W.B.M.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION

Salient Features

‰ Designation of Indian standard test sieves.

‰ Grading for granular sub base material and control test and their frequency.

‰ Physical requirement of coarse aggregate.

‰ Approximate quantity of coarse aggregate for 100/75 mm. compacted thick mass of W.B.M.
sub base / base course.

‰ Grading and physical requirement of coarse aggregate for wet mix macadam.

‰ Grading and physical requirement of coarse aggregate for crusher run macadam box.

‰ Control of alignment, profile and surface evenness.

The notes attached herewith are for information only.

The Rates of the DSR have no bearing on the notes
enclosed herewith.
In case of any dispute regarding interpretation of
item it’s specifications etc. the reference to original
specifications shall be made.

491
 DESIGNATION OF INDIAN STANDARD TEST SIEVES

The Sieve has a square, circular apertures. The sample of aggregate (coarse, fine) is separated in
all sizes by passing in through different sizes of sieves & there proportion in terms of weight/
percentage is calculated in terms of sieve analysis. This analysis is essential in design of concrete
mix & bitumen macadam mix, water bound macadam mix design.
The following Indian standard sieves are required conforming to I.S. 460.
Designation of Test sieves:- conforming of I.S.460.

In mm. In mm. In Miicron

850 125 710 one Micron

710 106 600 on Micro meter
600 90 500 = 1/1000 millimeter.
500 75 425
425 63 355
355 53 300
300 45 250
250 37.5 212
212 31.5 180
180 26.5 150
150 22.4 125
125 19.0 90
106 16.0 75
90 13.20 63
75 11.20 45
63 9.50
53 8.00
45 6.70
5.60
4.75
4.00
3.35
2.80
2.36
2.00
1.70
1.40
1.18
1.00

492
 GRADING FOR GRANULAR SUBBASE MATERIALS

Sieve PERCENT BY WEIGHT PASSING THE SIEVE

Designation Grading.1 Grading.2 Grading.3

90 mm 100 100 100

63 mm 90 — 100 90 — 100 90 — 100
5.6 mm 39 — 72 44 — 91 53 — 100
75 Micron 0 — 20 0 — 25 0 — 30
CBR VALUE 30% 25% 20%
(minimum)

The material passing 425 micron sieve for all the three gradings shall have liquid limit and Plasticity
index of not more than 25% and 6% respectively.
The material for lower sub base may have a minimum CBR Value of 10.

CONTROL TESTS AND THEIR FREQUENCY FOR SUB BASE/BASES

AND BITUMINOUS WORKS

Sr. Type of Test Frequency

No. construction

1. Granular sub-base i) Gradation One test/200 m3

ii) Atterbergs Limits One test/200 m3
iii) Moisture content One test/250 m3
prior to compaction
iv) Density of compacted One test/500 m2
layer
v) Deleterious constituents As required
vi) CBR As required

2. Water Bound 1. Aggregate impact One test / 200 m3

Macadam value.
2. Grading One test/ 100 m3
3. Flakiness Index One test / 200 m3
4. Atterberg Limits One test / 25 m3
of binding materials of binding material

493
1. 2. 3. 4.

3. Tack Coat 1. Quality of binder As required

2. Binder temp for At regular close intervals.
application
3. Rate of spread of 2 test/day
binder.

4. Surface dressing i) Quality of Binder As required

ii) Aggregate Impact 1 test/50m3
value
iii) Flakiness Index 1 test / 50 m3
iv) Stripping value of Initially one set of 3
aggregates representative specimens for
each source of supply.
v) Water absorption of Subsequently when warranted
aggregates by changes in the quality of
aggregates.
vi) Grading of One test per 25 m3 of
aggregates aggregate
vii) Temperature of binder At regular close intervals.
at application.
viii) Rate of spread of One test per 500 m3 of
materials aggregate.

5. Bituminous Macadam 1. Quality of binder As required

Dense Bituminous
Macadam/Semidense 2. Aggregate Impact One test /50— 100 m3
bituminous concrete value of aggregate
3. Flakiness index One test/50 — 100 m3 of
of Aggregates Aggregate

494
1. 2. 3. 4.

