MARSHALL MIX DESIGN METHOD

Developed by Bruce Marshall, a former bituminous engineer

with Mississippi State Highway Department and further
improved by US Army Corp of Engineers.

Properties of a good quality asphalt concrete

Stability - The ability to withstand traffic loads without distortion
or deflection, especially at higher temperatures.
To get good stability, use strong, rough, dense-graded, cubical
aggregate with just enough binder to coat the aggregate
particles. Excess asphalt cement lubricates the aggregate
particles and lets them slide past each other more easily (which
reduces stability). But a thick asphalt coating provides good
flexibility to resist cracking, which is desirable.

Workability-The ability to be placed and compacted with

reasonable effort and without segregation of the coarse
aggregate.
Too much asphalt cement makes the mix tender. Too little
asphalt cement makes it hard to compact. Too much natural
sand can also make the mix tender because natural sand has
smooth, round grains.
Skid Resistance-Proper traction in wet and dry conditions.
To get good skid resistance, use smaller aggregate so there are
lots of contact points, use hard aggregate that doesn’t polish
and make sure you have enough air voids to prevent bleeding.

Durability-The ability to resist aggregate breakdown due to

wetting and drying, freezing and thawing, or excessive inter-
particle forces.
To get good durability, use strong, tough, nonporous aggregate
and enough asphalt cement to completely coat all of the
aggregate particles (to keep them dry) and fill all of the voids
between particles (to slow the oxidation of the asphalt cement).
But this reduces stability.

Stripping- Separation of the asphalt cement coating from the

aggregate due to water getting between the asphalt and the
aggregate.
To reduce stripping, use clean, rough, hydrophobic aggregate
and add enough asphalt cement to provide a thick coating of
asphalt on every aggregate particle. This improves durability
but decreases stability.
Bleeding-The migration of asphalt cement to the surface of the
pavement under wheel loads, especially at higher
temperatures.
To prevent bleeding, incorporate enough air voids so the
asphalt can compress by closing air voids rather than by
squeezing asphalt cement out from between the aggregate
particles.
Fatigue Cracking- Cracking resulting from repeated flexure of
the asphalt concrete due to traffic loads.
To minimize fatigue cracking, use the proper asphalt cement
grade and have a thick asphalt cement coating to make the
concrete flexible. This improves durability but decreases
stability.
Thermal Cracking-Cracking that results from an inability to
acclimate to a sudden drop in temperature.
To minimize thermal cracking, use the proper asphalt cement
grade.

Ultimate objective of the design mix

To determine a cost-effective blend of asphalt and mineral
aggregate including filler, if any, with appropriate gradation
which will yield a durable and serviceable pavement.

The Methods of Mix Design

There are three methods asphalt mix design :
• Marshall Method: developed by Bruce Marshall, a former
bituminous engineer with Mississippi State Highway
 Department and further improved by US army crops of
Engineers.
• Hveem Method : developed by Francis N Hveem, a former
material and research engineer of California Department of
transportation.
• Superior performing asphalt pavement (superpave)
method: This method not only addresses the problem of
better simulation of field compaction level under traffic
effect to the laboratory samples but also differs from other
mix design methods by using performance-based and
performance-related criteria to design the proper asphalt
mix.

Mix Design Basics

• The right grade of asphalt cement
Relates to fatigue cracking, thermal cracking, stability
• The right type of aggregate
Relates to stability, durability, stripping, skid resistance.
proper blend of the mineral aggregates with filler , if any,
to form a durable skeleton structure( to provide an
uniform bed for a safe traffic movement) with bitumen,
Combination of right proportion of different sizes of
aggregate is called aggregate gradation.
• The right mix volumetrics
Relates to stability, durability, stripping, bleeding, skid
resistance
Acronyms
VMA- Voids in Mineral Aggregate
VFB - Voids filled by Bitumen
VIM - air void or void in mix -
Asphalt Mix Phase Diagram

