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Emerging road materials and innovative applications

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National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
Engineering

Emerging road materials and innovative applications

Amit Goel and Animesh Das
goel.amits@gmail.com*, adas@iitk.ac.in
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur 208 016
INDIA

ABSTRACT: India is currently undergoing through a large number of road infrastructure development projects. Due to
this initiative, fresh attention has been drawn to the issues related to latest road technology. This paper presents some
emerging road materials and innovative application concepts, which appear to be promising for future developments.

KEY WORDS: emerging road materials, innovative applications

INTRODUCTION Binder (bitumen) modification

As the title of this article suggests, the discussion has
been divided into two major parts. The first part
discusses about the new and emerging materials in road
construction technology and the second part discusses
about the recent application concepts of various road
materials.
EMERGING MATERIALS
Emerging road materials can evolve in two ways (a) as
modification of existing road materials and (b) as
development of alternative road materials. They have
been discussed in the subsequent sections.
Modification of Existing Materials
Binder (bitumen) modification is done with the help of
additives which may or may not react chemically with
bitumen. Table 1 presents a partial list of various types
of binder modifiers, their purpose and examples. Binder
modification results improvement of one or more
properties of the binder (and hence the mix) viz. fatigue
resistance, stiffness modulus, rutting resistance,
stripping potential, temperature susceptibility, oxidation
potential etc.
For conventional binders, it is generally observed that
the mixes with high stiffness modulus (E) show low
fatigue life, and vice versa. However, for an economical
pavement design, both high elastic modulus as well as
high fatigue life is desirable. Through binder
modification, this particular disadvantage can be
avoided.

Existing materials may require modifications so as to normal binder

improve their engineering properties. Also, locally
available materials, which are otherwise not satisfying
general specification requirements, can be suitably
modified so that they become acceptable. This also
serves the purpose of economy in terms of savings of
haulage of costly materials from elsewhere. Sometimes,
design may require special purpose materials having
specific properties (for example high or low
permeability, enhanced shear strength etc.) which can
be achieved through material modifications. These have
been discussed further under the two following sections
as, binder (bitumen) modification and aggregate
modification. Discussion on soil stabilization, ground
improvement techniques and advanced cement concrete
materials have been kept outside the scope of the
present paper.
modified binder
Stiffness
modulus
(E)
Temperature
Fig.1. Temperature susceptibility curve comparing
normal and modified bitumen binders
Figure 1 presents this concept schematically. As can be
seen in Figure 1, for mixes with ordinary binder,
although E value is higher initially at low temperatures,
at high E value the fatigue performance generally
becomes poor. On the other hand, at high temperature,

* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI 1

National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
Engineering

Table 2. Industrial waste product usage in road construction

(TFHRC 2004; Hamad et al., 2003; Hawkins et al., 2003; Mroueh et al., 2002; Okagbue et al., 1999; Sherwood 1995;
Javed et al., 1994)

Waste product Source Possible usage

Fly ash Thermal power station
Blast furnace slag Steel industry
Construction and Construction industry
demolition waste
Colliery spoil Coal mining
Spent oil shale Petrochemical industry
Foundry sands Foundry industry
Mill tailings Mineral processing
industry
Cement kiln dust Cement industry
Used engine oil Automobile industry
Marble dust Marble industry
Waste tyres Automobile industry
Glass waste Glass industry
Nonferrous slags Mineral processing
industry
China clay Bricks and tile industry
Bulk fill, filler in bituminous mix, artificial aggregates
Base/ Sub-base material, Binder in soil stabilization (ground slag)
Base/ Sub-base material, bulk-fill, recycling
Bulk-fill
Bulk-fill
Bulk-fill, filler for concrete, crack-relief layer
Granular base/sub-base, aggregates in bituminous mix, bulk fill
Stabilization of base, binder in bituminous mix
Air entraining of concrete
Filler in bituminous mix
Rubber modfied bitumen, aggregate
Glass-fibre reinforcement, bulk fill
Bulk-fill, aggregates in bituminous mix
Bulk-fill, aggregates in bituminous mix