4. Stripping value Initially one set of 3 repres-

of Aggregates entative specimens for each
source of supply. Subse-
5. Water absorption quently when warranted by
of aggregates changes in the quality of
Aggregates.
6. Grading of B.M. Two Tests/day/plant, both
Aggregates on the individual constituents
and mixed aggregate from
the dryer.
DBM and SOC - one set of tests
on individual constitu- ents and
mixed aggregates from the dryer
for each 100 tonnes of mix
subject to a minimum of 2 sets per
plant per day.
7. Control of binder content B.M. Periodic subject to minimum
of 2 test / day / plant DBM and SDC
3 tests of stability / flow value/den-
sity and void content per 100 M.T.
of Mix subject to minimum 2 tests/
day/ plant.
8. Control of temperature At regular
of binder in boiler, close intervals.
aggregate in the dryer
and mix. at the time
of laying and rolling.
9. Rate of spread of Regular control through
mixed material checks on layer thickness.
10. Density of compacted 1 Test/500 m2 area.
layer.

495
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF COARSE AGGREGATE FOR SUBBASE/BASE COURSES

TEST REQUIREMENT

Los Angeles 50% (Max)

Abrasion Value
OR
Aggregate Impact 40% (Max)
Value
Flakiness Index 15% (Max)

Aggregates like brick metal, kankar, laterite etc., get softened in presence of water shall be tested
for impact value under wet conditions.

The requirement of flakiness Index shall be enforced only in the case of crushed broken stone and
crushed slag.

496
 GRADING REQUIREMENT OF COARSE AGGREGATES

Grading no. Size Range Sieve Designation % by weight passing

1. 90 mm to 45 mm 125 mm 100
90 mm 90 — 100
63 mm 25 ... 60
45 mm 0... 15
22.4 mm 0—5
2. 63 to 45 mm 90 mm 100
63 mm 90 — 100
53 mm 25 ... 75
45 mm 0 — 15
22.40 m m 0—5
3. 53 to 22.4 mm 63 mm 100
53 mm 95 ... 100
45 mm 65 ... 90
22.4 mm 0— 10
11.20 m m 0— 15

The Compacted thickness for layer with Grade I shall be 100 mm while for layer with other grade it
shall be 75 mm

GRADING FOR SCREENINGS

GRADE SIZE OF SCREENING SIEVE DESIGNATION PERCENT BY WEIGHT

CLASSIFICATION PASSING THE SIEVE

A 13.2 mm 13.2 mm 100

11.2 mm 95 — 100
5.6 mm 15 — 35
180 µm 0 — 10
11.2 mm 11.2 mm 100
5.6 mm 90 — 100
180 µm 15 — 35

If murum or gravel is used as screening the liquid limit and plasticity index shall not be more than 20
and 6 respectively, fraction passing 75 µm sieve should not exceed 10 percent.

497
 APPROXIMATE QUANTITIES OF COARSE AGGREGATES AND SCREENINGS REQUIRED FOR
100/75 mm COMPACTED THICKNESS OF WBM SUBBASE / BASE COARSE / FOR 10 M2

COARSE AGGREGATE SCREENINGS Crushable type such as

murum or gravel PI 6
Classification Size Range Compacted Loose Stone screenings
Thickness quantity Grading For WBM Grading Loose quantity
Classification sub-base/base classification
& size coarse(Loose qty) and Size

Grading I 90 mm to 100 mm 1.21-1.43 m3 Type A 0.27 to Not Uniform 0.30 to

45 mm 13.2 mm 0.30m3 0.32 m3
Grading II 63 mm to 100 mm 0.91 to 1.07 m3 Type A 0.12 to —do— 0.22 to
45 mm 13.2 mm 0.15 m3 0.24 m3
-do- -do- -do- -do- Type B 0.20 to —do— —do—
11.2 mm 0.22 m3

498
Grading III 53 mm 75 mm -do- -do- 0.18 to —do— —do—
to 22.40 mm 0.21 m3
 Grading requirement of aggregates for wet mix macadam

I.S. Sieve Percent by weight passing the sieve.

