TESTS FOR ASPHALTIC MATERIALS

General
▪Several tests are conducted on asphaltic materials
to determine both their consistency and their
quality to ascertain whether materials used in
highway construction meet the prescribed
specification.
▪Some of these specifications are given by
AASHTO and ASTM
 TESTS FOR ASPHALTIC MATERIALS
▪General
▪Specific gravity
▪Flash point ( open cup)
▪Water in petroleum products
▪Solubility
▪Solubility of bituminous materials
▪Spot test
▪Consistency
▪Specific Viscosity
▪Kinematic viscosity
▪Absolute viscosity
▪Float test
▪Penetration
▪Softening point ( ring-and-ball method)
 TESTS FOR ASPHALTIC MATERIALS

▪Ductility
▪Ductility

▪Volatility
▪Distillation
▪Loss on heating
▪Thin-film oven test
▪Tests for emulsion
 Consistency tests  Purity test
◦ Penetration  Solubility
◦ Viscosity
◦ Softening point
 Safety test
 Aging tests  Flash point
◦ Thin Film Oven Test  Other tests
(TFOT)
 Ductility
◦ Rolling Thin Film
Oven Test (RTFOT)  Specific
gravity

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Consistency describes the viscosity or degree of
fluidity of asphalt at any particular temperature
 Asphalt is a thermoplastic material
 Standard temperature for comparison
 Grading based on consistency at a standard
temperature
 Measure of hardening (aging)
◦ Elevated temperatures
◦ In-service

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 Penetration at 770F (250C)
◦ Near average service temperature
 Viscosity at 140 0F (600 C)
◦ Near maximum surface temperature of the
HMA pavement
 Viscosity at 2750 F (1350 C)
◦ Near mixing and laydown temperature for
HMA

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 In the early 20th century, the penetrometer
was the principal means of measuring and
controlling consistency of asphalt
 Empirical measure of consistency determined
by measuring how far a needle penetrates
 This is determined by AASHTO T49, (ASTM D5) “
standard method of test for penetration of
bituminous mixtures”

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◦ In this procedure, a needle is typically loaded with a
100 g weight and allowed to penetrate into an
asphalt cement sample for 5 sec
◦ Prior to conducting the test, the asphalt cement
sample is brought to the testing temperature,
typically 250C
◦ A harder asphalt will have a lower penetration while
a softer asphalt cement will have a higher
penetration

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 Five penetration grades
◦ 40-50 = stiffest
◦ 60-70
◦ 85-100
◦ 120-150
◦ 200-300 = softest

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 Viscosity is reverse of fluidity. It is a measure of
the resistance to flow
 Higher the viscosity of liquid bitumen, the more
nearly it approaches a semi-solid state in
consistency
 The bitumen binders of low viscosity, simply
lubricate the aggregate particles instead of
providing a uniform thin film for binding action
 High viscosity does not allow full compaction and
the resulting mix exhibits heterogeneous
character and thus low stability values.

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 Absolute Viscosity
 uses vacuum viscometers for different binders
all tested at 140 F (60 C): max temperature of
asphalt pavement surfaces in service
 Kinematic Viscosity
 no vacuum
tested at 275 F (135 C): temp at mixing and
laydown
Kinematic viscosity= absolute viscosity/density

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 Measures viscosity in units of
poise = cm-gram- seconds
 Uses vacuum viscometers for
different binders
 Measure with U-tube at 60 C
 η60=c*t
◦ C= calibration factor
◦ t = time, seconds
 Measurement: Time taken to
pull a fixed volume of asphalt
cement from the beginning
point to end point

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Water Bath Vacuum Source

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 Cross-arm tube
 Measures viscosity in units of
centistokes (cst)
 Measured with a U-tube at 135 C
 Simulates mixing and laydown
temperatures

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 Viscometer (Zeitfuchs Cross Arm
viscometer)
 Temperature control (oil bath)
 Operation: Gravity flow
 Measurement: time for the asphalt to
flow between two points in a capillary
tube
 Unit: Centistokes (cSt) or mm2/s
 Kinematic: Gravitational forces induce
flow