the E value becomes too low and the mix becomes soft.
The bituminous mixes with modified binder does not
allow the mix to be too hard (high E value) or too soft
(low E value) at low and high temperatures
respectively. Thus the stiffness versus temperature
curve takes a ‘S-shape’ as shown in Figure 1.
Aggregate modification
The marginal or poor quality aggregates can be
improved by using some cementing material such as
cement, lime, pozzolanic substance etc. (Majumdar et
al., 1999). The proportions of the cementing material
and other ingredients (like water) can be suitably
estimated in the laboratory.
Development of Alternative Materials
Given the fact that good quality aggregates are
depleting and cost of material extraction is increasing,
researchers are looking for suitable alternative
materials.
The tests and specifications, which are applicable for
conventional materials, may be inappropriate for
evaluation of non-conventional materials, i.e.
alternative materials. This is because the material
properties, for example, particle sizes, grading and
chemical structure, may differ substantially from those
of the conventional materials. Thus for an appropriate
assessment of these materials, new tests are to be
devised and new acceptability criteria are to be formed.
However, with the advent of performance-based tests, it
is expected that the performances of the conventional as
well as new materials can be tested on a same set-up
and be compared (Aravind and Das, 2004).
Industrial and domestic wastes
Industrial and domestic waste products provide a
prospective source of alternative materials. These
materials are cheaply available. Also, their use in road
construction provides an efficient solution to the
associated problems of pollution and disposal of these
wastes. Table 2 presents a partial list of industrial waste
materials that can be used in road construction (Aravind
and Das, 2004). Table 3 summarizes the advantages and
disadvantages of using specific industrial wastes in road
construction.
The incenerated municipal soild waste (MSW), after
further processing, can be used as fines in bituminous
mixes. Processing is done to remove ferrous and
nonferrous metals and to achieve the required particle
size gradation. Due to the presence of larger fraction of
fines, MSW ash is primarily used as fine aggregate. It is
also used as a fill material in road construction. The ash
can also be stabilized with portland cement or lime to
produce stabilized base/sub-base material (TFHRC
2004).
Other alternative materials
Extenders, such as sulphur, may be used as substitute
to bitumen (SEAM 2004). These materials can be used
only as a fraction of total bitumen content; hence they
can act as partial substitute only.
Steel slag aggregate is a good example of synthetic
aggregates obtained from by-products of industrial
processes. It has good binding properties with bitumen
due to its high calcium oxide content (NatSteel 1993).
The angular shape of the aggregates helps to form

* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI 2

National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
Engineering

Table 3. Suitability of using industrial waste products in road construction

(TFHRC 2004; Hamad et al., 2003; Hawkins et al., 2003; Nunes et al. 1996; Sherwood 1995; Javed et al., 1994)

Material Advantages Disadvantages

Fly ash Lightweight, used as binder in stabilized Lack of homogeneity, presence of sulphates, slow
base/ sub-base due to pozzolanic properties strength development
Metallic slag
- Steel slag Higher skid resistance Unsuitable for concrete & fill work beneath slabs.
- Nonferrous slag Light weight (phosphorus slag) May show inconsistent properties
Construction and More strength, can be used as aggregates May show inconsistent properties
demolition waste granular base
Blast furnace slag Used in production of cement, granular fill Ground water pollution due to leachate formation,
used as unbound aggregates
Colliery spoil - Combustion of unburnt coal, sulphate attack in case
of concrete roads
Spent oil shale - Burning of combustible materials
Foundry sands Substitute for fine aggregate in bituminous Presence of heavy metals in non ferrous foundry
mixes origin, less affinity to bitumen
Mill tailings Some are pozzolanic in nature Presence of poisonous materials (e.g., cyanide from
gold extraction)
Cement kiln dust Hardens when exposed to moisture, can be Corrosion of metals (used in concrete roads) in
used in soil stabilization contact because of significant alkali percentage
Used engine oil Good air entertainer, can be used in Requires well organized oil collection system
concrete works
Rubber tires Enhances fatigue life, increases bulk of mix Requires special techniques for fine grinding and
mixing with bitumen, sometimes segregation occurs