Filler

Fine Aggregate

Coarse
Aggregate 2

Coarse
Aggregate 1

Aggregate sizes
Filler- aggregate passing #200 sieve (75μm)
Fine Aggregate-passing #4 sieve, retained #200
 Coarse Aggregate 2- passing 9.5 mm sieve, retained #4
sieve
Coarse Aggregate 1-passing 25mm sieve, retained 9.5 mm
Aggregate Gradation
Sieve Designation Mass percent passing
Std. mm U.S. std Grading A Grading B Grading C Grading D
CA 1 25 1” 100 100 100 100
CA 2 9.5 3/8” 50-85 60-100 - -
FA 4.75 No. 4 35-65 50-85 55-100 70-100
FA 2.00 No. 10 25-50 40-70 40-100 55-100
FA 0.425 No. 40 15-30 25-45 20-50 30-70
Filler 0.075 No. 200 5-20 5-20 6-20 8-25

Aggregate Properties
• In asphalt mix design, effective bitumen content is the point of
focus which is the bitumen added to the system minus the
bitumen wasted due to absorption by surface pores of the
mineral aggregates.
• To determine this, three types of specific gravity of the
aggregates are considered :
i)Bulk Specific Gravity
ii)Apparent Specific Gravity
iii)Absorption
Apparent Specific Gravity, Gsa. - the ratio of the mass of a
unit volume of the impermeable portion of aggregate (does
not include the permeable pores in aggregate) to the mass of
an equal volume of gas-free distilled water at the stated
temperature.

𝐴
𝐴𝑝𝑝. 𝑆𝑝. 𝐺𝑟 = 𝐺𝑠𝑎 =
𝐴−𝐶
Where:
 A=mass of oven dry sample in air
C= mass of SSD sample in water

Theoretical specific gravity of the mix Gt - Theoretical specific

gravity Gt is the specific gravity without considering air voids,
and is given by:
𝑊1 + 𝑊2 + 𝑊3 + 𝑊𝑏
𝐺𝑡 =
𝑊1 𝑊2 𝑊3 𝑊𝑏
+ + +
𝐺1 𝐺2 𝐺3 𝐺𝑏
where,
W1 is the weight of coarse aggregate in the total mix,
W2 is the weight of fine aggregate in the total mix,
W3 is the weight of filler in the total mix,
Wb is the weight of bitumen in the total mix,
G1 is the apparent specific gravity of coarse aggregate,
G2 is the apparent specific gravity of fine aggregate,
G3 is the apparent specific gravity of filler and
Gb is the apparent specific gravity of bitumen,

Bulk specific gravity of mix, Gm

The bulk specific gravity or the actual specific gravity of the mix
Gm is the specific gravity considering air voids and is found out
by:
𝑊𝑚
𝐺𝑚 =
𝑊𝑚 − 𝑊𝑤
where,
Wm = is the weight of mix in air,
Ww= is the weight of mix in water,
Note that Wm −Ww gives the volume of the mix.
Sometimes to get accurate bulk specific gravity, the
specimen is coated with thin film of paraffin wax, when
weight is taken in the water. This, however requires to
consider the weight and volume of wax in the calculations.
Air voids percent Vv
Air voids Vv is the percent of air voids by volume in the
specimen and is given by:
(𝐺𝑡 − 𝐺𝑚 )
𝑉𝑣 = 100
𝐺𝑡
where
Gt =is the theoretical specific gravity of the mix
Gm =is the bulk or actual specific gravity of the mix

Percent volume of bitumen Vb

The volume of bitumen Vb is the percent of volume of bitumen
to the total volume and given by:
 𝑊𝑏
𝐺𝑏
𝑉𝑏 =
𝑊1 + 𝑊2 + 𝑊3 + 𝑊𝑏
𝐺𝑚
where,
W1 is the weight of coarse aggregate in the total mix,
W2 is the weight of fine aggregate in the total mix,
W3 is the weight of filler in the total mix,
Wb is the weight of bitumen in the total mix,
Gb is the apparent specific gravity of bitumen, and
Gm is the bulk specific gravity of mix

Voids in mineral aggregate VMA

Voids in mineral aggregate VMA is the volume of voids in the
aggregates, and is the sum of air voids and volume of bitumen,
and is calculated from
𝑉𝑀𝐴 = 𝑉𝑣 + 𝑉𝑏
where,
Vv is the percent air voids in the mix, and
Vb is percent bitumen content in the mix

Voids filled with bitumen VFB- the voids in the mineral

aggregate frame work filled with the bitumen, and is calculated
as:
 𝑉𝑏 𝑥100
𝑉𝐹𝐵 =
𝑉𝑀𝐴
where,
Vb is percent bitumen content in the mix, and
VMA is the percent voids in the mineral aggregate
 Equipment in Marshall Mix Design
Marshall Hammer