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 The viscosity measurements made at two test
temperatures are usually plotted on a viscosity-
temperature graph and line extended beyond
the two points
 Slope of the line is temperature susceptibility

 The steeper the slope for a specific asphalt, the

more is temperature susceptible
 Plotting of this curve is important for
determining the optimum temperature for
mixing and compacting

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An alternative to the penetration test for checking
the consistency of bitumen
Definition
 Temperature at which an asphalt specimen cannot
support its own weight and starts flowing
Purpose
 Evaluate temperature at which phase change
occurs
Scope
 method for determining the consistency of
bituminous materials

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Test
 Test conducted in distilled water or
glycerin
 Temperature rise rate 5 C/min
 Brass ring filled with asphalt and steel
ball placed
 Temperature measured at the instant
the softened asphalt reaches the bottom

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Aging or hardening is the process under which asphalt becomes
harder and brittle due to increase in the viscosity of asphalt caused
by:
• the evaporation and oxidation of the lighter, oily
constituents during mixing at high temperatures, called
“volatilization” (short-term aging or hardening)
• the oxidation of the oils to resins and resins to asphaltenes
when used over a period of years (long-term or in-service
aging or hardening)

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Viscosit

1 storage tank
2construction – short term
2
y

3 use – long term

1 Construction
Time (years)
 Thin Film Oven Test (TFO)
 Rolling Thin Film Oven (RTFO)
◦ These test are not true test. They are procedures
that expose a sample of asphalt to conditions that
approximate those that occur during hot-mix plant
operation
◦ Viscosity or penetration tests made on the sample
after TFO of RTFO procedures are used to measure
the anticipated hardening of the materials during
construction and permanent service

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 TFO procedure involves placing a
measured sample of asphalt cement into
a flat-bottomed pan
 The sample and pan are placed on a
rotating shelf that rotates at 5 to 6
rev/minute in an oven and kept at temp
of 1630C for 5 hours
 The artificially aged and hardened sample
is then tested for its viscosity,
penetration

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Relationship between viscosity and time of oven exposure during TFOT

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 It has the same purpose as the TFO but
with different equipment and procedures
 Here equipment includes a specially
designed oven and specially designed
bottle used as a container for the test
 The sample is placed in the bottle

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 The bottle is placed on its side on a rotating
shelf, which rolls the bottle continuously in
the oven 15rev/minute (1630C) for 85
minutes
 The rotation of bottle continuously exposes
fresh film of asphalt cement
 Once in a rotation, the bottle opening
passes an air jet which removes
accumulated vapors from the bottle

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 RTFO oven accommodates a larger
number of samples than TFO
 Less time is required for RTFO

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 controls fan
 Convection Oven
163 C  Circular Carriage
 Air Jet
 Fan

air jet bottle carriage

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Photos courtesy of FHWA
Durability of pavement is
adversely affected by aging
Flash point is the temperature at which the
asphalt gives off enough vapor which can flash
(ignite) in the presence of a spark or open flame

Test (performed for safety purposes)

Cleveland Open-Cup (COC) method
 Brass cup filled with asphalt heated at a
prescribed rate
 Small flame passed over the surface periodically

 Temperature at an instantaneous flash noted

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 It is determined to identify the maximum
temperature at which it can be handled
and stored without danger of flashing
 As asphalt is heated in storage to keep its
viscosity low enough so that material can
be pumped

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Purpose
 To determine asphalt purity in terms of
percentage soluble in trichloroethylene
(TCE).
◦ Mineral matter is not dissolved in TCE.

Test
 Asphalt dissolved in TCE and allowed to sit
for 15 minutes
 Filtered through a glass fiber pad
 Insoluble material retained on pad
determined
 Results expressed as % purity

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 Ability of the asphalt to be stretched without
breaking. It is measured by an extension test
 The ductility test measures asphalt binder
ductility by stretching a standard-sized
briquette of asphalt binder to its breaking
point
 The stretched distance in centimeters at
breaking is then reported as ductility
 It is empirical and conducted at only one
temperature (25°C)

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