strong interlocking structure. Road pavings with steel
slag aggregate show good skid resistance and
mechanical strength able to withstand heavy traffic and
surface wearing. Also, many industrial and other waste
products like fly-ash, cement kiln dust, incenerated
refuse etc. have been successfully used to produce
synthetic aggregates.
Mixing bitumen with rubber (natural or crumb form)
sometimes poses difficulty. As an alternative approach,
tiny crumb rubber pieces can be mixed with aggregates
– known as dry-process. Research shows improved
fatigue performance for this kind of materials (Sibal et
al. 2000), also, this process does not require any
modification to the existing batch mixing plant.
INNOVATIVE APPLICATIONS
Necessity for optimizing the use of available resources
calls for focused research and innovation in the specific
area. Innovation should deliver the advantages such as
quality, economy, convenience and environmental
sustainability through better use of materials and
construction techniques in their applications.
Innovations may be construction method based or
design principle based. These issues are discussed in
subsequent sections. Discussion on advancement of
construction equipment has been kept outside the scope
of the present paper.
Construction Method Based
A mixture of aggregate and binding material, at varied
proportions, constitute various specifications for road
construction, for example, bituminous concrete, built-up
spray grout, wet mix macadam, lean cement concrete
etc. Discussion on all these standard specifications have
been skipped in the present paper, rather, some specific
mixes and their construction methods are discussed.
Emulsified bituminous mix
Cold emulsified bituminous mix (EBM) is gaining more
and more acceptance for its environmental friendliness
and less hazardous construction process. A relative
comparison between the EBM and hot bituminous mix
(HBM) has been presented in Table 4. It may be noted
that though the rate of strength gain in EBM is slower
(refer Figure 2), the final strength of EBM is
comparable to that of HBM (Das and Pandey, 1998).
Foamed bituminous mix
Foamed bituminous mix (FBM) is a foamed mixture of
air, water and bitumen. It is produced by injecting a

* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI 3

National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil
Engineering
Table 4. Comparison of hot bituminous mix (HBM) and emulsified bituminous mix (EBM)
Property HBM
Heating Strong heating required, oxidative hardening occurs
Setting time Low
Applicability Clear weather with high ambient temperatures
Convenience Relatively difficult construction than EBM
Energy Relatively higher requirement
Uniqueness Modifiers needed
Economy Less costly
Safety Hazards from fuming, fire & environmental pollution
Hot Bituminous mix
Emulsified Bituminous Mix
Fig 2. Strength of bituminous mix versus emulsified
mix
very small quantity of water into the hot bitumen,
resulting in spontaneous foaming and temporary
alteration of the physical properties of the bitumen.
Although the foamed bitumen technology was
developed more than forty years ago, it is now gaining
popularity owing to its present-day standardization,
good performance, ease of construction and
compatibility with a wide range of aggregate types
(Transportek 1998). Usage of FBM results in reduction
in binder content and transportation costs, as it requires
less binder and water than other types of cold mixing
methods. FBM can be compacted immediately and can
carry traffic almost immediately after compaction is
completed (Jenkins et al., 2003).
The strength characteristics of FBMs are highly
moisture dependent. This is because of the relatively
low binder content and high void content of foamed
bituminous mixes. FBMs are not as temperature
susceptible as HBM. Since the larger aggregates are not
coated with binder, the friction between the aggregates
is maintained at higher temperatures. Foamed bitumen
can achieve stiffness comparable to those of cement-
treated materials, with the added advantages of
flexibility and fatigue resistance (Ramanujam and
Kendall, 1999). FBMs usually lack resistance to
* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI 4
August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
EBM
No heating required, so no oxidative hardening
High
All weather (wet surfaces, rainy seasons, cold)
Relatively easy construction
Relatively lower requirement
Inherent anti-stripping agents
More costly
Free from such hazards
abrasion and raveling and are not suitable for
wearing/friction course applications.
Some specific situations where use of foamed bitumen
technology can be considered are:
• A pavement which has been repeatedly
patched to the extent that pavement repairs are
no longer cost effective.
• A weak granular base overlies a reasonably
strong subgrade.
• Granular base too thin to consider using
cementitious binders.
• Can be effectively used in desert road
stabilization. etc. (Jenkins et al., 2003).
Relatively high cost, requirement of specific equipment
for mix production, sensitivity to aggregate grading and
stripping risk are some of the disadvantages with the
foamed bituminous mix (Jenkins et al., 2003).
Fiber reinforced bituminous mix
Addition of various kinds of fibers to the binder and
aggregates during mix preparation process results in
fiber reinforced bituminous mix (FRBM). Fibers are
generally blended with bitumen binder before mixing it
with the aggregates to achieve complete coating and
even distribution throughout the mix. Research shows
that FRBMs develop good resistance to aging, fatigue
cracking, moisture damage, bleeding, reflection
cracking etc. (Serfass and Samanos, 1996; Maurer et al.,
1989). Huet et al. (1990) reported that asbestos
reinforced mixes exhibit high fatigue strength and do
not show subsequent reduction of void content due to
traffic. Decoene et al. (1990) studied the cellulose fibers
in porous bituminous mixes and found similar
behaviour. Another study with carbon fiber reinforced
mixes relates the final mix strength to the fiber length in
the mix, after mixing, and mixing procedure adopted
(Cleven 2000).
Composite pavement
Composite pavement can be of two types namely,
flexible composite pavement and rigid composite
National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil
Engineering
pavement. The flexible composite pavement is
comprised of concrete top layer over a flexible
(bituminous) base. Similarly, the rigid composite
pavement is comprised of bituminous top layer over a
rigid base. Composite pavement combines the
advantages of flexibility, durability and high strength as
given by the two types of conventional individual
pavements. Figure 3 gives a schematic layout of a rigid
composite pavement.
Bituminous layer
Upper slab
Slab
reinforcement
Lower slab
Sub-base
Subgrade layer
Fig. 3. Rigid Composite Pavement Layout
Ultra-thin whitetopping
Overlaying technique of pavement rehabilitation is well
known and widely practiced. However, ultra thin
whitetopping (UTW) of concrete over existing
bituminous pavement is a relatively new concept, which
is rapidly gaining acceptance. It is better than
conventional overlays in terms of cost, construction
time and durability. UTW can be designed for low-
speed, low volume traffic areas such as street
intersections, aviation taxiways and runways, bus stops
and tollbooths.
In this technique, a thin layer of high-strength, fiber-
reinforced concrete is placed over a clean, milled
surface of distressed bituminous concrete pavement to
achieve a full or partial bonding. Bonding makes the
two layers behave as a monolithic unit and share the
load. Due to bonding, the neutral axis in concrete shifts
from the middle of concrete layer towards its bottom.
This results in a lowering of stresses at the bottom of
concrete layer. Composite behavior of layers affects the
corner stress. Thick composite section behaviour causes
the corner stresses to decrease. On the other hand,
downward shifting of neutral axis may cause critical
load location to shift from edges to corners thus
increasing the corner stresses. Short joint spacing is
used to decrease the slab area that can curl or warp thus
minimizing the corresponding stresses (MTTP 2004).
* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI
August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
Recycling
In recycling method, bitumen and aggregates are
separated out (partly or fully) and used again. The
specific benefits of recycling of bituminous pavement
can be summarized as:
• Conservation of energy and construction
material.
• Prevention of undesirable rise in height of
finished surface and preservation of the
existing road geometrics.
• Reuse of deteriorated road materials which in
turn solves the disposal problem.
• Solution to the problem of scarcity of good
quality material.
• Possible reduction in life cycle cost.
• Preservation of the environment.
• Reduction in susceptibility to reflection
cracking.
• Less user delay for in-situ recycling etc. (NTL
2003).
Hot recycling, hot-in-place recycling (HIR), cold-in-
place recycling (CIR) and full depth reclamation are
some of the recycling techniques available.
Bitumen ages due to oxidation with atmospheric oxygen
as a result of which resins get converted into
asphaltenes (Petersen, 1984). By this process bitumen
loses its ductility and becomes more brittle. Recycling
is based on the fact that bitumen obtained from old