Hammer

Mold
Steps in Marshall Mix Design
1. Create aggregate blend to meet gradation specifications.
2. Establish mixing and compaction temperatures from the
viscosity-temperature chart.
3. Compact three specimens at each of five asphalt
contents spanning the expected optimum asphalt content.
4. Determine the relative density of each specimen and the
mix volumetrics mb, AV, VMA, VFA).
5. Measure the performance properties of the each
specimen at 60ºC (140ºF).
A. Specimen preparation
1. Approximately 1200gm of aggregates and filler is heated to
a temperature of 175 – 190°C. Bitumen is heated to a
temperature of 121 – 125°C with the first trial percentage
of bitumen(say 4% by weight of the mineral aggregates).
2. The heated aggregates and bitumen are thoroughly mixed at
a temperature of 154 – 160 °C.
3. The mix is placed in a preheated mold and compacted by a
hammer with a number of blows depending on traffic on
either side at temperature of 138 °C to 149 °C.

Traffic Blows/Side
Light 35
Medium 50
Heavy 75
 4. The weight of mixed aggregates taken for the preparation
of the specimen may be suitably altered to obtain a
compacted thickness of 63.5+/-3 mm.
5. Vary the bitumen content in the next trial by +0.5% and
repeat the above procedure. Number of trials are
predetermined.
6. The prepared mould is loaded in the Marshall test setup as
shown in the

B. Marshall stability and flow

Marshall stability of a test specimen is the maximum load
required to produce failure when the specimen is preheated to
a prescribed temperature placed in a special test head and the
load is applied at a constant strain (5 cm per minute). While the
stability test is in progress dial gauge is used to measure the
vertical deformation of the specimen. The deformation at the
failure point expressed in units of 0.25 mm is called the
Marshall flow value of the specimen.
 Load (kg)

Stability

60°C
Flow

Deformation
(0.25 mm) units
Apply stability correction
It is possible while making the specimen the thickness slightly
vary from the standard specification of 63.5 mm. Therefore,
measured stability values need to be corrected to those which
would have been obtained if the specimens had been exactly
63.5 mm. This is done by multiplying each measured stability
value by an appropriated correlation factors as given in Table
below.
Table : Correction factors for Marshall stability values
Volume of Thickness of Correction
Specimen Specimen factor
(cm3) (mm)
457 – 470 57.1 1.19
471 – 482 68.7 1.14
483 - 495 60.3 1.09
496 - 508 61.9 1.04
509 - 522 63.5 1.00
523 - 535 65.1 0.96
536 - 546 66.7 0.93
547 - 559 68.3 0.89
560 - 573 69.9 0.86
Prepare graphical plots
The average value of the above properties are determined for
each mix with different bitumen content and the following
graphical plots are prepared:
1. Binder content versus corrected Marshall stability
Stability

Bitumen %
2. Binder content versus Marshall flow
Value
Flow

Bitumen %
3. Binder content versus percentage of void (Vv) in the total
mix
Air Voids

Bitumen %
4. Binder content versus voids filled with bitumen (VFB)
VFB

Bitumen %
5. Binder content versus unit weight or bulk specific gravity
(Gm)
Unit Wt

Bitumen %
Determine optimum bitumen content
Determine the optimum binder content for the mix design by
taking average value of the following three bitumen contents
found form the graphs obtained in the previous step.
1. Binder content corresponding to maximum stability
2. Binder content corresponding to maximum bulk specific
gravity (Gm)
3. Binder content corresponding to the median of designed
limits of percent air voids (Vv) in the total mix (i.e. 4%)

Example
Max. Max. 4% Air
Density Stability Voids

5.1 + 4.7 + 4.3

𝐴𝐶 = = 4.7%
3
The stability value, flow value, and VFB are checked with
Marshall mix design specification chart given in Table below.
Mixes with very high stability value and low flow value are not
desirable as the pavements constructed with such mixes are
likely to develop cracks due to heavy moving loads.

Table 11:2: Marshall mix design specification

Test Property Specified Value
Marshall stability, kg 340 (minimum)
Flow value, 0.25 mm units 8 - 17
Percent air voids in the mix Vv% 3 - 5
Voids filled with bitumen VFB% 75 - 85