Designation

53 mm 100
45 mm 95 — 100
26.5 m m -----
22.40 m m 60 — 80
11.20 m m 40 — 60
4.75 m m 25 — 40
2.36 mm 15 — 30
600 micron 8 — 22
75 micron 0—8

Materials finer than 425 micron shall have plasticity Index (PI) not exceeding 6.

The final gradation approved within these limits shall be well graded from course to fine and shall
not vary from the tow limit - on one sieve to high limit on adjacent sieve & vice versa.

Physical Requirement of coarse aggregate for wet mix macadam

Test Test method Requirement

Los Angeles I.S. 2386 40% (max)

Abrasion value (Part-4)
or
aggregate I.S. 2386 (Part-4) 30% (max)
impact value or I.S. 5640
Combined I.S. 2386 30% (max)
Flakiness & (Part I)
elongation indices
Water I.S. 2386
Absorption (Part II) 2 % (max)

If the water absorption value of coarse aggregate is greater than 2% the soundness test shall be
carried out on the material delivered to site as per I.S. : 2386 (Part-5)

Compaction - The compaction shall be done up to 98% of Maximum dry density for the material as
determined by the method outlined in I.S. 2720 (Part - 8)

The thickness of single compacted wet mix macadam layer shall not be less than 75 mm when
vibratory roller is used. The compacted depth of single layer may be increased to 200 mm upon
approval of Engineer.

499
 CRUSHER - RUN - MACADAM BASE
Aggregate Grading Requirement

Sieve size Percentage passing by weight

53 mm size 37.5 mm size

63 mm 100
45 mm 87 — 100 90 — 100
22.4 mm 50 — 85 90 — 100
5.6 mm 25 — 45 35 — 55
710 Micron 10 — 25 10 — 30
90 Micron 2—9 2—9

The grading for either 53 mm max. size or 37.5 mm. max size shall be used. Except that once
grading is selected, it cannot be changed without engineers approval.

Physical Requirements of coarse aggregates for crusher run macadam base

Test Test method Requirements

Los Angeles I.S. 2386 40 % maximum

abrasion value (Part-4)

or aggregate impact I.S. 2386 30 % maximum

value (Part-4) or
I.S. 5640

Combined flakiness I.S. 2386 30 % maximum

and elongation indices (Part- 1)
(Total)

Water absorption I.S. 2386 20% maximum

(Part- 3)

Liquid limit of material I.S. 2720 Not more than 25

passing 425 micron sieve (Part.5)

Plasticity Index of material I.S. 2720 Not more than 6

passing 425 micron sieve (Part-5)

Compaction - The compaction shall be done upto 98% of max. dry density for material as deter-
mined by method outlined in I.S. 2720 (Part - IV)

If compaction By power roller then thickness shall be

< 100 mm
By vibratory roller —do—
< 200 mm

500
 CONTROL OF ALIGNMENT, PROFILE AND SURFACE EVENNESS

The checking of horizontal alignment shall be done with respect to the centre line of the road as
shown on the plans. It involves checking the geometry of the roadway as well as edges of the
various pavement layers vis-a-vis the design centre line. Horizontal alignment can be controlled
properly only if the centre line of the road has been marked in the field by means of reference pillars
on both sides of the centre line located at frequent intervals along the straight and at all changes of
horizontal curvature.

To ensure compliance with plans, edges of each pavement layer should be delineated with respect
to the centre line before placement, with the help of pegs, strings or other tools.

Except for hill roads the allowable tolerances in respect of horizontal alignment are recommended
as below:

1. Carriageway edges + 25 mm.

2. Edges of the roadways and lower layers + 40 mm.
of pavement

SURFACE LEVEL OF PAVEMENT COURSES :

Surface levels of pavement courses calculated with respect to the longitudinal and cross profiles
shown on the drawings shall be checked through grid levelling / spot levelling etc., from the subgrade
upwards, for each successive layer. Actual levels of the different courses shall not vary from the
design levels beyond the tolerance indicated below :-

Subgrade + 25 mm
sub base + 20 mm
base course + 15 mm
bituminous wearing course + 10 mm

501
502
Care shall be taken that the negative tolerance for wearing course is not permitted in conjunction
with the positive tolerance for base course if the thickness of the former is reduced by more than 6
mm.