deteriorated bituminous pavement, may still has its
residual properties and recycling helps in restoring
those residual properties of the bitumen.
To judge the suitability for use as a recycled material,
aggregates are tested for their gradation and bitumen is
tested for its engineering properties. The optimum
quantity of reclaimed material to be mixed with fresh
material is generally determined from mix design
process. Fresh thin (soft grade) bitumen having low
viscosity can be used to replenish the aged bitumen.
Rejuvenators (like road oils and flux oils) are
sometimes added for improvement in properties of
reclaimed bitumen (Sahu and Das 2004).
Semi flexible grouted macadam
Grouted Macadam consists of a single sized porous
bituminous layer whose voids can be filled with the
selected fluid grout or cementitious slurry. The porous
bitumen skeleton is designed to achieve a high void
content while maintaining a thick bitumen coating on
the aggregate particles (Zoorob et al., 2002). Grouted
macadam gives advantages of both flexible and rigid
pavements namely,
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National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil
Engineering
• Flexibility and absence of joints by use of
bitumen,
• High static bearing capacity and wear
resistance (as for concrete) by use of
cementitious grout.
Micro-surfacing
Micro-surfacing is a fast and economical surface
treatment technique used for preventive maintenance of
bituminous and cement concrete pavements. Polymer
modified emulsion, cold blended with fine graded
aggregates, mineral fillers, additives and water, gives
the high performing micro-surfacing mixture.
Micro-surfacing is generally used to restore the top
wearing surface of pavement as a maintenance measure,
thereby extending the pavement life. Its thickness may
be varied to achieve desired objective(s) such as rutt-
filling, skid resistance improvement, surface sealing,
surface texturing, noise reduction, repairing abraded
wheel path channels etc. (ODOT 2004; Miller 2004).
Design Principle Based
This section discusses about the design principle based
innovative applications of road materials. Discussion
has been divided into two parts viz., (a) Structural
design considerations, and (b) Mix design
considerations.
Structural design considerations
Optimum pavement design thickness
In Mechanistic-Empirical pavement design, generally
sustainability of a pavement structure against fatigue
and rutting failures is considered, for which the critical
responses are: (a) the tensile strain at the bottom fibre of
bituminous layer and (b) the vertical strain at the top of
the subgrade. A number of design thickness
combinations of bituminous and granular layers are
possible which satisfies the above mentioned
requirement.
Standard design charts developed by various
organizations (Shell 1978; Austroads 1992; Asphalt
Institute 1981; IRC:37-2001) are available; these design
charts generally provide thickness composition of
bituminous and granular layers, depending upon other
input parameters viz. temperature, traffic, design life,
subgrade strength, material type etc. A designer can
choose any suitable granular layer thickness, and,
corresponding thickness of bituminous layer to
safeguard against structural failures can be read from
these charts.
Figure 4 illustrates a typical design chart. The design
chart consists of two curves: fatigue curve and rutting
* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI
August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
curve. The fatigue curve shown as COD in Figure 4
represents the points, which are just safe from fatigue
consideration. These points may be under-safe, just safe
or over-safe from rutting consideration. Similarly, the
rutting curve shown as AOB in Figure 4 represents
those points which are just safe from rutting
consideration. These points may be under-safe, just safe
or over-safe from fatigue consideration. In the design
chart the fatigue curve and the rutting curve intersects at
a point (point O in this case) that may be called as
structurally balanced design point (Narasimham, Misra
and Das, 2001). Thickness of pavement layers chosen
according to this point will result in a pavement deign
which would fail due to fatigue and rutting
simultaneously and can be assumed that the pavement
materials are fully utilized. Similarly, there could be
cost optimal point, where bituminous and granular layer
thicknesses are selected such that the total cost of
materials used is minimized, without compromising
with the structural adequacy of the pavement. The cost
optimal point may or may not coincide with the
structurally optimal point (Narasimham, Misra and Das,
2001).
Perpetual pavement and rich bottom bituminous
pavement
A perpetual bituminous pavement may be defined as a
pavement designed and built to last longer than fifty
years without requiring major structural rehabilitation
or reconstruction (APA101 2001). This pavement may
only require periodic replacement of top wearing
surface and recycling of old pavement material (TRL
2001; AA-2 2001).
The concept of full depth bituminous pavement is in
vogue from 1960s in USA. Nunn and his associates of
Transport Research Laboratory, UK found (Nunn et al.,
1997) that thick bituminous pavements tend to show
long lasting performance and may require only minor
surface repairs. California Department of
Transportation in collaboration with University of
California, Berkeley (Monismith et al., 2001) first
implemented concept of perpetual pavement in a
rehabilitation planning project.
In full depth bituminous pavement, the thickness is so
designed that the fatigue and rutting strains developed
are below the permissible limit (MS-1 1999). If the
thickness is chosen to be sufficiently large so that the
fatigue strain is close to the endurance limit, then the
fatigue life becomes very long, and the pavement may
be said to have attended ‘perpetual life’.
Increased binder content above the optimum content
can appreciably enhance the fatigue life. Higher
bitumen content increases the thickness of the binder
film between aggregates resulting in lower stress in the
6
National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil
Engineering
Fig. 4. Typical pavement design chart
binder film, and thus the fatigue life is improved (Sousa
et al., 1998; Harvey et al., 1996). However, with
increased amount of binder content, the bituminous mix
tends to be softer and thereby its stiffness modulus
value may fall. A mix designer’s objective would be to
achieve both high stiffness and high fatigue life. This
mutually contradictory situation can be handled by
using a bituminous pavement layer where it is made
richer in binder content towards the bottom layer(s).
Since fatigue cracks start from bottom of bituminous
layer, higher bitumen content helps to give greater
restraint against fatigue cracking. This concept has been
termed as ‘rich bottom pavement’ (Monismith et al.,
2001; Harvey et al., 1997; Harvey and Tsai 1996) and is
applied while designing a perpetual pavement. This also
High Bitumen content
Low Bitumen content
Log εt
Log N
Fig. 5. Idealized fatigue characteristics of biuminous
base layer
* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI
August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
makes more durable and impervious mix at the bottom
of the full depth bituminous pavement.
This has been explained further with the help of Figure
5. The thickness of the bituminous layer is chosen in
such a way that the horizontal tensile strain (εt)
developed is less than the endurance limit of the
bituminous mix; hence its idealized laboratory fatigue
life (N) becomes infinity (AA-2 2001; Von Quintus,
2001; Nunn et al., 1997). Also, if the bitumen content is
chosen higher, its fatigue performance improves and the
endurance strain level is raised.
Inverted pavements
Inverted pavement system, or inverted base, is a high
depth road whose supporting layers are thicker and
stiffer than top layers. The system consists of a thin
bituminous concrete (BC) layer provided on top of a
graded aggregate base (GAB) layer. A portland cement-
treated stiff base layer is provided at the bottom. This
arrangement causes the critical stress/strain plane to be
located at the interface of the BC and GAB layers. Thus
only the top portion of the inverted pavement structure
absorbs the traffic loads as compared to conventional
design where thick sections are required for load
distribution. Research by South African Roads Board
(SARB 2004) and Georgia Department of
Transportation, has shown that an inverted base
provides enough structural performance to support
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National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil
Engineering
traffic loadings up to 100 million Equivalent Single-
Axle Loads (ESALs) with a maximum two inch
bitumen riding course (Halsted, 2002). According to
SARB, this type of system proves to be more cost
effective for construction of long lasting pavements.
Bituminous pavement with cemented base
As mentioned earlier, the cemented bases are derived
from aggregates mixed with some binding material.
Since it is bounded layer, it also has some fatigue life.
Thus, unlike the unbound granular base, the cemented
base layer contributes to some fatigue life, which may
give rise to comparative reduction of design thickness
of bituminous layer (Das and Pandey 1998). The
stiffness modulus of cemented layer is generally found
to be much higher than granular sub-base; however, due
to shrinkage cracks, the stiffness modulus falls rapidly.
Mix design considerations
Non–standard gradation
Though fatigue performance is considered in structural
design of bituminous pavements, as per Indian practice,
it is not taken into account while designing the mix. The
fatigue life of the mix can be increased by increasing
the bitumen content. But, Voids in Mineral Aggregates
(VMA), being fixed for a given gradation and
compaction level, increase in bitumen content will
result in less Air Voids (VA), which is undesirable for a
mix. Thus, there is a need to deviate from the specified
gradation in order to come up with a new gradation,
which possibly can give rise to better fatigue
performance, yet without compromising with the VMA
and Marshall-stability requirements. Laboratory study
on non-standard mixes showed better performance in
terms of fatigue life without compromising with the
Marshall and stiffness requirements (Das et al. 2004).
Superpave
Superpave (SUperior PERforming asphalt PAVement)
recommendations aspires to achieve better performance
than that of conventional mixes (Asphalt Institute 2001;
MS-2 1997). Superpave mix specifications identify the
need for carrying out the acceptability tests of materials
at prevalent field temperatures, and not at laboratory
specified temperatures. Thus, in Superpave, only the
acceptable test values and not the test temperatures are
recommended.
Stone matrix asphalt
Stone matrix asphalt (SMA) is a gap-graded bituminous
mix with high percentage of coarse aggregates with
high bitumen content. Gap gradation aims at
* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI
August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
maximizing stone-to-stone contact. This gives a
structurally strong mix due to efficient load distribution
through the stone-matrix skeleton. The drawback of this
method is the absence of medium sized aggregates due
to gap gradation. This may arise possibility of drain-
down of low-grade penetration bitumen through the
stone matrix. To check this possibility, modifiers, such
as cellulose fibers, are used to hold the bitumen in place
(Better Roads 2003; GDOT 1995; Decoene et al.,
1990).
Research efforts of Georgia Department of
Transportation (GDOT) and European experience, has
proven that SMA has superior performance and gives
the following benefits:
• 30% - 40% less rutting than standard mixes.
• 3 to 5 times greater fatigue life in laboratory
experiments.
• lower life cycle cost.
Porous pavement
Porous pavement is a special type of pavement which
allows surface water to pass through it, thereby keeping
the road surface water-free, as well as providing
drainage outlet to storm water. Porous pavement may
be effectively used in light traffic areas like parking
areas, airport taxiway and runway shoulders, footpaths,
playgrounds etc. provided that the subsoil drainage,
groundwater level and topography of the area is suitable
(Michele, 2003; USEPA 1999; DEQ 1992).
Pavement structure consists of a top porous bituminous
layer placed over a filter layer below which a highly
permeable open-graded stone layer (known as reservoir
course) is provided. A geotextile layer is placed at the
bottom to screen off fine soil particles. Porous
bituminous layer consists of gap-graded aggregates
(lower percentage fines), held together by a fiber-
bitumen blend, giving a matrix structure which allows
movement of water through its fine voids. Besides load
bearing, the reservoir course stores the runoff water (in
the void spaces in aggregate layers) until it can infiltrate
into the soil beneath. Although it is structurally very
similar to SMA, the difference lies in the percentage of
voids which is higher (at least 20%) for porous
bituminous pavement as compared to SMA( 3%-6%)
(RPL 2001).
Porous pavement has been found (RPL 2001) to be
quite effective in reducing noise levels, splash and spray
during rains, and aquaplaning tendency thereby
improving the wet skid resistance.
8
National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil
Engineering
CONCLUSION
Certain standard methods are followed for road design
and construction. They are modified from time-to-time
to match with the technological advancements. The
present paper has tried to give a brief overview of some
of the emerging materials and innovative applications,
not being currently practiced in our country.
The discussion also hinted that certain modifications in
the mix design or structural design can give rise to
substantial economy in terms of the longevity of the
pavement or the cost of the material concerned. In
future a unified protocol needs to be evolved which
would consider mix-design and pavement-design
together so as to ensure economical design and better
field performance.
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* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI 11

