on a tributary of the Euphrates River, the Is, near the modern city of Hit in Iraq.

The wells or springs were mentioned by Herodotus and were known as the Fountains of Is. There
are also a few asphalt springs near the ancient city of Asshur, across the plateau, near the Tigris
river.This asphalt was used to cement the brickwork around the city of Babylon and to
waterproof a type of round boat called a Guffa.

Zante

Another site from which asphalt was obtained was the Greek island of Zante, near the city of
Keri. The oil seeps up through small pools of water and is collected when enough has solidified
for use. The underlying strata is fractured limestone and clays beds through which the oil seeps.
There is also a small amount of sulphur brought up, indicating a volcanic origin.

Asphalt is not associated directly with volcanic activity, but the associated earth movements
often cause the fractures which allow the oil to escape to the surface. Asphalt is native to
sedimentary formations, not igneous formations.