PERMITTED TOLERANCE OF SURFACE IRREGULARITY

FOR SUBGRADE AND PAVEMENT COURSES

Sr.No. Type of construction Longitudinal profile with 3 metre Cross Profile

straight edge
Max. Max. number of Max. permissible
permi- undulations permitted variation
ssible in any 300 mtrs. from specified
undulation length exceeding mm profile under
camber template mm

18 mm 12 mm 10 mm 6 mm

1. WBM 12 — — 30 — 8
2. Surface dressing 12 — — 20 — 8
3. B.M. 10 — — — 20 6
4. DBM and SDC 10 — — — 20 6

CONTROL ON LAYER THICKNESS

Even though checks on surface levels of pavement courses provide an indirect control on the layer
thickness additional measures may be necessary to establish that the thickness of constructed
course is in accordance with specification. These measures could be in the form of thick blocks, or
cores as may be applicable. Control on the spread of materials also provides an indirect check on
the layer thickness.

In general the average thickness should not be less than the specified thickness. In addition the
spot reduction in thickness should not exceed 5 mm in the case of bituminous macadam and 6
mm in the case of asphaltic and concrete and cement concrete.

503
504
STANDARD OF SURFACE EVENNESS :

Control of Transverse profile.

The checking of transverse profile should commence right from the subgrade level and continued
for each successive layer upto the top. Checking is done with the help of camber boards/templates
which can have either adjustable reference pods or replaceable bottom piece to correspond to the
specified profile.

For 2 lane roads the checking operation is required to be carried out individually for each lane.

For obtaining correct transverse profile on the finished surface of the layer it is necessary that the
spread material (before impacting/finishing) should conform to the desired profile as far as pos-
sible. Therefore, the profile of the spread material should be continuously regulated with template/
camber boards.

Normally a set of three templates should be used in series at an interval of about 10 mts. checking
of the finished surface subsequently should be on the same lines. Additional checks may be made
where visual appearance suggests an excessive variation.

CONTROL OF LONGITUDINAL PROFILE :

The longitudinal evenness is specified in terms of the maximum permissible irregularity under a 3
mts. Straight edge.

For recording undulations in the longitudinal profile the straight edge is to be placed longitudinally
parallel to the centre lines of the road, Measurements along two parallel lines may normally be
sufficient for a single lane pavement and along three lines for two lane pavement.

The depressions under the straight edge are to be measured with a graduated wedge. The wedge
should preferably be metallic but may alternatively be of seasoned hard wood. These should be
graduated to read undulations upto 25 mm. with a least count of at least 3 mm.

The straight edge may be placed at the starting point, wedge inserted between it and the test
surface where the gap is maximum and reading taken. The edge may then be slided forward by
about 1/2 length i.e. 1.50 mt. and the wedge reading repeated.

This process should be continued. The straight edge need not always be moved forward but may
be moved backward and forward to record the maximum undulation existing at a location, locations
with undulations in excess of the specified magnitude should be marked on the surface.

A team of three persons consisting of two workmen and a supervisor and equipped with one
straight edge and two graduated wedges would be required. The two workmen will operate the
straight edge while the supervisor will take measurements with the wedges and do the marking on
the surface.

505
 PROFILE CORRECTION OVER EXISTING BITUMINOUS SURFACES

a. Where corrective course No separate profile course.

thickness works out to be The requirement shall be made
less than 20 mm. up as the integral part of the
overlay course.

b. Where irregularities are of Open graded premix carpet

non uniform character and excepting the seal coat.
of depth 20 to 40 mm.

c. Where the thickness of Bituminous Macadam

corrective course required with binder content of 3.5%
is more than 40 mm.

d. Where the thickness of Split the course into layers.

corrective course required
is more than 75 mm
The top layer of Uniform thickness
shall be structural layer and the
bottom layer can be either B.B.M.
/B.M. / W.B.M./ Wet Mix as
per the importance of the road.

506