 National Conference on Materials and their Application in Civil August 26-27, 2004, Hamirpur – INDIA
Engineering

Table 1. Some examples of binder (bitumen) modifiers

(RILEM 1998; ETM 1999; Asphalt Handbook 2000; Widyatmoko 2002, SEAM 2004 )

Purpose Examples
Polymers
1. Fillers to improve bitumen durability and Lime, carbon black, fly ash
check rutting
2.Anti-oxidants to check oxidative hardening Zinc anti-oxidants, lead anti-oxidant, phenolics, amines
3.Anti-stripping to achieve better adhesion of bitumen Organic compounds (like arnines, andamides)
additives to aggregates
4. Extenders to act as bitumen substitute and to Lignin, sulphur
improve fatigue resistance
5. Others - Shale oil, gilsonite, silicon, inorganic fibers, Trinidad
lake asphalt (TLA)
Non Polymers
1. Fibers to reduce viscosity, as filler material, Polyester fibers, Polypropylene fibers
2. Plastics
-Thermoplastics to increase the viscosity and stiffness -Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polyvinyl
of bitumen at normal service chloride (PVC), Polystyrene (PS) Ethylene vinyl acetate
temperatures without compromising (EVA).
with fatigue performance
-Thermosets to obtain insoluble, infusible material -Epoxy resins
that do not flow on heating
3. Elastomers
- Natural to reduce temperature susceptibility -Rubber
- Synthetic and temperature distresses, age- -Styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBR), Styrene-
- Reclaimed hardening, bleeding butadiene-styrene copolymer (SBS), Ethylene-
rubbers and binder-aggregate stripping. propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM), Isobutene-
isoprene copolymer (IIR)

* Currently: Assistant Professor: BITS PILANI 12

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